For decades, people were told bipolar disorder was just a ‘chemical imbalance.’ That idea was never accurate—and modern science proves it. From brain scans to genetics and circadian rhythms, research shows bipolar disorder has real biological markers. Learn why the myth persists, what the evidence really says, and how it matters in everyday life.
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If you have a bad bipolar day, you might wonder what you did wrong yesterday to cause it. I know I feel this way. I know I look for causes. And I know it feels like it’s my fault. I feel like I must have done something wrong to cause the bad bipolar day. It feels like a punishment for screwing up the previous day.
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From time to time, even I, mental health writer and speaker, have forgotten that bipolar disorder is a physical illness. Well, I don’t forget, exactly, but I have acted like it wasn’t physical with my actions in my own life. But how could I act like mental illness (which I even call brain disorders) isn’t physical? Why would I ever forget that bipolar disorder is a physical illness?
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The Bipolar Burble is extremely pleased to welcome back today’s guest author: Ross Szabo. Ross is an amazing mental illness educator and advocate. You can read more about him at the bottom.
I’ve often pondered whether bipolar is caused by nature or nurture and even researchers constantly examine the age-old question. The data largely shows that it’s often a mixture of both. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was 16. My psychiatrist added anger control problems and psychotic features to my diagnosis at age 17. I love to ponder what part of my bipolar is nature, what’s nurture and what’s me?
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I’m not sure that I was born with bipolar disorder. I might have been. I might have been born with such genetic predisposition that no matter what happened I would have bipolar disorder. Or I might not. I really don’t know and science isn’t in a position to tell me.
But like with most things mental illness, there is a debate about it. Are people born with bipolar disorder?
Read MoreToday, I was watching a Comcast On Demand program about the causes of bipolar. I thought I’d watching and see how ridiculous it was because obviously, no one knows the cause of bipolar disorder.
However, the spot had some interesting information on the brain, neurotransmitters and bipolar disorder, which I then transcribed so I could share it with you. (Yes, I really did transcribe the whole thing.)
It’s in fairly layperson terms, so give it a look. At the bottom is a bit more information about dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. This, unfortunately, is not in layperson terms, but is interesting nonetheless.
Read MoreI like to think I know almost all there is to know about mood disorders, but I was pretty shocked when I read this:
Differential Diagnosis
Mood disorders are sometimes caused by general medical conditions or medications. Classic examples include the depressive syndromes associated with dominant hemispheric strokes, hypothyroidism, Cushing’s disease, and pancreatic cancer (DSM-IV). Among medications associated with depression, antihypertensives and oral contraceptives are the most frequent examples. Transient depressive syndromes are also common during withdrawal from alcohol and various other drugs of abuse. Mania is not uncommon during high-dose systemic therapy with glucocorticoids and has been associated with intoxication by stimulant and sympathomimetic drugs and with central nervous system (CNS) lupus, CNS human immunodeficiency viral (HIV) infections, and nondominant hemispheric strokes or tumors. Together, mood disorders due to known physiological or medical causes may account for as many as 5 to 15 percent of all treated cases (Quitkin et al., 1993b). They often go unrecognized until after standard therapies have failed.
(bold mine)
I’m shocked. No one ever mentioned anything about birth control pills to me and I’ve been on them for years. YEARS. This is yet another reason why doctors so often get on my bad side.
This quote was taken from the Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. The whole report is a good read, but very long. It’s everything you wanted to know but didn’t know you needed to ask.
I’m disgusted.
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