Periods of high stress, such as the death of a loved one or other traumatic event. Factors such as stress, lack of sleep, and even seasonal changes can influence the triggering of bipolar symptoms. Learn how you can reduce the risk of bipolar episodes and better manage your condition. Generally speaking, bipolar disorder develops as a result of a combination of genetic and environmental risk factors, such as childhood trauma or other period of high stress.
While the genetic factors of bipolar disorder are not yet fully understood, it's clear that there are a variety of triggers for bipolar episodes. Managing Bipolar Triggers Is Difficult, But It Can Be Done. The way to control bipolar triggers will vary from person to person, but the best way to prevent bipolar episodes is to control and minimize stress. But no gene is responsible for bipolar disorder.
Instead, several genetic and environmental factors are thought to act as triggers. A stressful circumstance or situation often triggers the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Avoid high-stress situations, maintain a healthy work-life balance, and try relaxation techniques such as meditation, yoga or deep breathing. Bipolar disorder doesn't have a single cause.
It seems that certain people are genetically predisposed to bipolar disorder, but not everyone with an inherited vulnerability develops the disease, indicating that genes are not the only cause. Some brain imaging studies show physical changes in the brain of people with bipolar disorder. Other research points to neurotransmitter imbalances, abnormal thyroid function, circadian rhythm disturbances, and high levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. Stressful life events can trigger bipolar disorder in a person with a genetic vulnerability.
These events tend to involve drastic or sudden changes, good or bad, such as getting married, going to college, losing a loved one, being fired, or moving. This treatment approach, available in group and individual sessions, helps you develop an orderly lifestyle program of sleep, diet and exercise habits, to be more effective in managing bipolar disorder. Rapid cycling can leave you feeling dangerously out of control and occurs more often if the symptoms of bipolar disorder aren't properly treated. Treatment for bipolar disorder can trigger episodes of mania by triggering unstable moods and behaviors.
Manic episodes are more common during the summer and depressive episodes are more common during the fall, winter, and spring. Living with bipolar disorder is challenging, but with treatment, healthy coping skills, and a strong support system, you can live fully while managing your symptoms. Because of overwhelming evidence that sleep is perhaps the strongest trigger for bipolar disorder, it is essential that people with bipolar disorder practice good sleep hygiene. Certain environmental and lifestyle factors can also trigger or aggravate extreme ups and downs, known as bipolar episodes, which are a hallmark of the condition.
Other people have a “rapid cycle” and experience very fast and intense alternate periods of depression and mania. If you or a loved one has problems with bipolar disorder, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment centers in your area. For bipolar II disorder, you must have had at least one major depressive episode and at least one hypomanic episode, but never experienced a manic episode. The main difference between bipolar disorder and conditions such as depression is the possibility of experiencing the state of excessive arousal called mania, says Dr.
Amit Anand, Professor of Medicine at Lerner College of Medicine, Vice President of Research for the Center for Behavioral Health and Director of the Lifelong Emotional and Mood Disorders Program, All at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Despite many similarities, certain symptoms are more common in bipolar depression than in regular depression. Do everything you can to manage stress, sleep well, and avoid alcohol or any other substance, and work with your doctor to find the best strategies for managing bipolar disorder. Early in their course, episodes of depression or mania in bipolar disorder seem to be most often triggered by stressful life events.
The first manic or depressive episode of bipolar disorder usually occurs in adolescence or early adulthood. . .
