A symptom of depression can be anxiety, but a person can also have a co-morbid (meaning simultaneously occurring) anxiety disorder that is a separate entity from their depression. Some anxiety disorders that can occur with depression are Panic Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Social Phobia and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is not uncommon […]
Multiple Medications Common in Bipolar Disorder
At the International Conference on Bipolar Disorder, Dr. Rasmus Licht of Denmark reported on a study of 155 adult patients with bipolar disorder. The patients were treated with lithium and lamotragine (lamictal). They found lamictal tended to be more effective in patients whose index episode was depression and lithium was better for patients whose index […]
Not All Mood Swings are Bipolar Disorder
I sometimes hear people ask “one minute I feel down, the next minute I’m really happy, am I manic depressive?” Bipolar disorder or manic depression is a mood disorder whereby a person has discreet episodes of depression or mania. The index episode is a term used to define the first episode. If a person’s index […]
Is it me or my illness?
Individuals with an disorder such as bipolar disorder can behave in ways that make them question whether their actions are part of their personality or part of their illness. For example, two common symptoms with bipolar disorder are hypersexuality and hyperreligiousity. However, defining what is “hyper” is not always an easy task. It can be very […]
Am I Depressed or Just Not Manic?
Sometimes it’s difficult for bipolar patients to tell when they are in a depressed mode or if they have simply lost their manic high. For many, mania can be a very destructive phase, but for some, mania or hypomania (milder form of mania) can feel very good and be a very productive time. Sometimes this […]