Back and forth the extremes

My partner had been acting very differently lately. He suddenly became this overconfident person, bragging, fighting with others, recklessly spending, constantly on the run, not requiring sleep. There came a stage where our relationship began to fall apart due to his out of the blue use of drugs, and even infidelity. Upon seeking professional help, he was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder. I want to know more about this and how I can possibly help him out in his journey to heal?

Your partner is lucky to have someone who cares and wishes to be a part of their wellness process. March 30 each year is celebrated as World Bipolar Day — a day to bring awareness and decrease the stigma of affected persons. This is also the birthday of Vincent Van Gogh, who was posthumously diagnosed as probably having a bipolar condition. Previously, bipolar disorder was often described as manic depression. Nowadays, popular jargons like "Oh! I am so bipolar" or "I constantly have mood swings" can often be misleading and cause many individuals to self-diagnose themselves with the disease. In reality, bipolar affective disorder affects about every two to three out of 100 people.

Bipolar affective disorder is characterised by extreme mental and behavioural changes from one's usual baseline. There can be a pendulum swing from manic and overly excited states to depressive states within weeks to days or even hours in a few cases.

Depressive features: The low pole occurs with or without a cause and may last for days at an end. It leads to:

Low mood, and inability to experience happiness, joy.

Feeling helpless, hopeless, guilty and inadequate.

Changes in sleep patterns and sleeping more than normal but feeling tired and sluggish all the time.

Changes in eating patterns.

Lack of productivity, crying spells, lack of motivation.

Experiencing thoughts of suicide and death.

Manic/hypomanic features: This is the high/up pole that may begin all of a sudden and last at least a week or more. The individuals usually don't have insight into their condition themselves. Those around them may observe a severe disruption in their life. Manic features include:

Mood changes with feelings of euphoria, creativity, and heightened awareness.

Mood may be elated or instable.

Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity.

Decreased need for sleep.

Rapid speech, racing of ideas and over-creativity.

Restlessness, inability to sit at a place and distractibility.

Reckless behaviour, sexually demanding, reacting in an extreme manner, substance abuse etc.

How does one begin to heal? Each case is different from others. It all starts with acknowledging the issue at hand and meeting the right mental health specialist – a psychiatrist. On evaluation, a variety of modes of treatment ranging from pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy to lifestyle modification are offered.

What can you do for your partner?

Ensure they visit their doctor regularly and take their medication on time.

Avoid using harsh terms about the disorder.

Therapy – Participate in their individual and family therapy

Group therapy – It is a great place to connect with other families whose member(s) are battling the same disorder.

Mood charting – Help your partner take charge of their mood.

Exercise with them and help them stay clean from addictions.

Movies to watch:

'The Silver Lining Playbook' & 'Infinitely Polar Bear'.

Send your questions to [email protected]