Stress: Big Factor in Bipolar Disorder

Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones’s recent announcement of a stint in a mental health facility to seek treatment for bipolar disorder has shed much-needed spotlight on the illness.

Mental health advocates are lauding Zeta-Jones for her bravery and for her honest depiction of what recovery may entail.

Poking around the internet would yield a lot of results for what the disorder is all about, from its symptoms, its diagnosis to its treatment.

One will notice, though, that researchers can’t pinpoint one exact cause for a person to have it, citing instead that it’s almost always a combination of a number of things plus genetics, since the sickness tends to run in families.

But one thing they are sure of is what triggers it.

Stress, they say is a big factor. Zeta-Jones’s publicist backed this up by claiming that it’s the main reason the actress sought help in the first place.

In her case, there was much stress involved during her husband’s battle with cancer in addition to a current lawsuit tied up in court regarding film earnings.

She suffers from bipolar disorder II which is said to be “less severe” than bipolar I, where mood swings are not quite as serious and mania isn’t quite as high, but is strong enough to be a cause for concern.

Admittedly, stressful occurrences happen a lot in a person’s life, but for one with a “genetic vulnerability to the disorder,” stressful events can’t be cured by deep breaths alone; it can trigger a full-blown manic-depressive attack, which would need more serious treatment.

Which is quite possibly what happened in Zeta-Jones’s case, researchers speculate.

Luckily for her, she has enough resources to seek the best course of treatment so one hopes she makes a recovery soon.

Source: http://mb.com.ph

Tweet

Read more...