Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder affects almost six million American adults and is characterized by episodes of depression and mania. The onset of bipolar disorder is often in late adolescents, but it can develop at any stage in life. Mood stabilizers such as lithium, divalproex, carbamazepine, and lamotrigine seek to suppress the swings between mania and depression to treat Bipolar Disorder. Of the mood stabilizers only lithium and lamotrigine, to a lesser degree, are effective at treating both mania and depression. The other stabilizers try to reduce mania, which is thought to indirectly improve depression by “breaking the cycle” and keeping patients out of bipolar episodes altogether. There is also a horde of other drug types, such as antipsychotics and anti-anxiety drugs, which can be indicated for treatment of bipolar disorder under certain circumstances. Every drug has a list of possible side effects that range from mild to (in my opinion) worse than the issue they are treating. This brings me to the topic I wish to talk about this week.
Overmedicated and Unsatisfactory
One of the points made clear by this weeks review was that the underlying cause of bipolar disorder and the reason treatments like mood stabilizers work is still quite unclear. The mood stabilizers are labeled as such not because of a known mechanism of action, but simply from an observed effect. When this is compounded by the possible side effects and the lack of a clear empirical way of diagnosis, I see a lot of room for error. I do not want to sound too critical because I know that psychological disorders seldom have a clearly understood etiology, but trial and error doesn’t seem like a good way perform medicine. That said, I don’t have a better way to go about treating bipolar disorder so take complaints with a grain of salt. However, I do have an idea about what might be done.
Brain Health
I think there might be ways to improve mental health without completely relying on pills. This is a controversial idea, especially in America, because Americans love pills. Our busy lives demand that we continually find the most time-effective way to go about our day. Unfortunately, this applies to our health. Many Americans would much rather take a blood pressure medication than exercise or eat healthier, both of which take time and effort to do. The healthiest approach would be to take the medication along with exercise and diet changes. Brain health should be treated similarly. I think therapy, support groups, and hobbies should supplement medications. Stimulating the brain through contact with other people and enjoyable diversions has the potential to improve mental health significantly. The best part about my suggestion is that it is risk free; taking up knitting may not prevent a bipolar episode, but it sure won’t cause one, which is more than taking up a new medication can say.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001924/
http://www.dbsalliance.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_bipolar_overview
A Knitting Prescription
