Bipolar Affective Disorder

These are the kind of things people with bipolar disorder might feel:

Very energetic, full of ideas, full of life, feeling they can do anything, flitting from one thing to another.

Low in mood.

Difficulty concentrating.

Sleep problems: sleeping too much or too little.

Explosions of anger, coming from nowhere.

They might take silly risks, thinking that they are ok.

They might think about harming themselves.

They might hear or see things that no-one else can, that are not really there.

They might have an unrealistic idea of what they are able to do.

Bipolar affective disorder usually affects people from 15 years onwards, although younger children can sometimes experience this.

For people who think they might have bipolar disorder it’s a good idea for them to speak to their GP. They may be referred to a specialist service called Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS for short).

You can find out more information about this service in the CAMHS section.

It’s a good idea to keep track of mood for a few weeks in a diary or using the Bipolar UK free mood tracker app.

This can be shown to a GP. It tends to take a while for services to work out what might be going on with any changes in mood so it is important to stick with an assessment period. Some young people find a diagnosis helpful and some can find taking specific medications helpful.

Problem solving

Sometimes there are things in our life that are stressing us out and affecting our mental health.

It can help to write them down and then brain storm some solutions / ways out of a problem and also work out which we should tackle first.

Asking for help

Don’t be afraid to ask for help from a trusted person, family and friends can be good sources of support, but helplines are always available day and night.

Samaritans: Whatever you're going through, call free any time, from any phone, on 116 123.

It helps if you can write down your thoughts and feelings and how they impact on how you behave. In some ways, it is about trying to get to know yourself really well and for you, and those around you, to be able to spot when your mood is going up or down. This helps you to spot early warning signs and triggers. But remember, everyone has up and down days - it’s part of being human.

Sometimes the thoughts we are having can make us feel worse ("I’m rubbish, I should have done that, I must do that, if I don’t do that I am a bad person"). Sometimes we need to challenge our thoughts and look at situations from different points of view. This can help us to come up with a new balanced thought.

We know that stress and lack of sleep can impact on bipolar symptoms. Sometimes living your best life is about living a life in balance - getting enough sleep, eating well, limiting alcohol / recreational drugs / caffeine, and managing stress.

Having the same routine every day is helpful to keep things predictable and reduce stress on the brain.

Exercise in moderation can be helpful with the management of stress.

It’s important to still socialise and do nice and interesting things and not hide yourself away.

When you’re feeling agitated it is important to do relaxing things: walking in nature, having a bath, listening to music.

More information on bipolar is available on the young minds website.