Introduction
Everyone, in one day or another feels uncomfortable. This feeling might persist for several days. This situation is what is referred to as depression. The problem interferes with person’s way of life and mar lead to one not being able to relate well with his or her family or even to carry out his duties at place of work. When a person suffers from depression, it does not affect only the victim rather it affects even those people that relate with the victim. There are various disorders that are attributed to depression. These include unipolar and bipolar disorders. Early identification of symptoms associated with these disorders can facilitate in the treatment of the depression. This paper is endeavored at looking at some of the differences between unipolar and bipolar disorders, their symptoms and how they are treated.
Unipolar disorder
Unipolar disorder also called clinical depression is a serious form of disorder. The disorder is found to be more prevalent in women than men. It leads to one not being interested in normal activities as well as feeling unhappy. The victim suffers from eating and sleeping problems (Bright, 2010, Par. 2). People suffering from the disorder no longer enjoy things they used to enjoy and they sometimes detach themselves from the society. Failure to respond to this disorder on time might lead to the victim committing suicide, breakup in relationships or even the victim loosing his or her job.
Causes of unipolar disorder
Causes of this type of disorder are not clearly identified. However, there are speculations that the disorder results from disruption in the neural system, trauma, social anxiety, panic and even general anxiety. If a person works under bad working conditions, he or she might develop some sort of stress. If this stress continues for a long time, they might lead to one getting into the stage of depression. It has also been found that most of the reported cases of people suffering from unipolar disorders result from people whose relatives or even parents once suffered from the same. This has led to the assumption that the disorders can also be genetically inherited. Social conditions such as poverty, unemployment and working for a meager salary can also lead to unipolar disorder.
Symptoms of unipolar disorder
Depending on the severity of the disorder, symptoms may vary from person to person. Some of the most common symptoms for a patient suffering from this disorder are the inability of the victim to get focused and to make sound decisions. The patient becomes nervous, anxious and is often irritated. The person develops flat emotional behavior and most of the time complains of felling tired. The disorder brings about complications in eating and sleeping habits. A victim may take long before falling asleep or sleep for more hours than usual. There is a decrease in sexual desire among the victims. The victim is unable to perform when it comes to sexual activities and might feel not attracted to people of the opposite sex (Bright, 2010, Par. 3).
Treatment of unipolar disorder
Treatment of unipolar disorders entails psychotherapy interventions and use of antidepressants. Psychotherapy treatment involves addressing emotional, personality, psychiatric and behavioral problems through counseling persons suffering from the disorder. Antidepressant treatment entails administering drugs to the patient that would help him or her overcome the problems associated with the disorder. This includes use of tricyclic antidepressant.
Bipolar disorders
Bipolar disorder also referred as manic-depression is a disorder that affects brains causing odd changes in activity level, mood and ability to do work within the patient. The disorder might result in the victim opting to commit suicide, poor performance at workplace or even at school (Read, 2007, Par. 1). However if the disorder is recognized at early stage, it can be treated restoring the normal way of life to the patient.
Causes of bipolar disorder
Causes of bipolar disorder are categorized as biological and psychological causes. On biological causes, a research has shown that persons hailing from a family that has members suffering from the disorder, they are also likely to suffer from the same. This implies that it can be inherited. Stress is another factor that causes bipolar disorder.
Symptoms of bipolar disorder
Some of the symptoms portrayed by persons suffering from bipolar disorder include odd deep emotional state in different times referred as mood episodes. The victim shows an extreme change in behavior, working and sleeping mode.
Treatment of bipolar disorder
Currently there is no cure for bipolar disorder though proper treatment helps the patient manage changes in their mood and other problems. People suffering from the disorder require long-term treatment as the disorder is recurrent. Some of the medications used to treat bipolar disorder include mood stabilizing medication, antidepressant medications and antipsychotic medications (Read, 2007, Par. 4).
Differences between unipolar and bipolar disorders
Difference between the disorders is normally identified by their symptoms (Ketcham, 2009, Par. 2).The table below outlines some of their differences.
Reference list
Bright, P. (2010).The Causes of Unipolar Depression. Web.
Ketcham, S. (2009).Unipolar Vs. Bipolar Depression.
Read, K. (2007).What Causes Bipolar Disorder?