If you think you have a bipolar disorder or one of your loved ones has it, seek your doctor’s help immediately. Bipolar disorder is a chronic illness which has its peak and lows, which varies in frequency and duration. The symptoms of this illness can be devastating if left unchecked and can complicate things more for the person suffering from it. The constant varying episodes can very well leave a massive impact on your life, affecting productivity and relationships.
If diagnosed with bipolar disorder, don’t lose hope as you can still recover from it. Stay in touch with your doctor to have discussions as to what could you do with the condition. The doctor might suggest a lot of treatments like medication, therapy, self-help techniques, and more. The love and support of your family should remain constant in this dire time.
As established, there are a plethora of things that you need to acquire for you to recover smoothly from this condition. Medication is not the only thing that you need to combat this illness alone; you need a firm support system that can root from your family and close friends, change lifestyle choices like transferring to more healthy eating habits, exercise, and therapy. If done correctly, you might reduce your dependence on medication alone.
Recovery from bipolar disorder does not happen instantly overnight. It is a series of varying degrees of improvement that you will experience throughout the process. Take note that bipolar disorder is a chronic illness, so you need to stay on medication and therapy all the time. It can be quite depressing, but the severity of the condition doesn’t stay high. With the right treatments, love, and support, the symptoms will eventually decrease, the duration will shorten, and the frequency will gradually be rare.
Get an Accurate Diagnosis from Your Trusted Doctor
The first step in your treatment is to get an accurate diagnosis from a doctor that you trust with your health. The symptoms of bipolar disorder and other mental disorder can be very similar. Many illnesses that have more or less similar symptoms include personality disorder, ADHD, and major depression. In most cases, a lot of people go to different doctors for a correct diagnosis, which would sometimes take a long time before correctly identifying the mental disorder.
Diagnostic Exam
There are mainly two parts in your diagnostic exam that doctors would do to diagnose you with the right disorder. Trained professionals can sometimes find it hard to distinguish which one you’re suffering from, so to be sure of it, they do diagnostic exams.
The first step to a diagnostic exam is what we call a psychological evaluation. The specialist will ask you questions that you need to answer like family history, symptoms, and treatments taken in the past.
The second step will be a physical and medical history exam. With this disorder, no lab tests will be given to you due to the nature of the illness. They still carry out physical exams, though, for them to distinguish any treatments that had been done into your body. They also do screenings for your thyroid, as thyroid disorders tend to have symptoms that are very much alike mental disorders.
Treatment for Bipolar Disorder
Once the doctor determined the illness and ruled out that you have bipolar disorder, he/she would then recommend treatments, medications, and therapies to combat the symptoms. With these options, you might go back to functioning properly in society like being productive, establishing relationships, and the like.
There are a plethora of drugs to choose from in the market, but it is still essential to follow the doctor’s prescription. One of them may be a medicine called perphenazine. It is your typical antipsychotic drug that is often used by doctors. It is acquirable with a Perphenazine coupon over the counter.
The doctor would also recommend you to a psychotherapist for a session or two. Psychotherapy deals with your struggles with the condition and will make you feel at ease with the illness. It also helps you cope with the illness overtime and would help you manage your thoughts and emotions.
But then, all of this will be for naught if you have bad eating habits. You should transfer to a healthier diet that would help uplift your overall mood. That should come with constant exercise and getting rid of your bad sleeping habits. Changing your whole lifestyle with a better one would be helpful for your condition.
Takeaway
You should not let the fear, stress, and grief take over your life. Over time, you will recover and be back to your productive life. As long as you always talk to your doctor and the ones that you love, everything will be fine and dandy.
