Diagnosing and Treating Bipolar Disorder

1. Diagnosing and
Treating Bipolar
Disorder

2. Diagnosing
andTreating
Bipolar
Disorder
Serving the Chicago community, Hartgrove Hospital offers a full
range of psychiatric health care programs designed to help people
achieve emotional balance and move toward a stable future.
Hartgrove Hospital’s veteran clinicians often work with adolescents
who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.This serious
condition involves major shifts in energy from extreme happiness
and sociability to extreme withdrawal and anxiety.

3. Diagnosing
andTreating
Bipolar
Disorder
Researchers believe that bipolar disorder, which has been linked to
genetics, is also caused by faulty neurotransmitters and biological
abnormalities.The condition cycles in manic and depressed
phases, which often alternate in extended periods ranging from
days to months. Mixed episodes can occur when these mood
alterations take place in quick succession, or when both manic and
depressed elements are present at the same time.

4. Diagnosing
andTreating
Bipolar
Disorder
Treatment typically begins with medications such as
antidepressants and mood stabilizers and extends to psychiatric
therapy in a hospital setting. Even after the illness is managed,
maintenance treatment plays a vital role in ensuring that daily mood
swings do not transform into extended bouts of depression or
mania.