Symptoms of manic depressive

Manic depressive disorder, also called bipolar disorder, is common in our society. It appears to mainly occur in creative people such as writers or artists. Someone with manic depressive symptoms can be in a manic period or in a depressive period. How do you recognize someone with manic depression and how can you best respond?

• Symptoms of depressive period
• Symptoms of manic period
• Dealing with manic depressives
• Therapies for manic depression

Symptoms of depressive period

If you recognize a large number of the symptoms below, this means that depression exists. This does not mean that you are manic depressive. This is only the case when many symptoms of the manic period also exist in other periods. Below are some symptoms that can arise during a depressive period:

• A constant feeling of emptiness
• A constant feeling of fear
• A constant feeling of gloom
• Little or no hope for a better future
• A lot of feelings of guilt
• Much more insecure about yourself than in normal periods
• Don’t feel like doing anything / don’t feel like doing activities
• Appointments are not kept or are rescheduled
• Little or no energy
• Very quick to step on toes / easily irritated
• Eating pattern deviates from normal eating pattern, you eat more or less
• Very difficult to maintain rhythms in life, such as a sleeping pattern
• There are sleeping problems, you sleep too long or too short
• Extreme thoughts such as suicide or death
• Lots of feelings of worthlessness
• Lots of feelings of helplessness

Symptoms of manic period

Someone can only be called manic depressive if, in addition to the depressive period, he/she also experiences another period called a manic period. This period is often opposite to the depressive period, they are often opposites. As you can see from the symptoms below, a manic period does not automatically mean a ‘good’ period, because there are also many unpleasant symptoms during the manic period.

• Very active, and have difficulty sitting still
• You feel very happy, without often realizing where this happiness comes from
• Because you are very active, you often experience concentration problems, you want too much at the same time
• Suffering from chaotic thoughts that often alternate
• Suddenly people talk faster and you are busier
• You think you need little or no sleep
• Increased libido (Greater need for sexuality)
• Your impulsiveness is increased, you act more on your feelings
• Your judgment is impaired
• More aggressive behavior may occur
• You become pushy, you want to get your way
• You gain more confidence in yourself or something else
• You quickly feel irritated
• You tend to use more alcohol or other narcotics such as drugs and medication

If you show a large number of symptoms from both lists in different periods of your life, there is a good chance that you suffer from manic depression.

Dealing with manic depressives

When a manic depressive person is in the depressive phase, it is best to use the following tips to deal with this person.

• Maintain a calm attitude
• Maintain a friendly and professional attitude
• Speak in a calm voice
• Try to create an environment with as few external stimuli as possible
• Only talk about one topic at a time
• Try to create a structure for this person, draw up a program together
• Ensure sufficient rest periods
• Try to evaluate the established program occasionally
• Put agreements on paper and repeat them again

Therapies for manic depression

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is a talk therapy that focuses on emotions. Through this talk therapy you will try to understand your own emotions better, which will give you a better picture of your condition. Sources that can be looked at are the client’s youth, the influences of the client’s environment, and gaining new insights about yourself. Cognitive therapists often also try to change negative views you have about yourself or your environment.

Electroconvulsive therapy

This therapy is also called ECT for short. This therapy is not used much nowadays as many people experience it as negative. This therapy is also known as electroshock therapy. With this therapy you are put under anesthesia after which electric shocks to the brain create a memory loss of the past 6 – 12 months. However, this only works if, for example, you have experienced something bad recently.

Light therapy

This method is widely used in people who are manic depressive. Manic depressive people often become very depressed during the winter months because they have a shortage of daylight. With light therapy you are exposed to a special light for several hours every day, which makes you less depressed.