Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a mental health disorder in which a person swings wildly between periods of deep depression and bouts of manic behavior. At Solid Foundation Psychiatry, Edewor Ben Osevwe, PMHNP-BC, and a team of therapists from locations in Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada, Portland, Oregon, and Pearland, Texas, help people with bipolar disorder manage mood swings. Call today or use the online tool to schedule a telehealth appointment for bipolar therapy and treatment.

What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder causes you to alternate between periods of extreme depression and manic behavior. These mood swings have a negative effect on your mental health, relationships, ability to hold a job, and overall quality of life.

What is it like to have bipolar disorder?

The extreme mood swings can range in severity from mild to severe, where hospitalization is necessary. The bouts of depression or mania can last for hours, days, weeks, or even months.

Depressive episodes are characterized by trouble sleeping, lack of motivation, and feelings of hopelessness and emptiness. Patients may turn to substances like alcohol or drugs to ease their pain or to try and escape from it. Severe depressive bouts can even bring about thoughts of suicide or self-harm.

During a manic episode, you may feel jumpy and agitated. You feel full of energy and that you can do many things without ever getting tired. Your appetite for pleasurable activities, like sex and food, heightens. Severe manic episodes can lead to rash decisions that you later regret, like overspending or overconsumption.

A lack of sleep, a change of seasons, certain medications, and hormonal changes can trigger these mood swings. Being bipolar is not a choice. It’s caused by chemical changes in your brain that you cannot control. 

Do I need support for bipolar disorder?

If you have bipolar disorder, getting proper treatment helps prevent damage that the disorder can inflict on your relationships, employment, finances, and day-to-day life.

You may need encouragement from family and friends to get support for bipolar disorder. When you’re in a manic state, you feel on top of the world, and therapy seems unnecessary. During periods of depression, you’re so low that seeking help seems pointless and impossible. 

If you struggle with bipolar disorder, treatment is essential to your long-term mental health. Mood swings hamper your enjoyment of life and, with time, may worsen. Treatment can help prevent permanent harm to your health, financial well-being, and relationships.

How do you treat bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder treatment at Solid Foundation Psychiatry is customized to you. You benefit from psychotherapy that helps you understand your behaviors and triggers. The therapists also offer medication consultations to determine if you would benefit from drugs to help regulate the neurotransmitters in your brain and stabilize your mood. 

Contact Solid Foundation Psychiatry today to schedule an appointment to help you manage your mood swings associated with bipolar disorder. Call today or use the online tool to set up your telehealth session.