As with all illnesses, the one involving bipolar disorder can lead to serious consequences when no treatment is given.
Major problems that result include:
- problems that come from alcohol and drug use/abuse;
- situations in which the person may attempt or enact suicide;
- legal or economic problems caused by improper choices;
- couple relationships compromised by the clinical manifestations of pathology;
- Problems due to poor academic performance;
- removal or loss of employment.
From the clinical point of view, it should be mentioned that sometimes bipolar disorder may be accompanied by some pre-existing conditions that may aggravate an already quite serious condition, with more intense symptoms, for which the applied therapy may yield results of lesser effectiveness.
But which ones are the most present?
- Anxiety disorder;
- issues in the food sphere;
- Overweight and obesity;
- diabetes;
- headaches;
- attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD);
- Problems derived from ‘alcohol or drug use or abuse;
- heart disease;
- Thyroid dysfunction.
Some of these diseases already present in the patient with bipolar disorder, especially those related to the ‘neuro-psychiatric field, are related conditions that may have overlapping symptoms and behavior in common, such as of anxiety disorder or in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, where the patient may present with symptoms such as difficulty concentrating or anxiety crisis, symptoms found in all of these conditions.
And again in cases of psychotic patients, with symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations, definitely present in psychosis as a consequence of a depressive crisis, in some cases also present in bipolar disorder when the mood swing is in the depressive phase.
However, behavioral differences differ as do those related to the complexity of symptoms, elements that do not escape the specialist’s considerations.
A targeted therapeutic approach to the treatment of bipolar disorder based on the care prescribed by the psychiatric specialist cannot disregard specific treatment of pre-existing and concurrent conditions as well, for the achievement of clinical results of symptom containment and patient improvement.
