Does Your Child Have Bipolar Disorder?

How can you know that your child has a form of bipolar disorder?

As a matter of fact, there are no brain scans or blood tests to determine whether they have the illness. Your doctor may instead adopt simple techniques like asking your child about their learning, speech, sleeping and thinking.

Usually, close examinations of the symptoms reveal those that concur with the ones of bipolar disorder. In such a case, the treatment of the problem begins right away. The doctor will  look at the energy level fluctuations in your child, changes in their moods and sleeping patterns. It is also a formality for them to ask about the history of your family tree to determine the existence of disorder or any other mental illness in one of your family members.

However, there is a standard way of diagnosing the disease. Doctors ussually follow guidelines from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) to confirm and support their diagnosis.

Types of Bipolar Disorder

The illness manifests itself in four types. Experts reveal that earlier diagnosis gives an advantage when managing the condition. They include:

1. Bipolar 1 disorder

It is characterised by mixed episodes that can last up to one week. Sometimes, the manic episodes need immediate medical attention. In this case, depression is not excluded as it may take up to two weeks for symptoms to emerge fully.

2. Bipolar 2 disorder

This one is defined by full-blown manic episodes. In most cases, it begins with the hypomanic ones (mild manic experiences) that advance with time.

3. Bipolar disorder that is not otherwise specified

In this case, your child’s range of behaviour is clearly changing and it is obvious that they are not okay. This can happen within four days of observation of unusual behaviour. In this case, the condition does not meet the criteria of being Bipolar 1 or Bipolar 2 disorder.

4. Cyclothymia

This type arises when the child exhibits the mild form of manic episodes (hypomania) and mild depression. Usually, this can be experienced over a period of two years but cannot be diagnosed as any of the disorders described above.

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