With the ups and downs that are associated with bipolar
disorder (sometimes referenced as manic depressive disorder
in more recent times), it's understandable that the patient
might want to find a medication that can help to keep
things more level. Instead of having the extreme highs and
lows, the patient can manage their disorder and live a
healthy and normal life. In recent years, the idea of
additional medications and natural remedies to handle this
diagnosis has been discussed - with surprising answers.
What is Bipolar Disorder?
When the brain is unable to regular the chemicals in the
brain that affect mood, the patient can experience wide
variations in their temperament. The 'ups' include
euphoric feelings in which the patient is energetic, happy,
and feels as though they can accomplish anything. They will
often not eat as much, they will sleep little, and they
will be very productive. However, when the brain chemistry
changes, the 'downs' create depressive states in which the
world seems lonely. The patient may be sad or angry as
well as begin to isolate themselves from the world. In
some 'downs,' the patient can begin to have suicidal
thoughts along with fatigue, changes in eating habits and
crying spells.
What's hard about bipolar disorder is that there is so
little known about the chemistry in the brain that it's
hard to determine how to control these chemicals. While
this condition is not difficult to diagnose anymore, the
medication and therapies that are tried can be successful
for a time and then stop working as they once did. This
may be due to another shift in the brain's chemistry or the
body simply building up a resistance to the medications
themselves.
A lifelong disorder, bipolar disorder can lead to major
life disruptions as swings in mood can lead to erratic and
harmful behaviours that need to result in hospitalisations.
Once the moods are stabilised again, the patient is free
to leave the hospital, but the cycles can repeat again and
again.
How is Bipolar Disorder Traditionally Treated?
While the individual cases of bipolar disorder and
treatments vary, there are a few common therapies that are
used more commonly:
Mood stabilisers
Anti-psychotic medications
Anti-depressants
Psychotherapy
Acute hospitalisation
Outpatient therapy
With medications like mood stabilisers, the mood can be
greatly regulated over the long term. Medications like
lithium are widely prescribed, but they have side effects
that can be detrimental to the long term health of the
patient. Other medications need to be closely monitored in
the bloodstream as they can affect the liver and other
organs if too highly concentrated. Other medications like
anti-psychotics and anti-depressants are only used in short
term therapies as a sort of bridge out of the mania or the
depressive state.
Talking therapies can be beneficial when used in
conjunction with medication therapy, but by itself, this
does not address the brain chemistry malfunctions.
Hospitalisation is a fair way to address the change in
brain chemistry, but the treatment is only for issues in
which the patient is suicidal and harmful to themselves and
to others.
What are the Studies Saying?
That said, there are some promising studies that are
linking the use of fish oil and success with bipolar
disorder patients. In 1999, a controlled study used fish
oil and the placebo of olive oil to see how patients with
bipolar disorder responded. Results showed that moods
stabilisation was possible with the use of fish oil, often
helping to promote the same cellular reactions as lithium
and other medications.
Another statistical analysis of countries that eat diets
high in fish and fish oil showed that these countries had
much lower rates or mood related disorders.
How to Increase Fish Oil Levels in the Body
The good news is that adding fish oil and essential fatty
acids to the diet is a relatively simple process. With a
number of fatty fishes to choose from, it's simple to add
two to three servings of these essential nutrients to your
diet each week. However, with rising pollution counts in
the water, scientists are wary of suggesting human
consumption of anything more than two to three servings a
week. Higher mercury levels in the water can damage the
body and cause toxicity in the bloodstream.
Essential fatty acids can also be found in non-fish sources
like flaxseed, nuts, and seeds. Many more food choices are
also being fortified with Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids,
so it's easier than ever to add these to the diet.
However, finding the time to prepare fish and to find these
products can be difficult. To help make this step easier,
fish oil supplements are also available. They provide
concentrated amounts of essential fatty acids in a
convenient form. In addition, they don't contain the high
levels of mercury.
Conclusion
While dealing with mental illness requires several
different approaches to therapy, adding fish oil seems to
be the easier step toward more stable moods and a much more
stable life.
----------------------------------------------------
Dave McEvoy is an expert in omega 3 fish oil EPA with over
20 years experience; for more information about fish oil
and how it can help come and visit. http://www.mind1st.co.uk
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