Bipolar Disorder In Children
Recent studies have concluded that Bipolar disorders do affect children as well. It is difficult to diagnose in children and youth, as the symptoms do not match exactly those of adults with the same disorder. Also, the symptoms can be misinterpreted for normal behavioral changes in adolescents and children that come with age. However, bipolar disorders can really wreck the lives of children at school, at home, and any other place.
Treating bipolar disorders in children is a dicey business as they are fragile and their brains are still developing. Anti-depressants have to be prescribed with care as they can result in mania, which is very destructive. Mood stabilizers are required in this regard so as to keep the mood of the children as stable as possible.
Bipolar disorder in children is quite common, and not as rare as it was thought as before. Around 6-8% of children suffer from this disorder, and most of the parents have no idea that their children are suffering from this.
Bipolar disorder is quite common in children whose parents are bipolar disorder as well. In 80% of the cases, this disorder is genetic and inherited from parents or other relatives. I recently heard of this case where a 5 year old had all the symptoms of Bipolar disorder but it wasn’t diagnosed. People assumed all kinds of things, like bad parenting, ADHD, abuse before it was diagnosed correctly after 3 years. And both the parents suffered from Bipolar disorder. If it had been diagnosed earlier, it would have been good for the child.
Unlike adults, when children are manic, they might be irritated and prone to outbursts whereas adults experience elation and grandiosity. When they are depressed, children might complain of headaches, cramps, stomach aches, wanting to take leave from school, tiredness, complaining etc.
Once Bipolar disorder in children has been diagnosed, there are some standard treatments that are used, based mainly on adult responses. These involve mood stabilizers like lithium and valproate along with anti-depressants. Newer methods are also being researched, namely behaviour-cognital therapy, which complements the medicines and helps the children leads a more normal life. These are very useful for preventing future mania and for reducing the reoccurrence of depressive and manic cycles.
One of the major hurdles faced in diagnosing Bipolar disorder patients is that they are often confused with ADHD. The treatment also has many side effects. The drugs cause many children to gain weight very fast, compounding their misery. Some medicines have also led to a rapid increase in blood sugar leading to diabetes.
It needs to be seen however, that children talking of dying, or committing suicide be taken to a doctor immediately, as this problem can manifest itself in many different ways that parents cannot control.
Moreover, though adults developing Bipolar Disorder later in life can lead a quite normal and successful life, it is not so easy for children. Bipolar disorder gets progressively worse with time and children often compound their problems over time.