World Bipolar Disorder Day is an initiative of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD). The aim of the campaign is to increase awareness and acceptance of the disease, eliminate social stigma and furthermore, promote excellence in its clinical care and research funding.
The date is celebrated on March 30, in reference to the birth of the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, posthumously diagnosed as a probable carrier of the disorder.
According to the Ministry of Health, it is estimated that the global prevalence of bipolar disorder is 1% to 2%, reaching 5% of the world population. Data from 2019 from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that the problem reached about 140 million people worldwide. The disease affects more young people, especially between 15 and 25 years. However, the last epidemiological study pointed to a late peak between 45 and 55 years.
Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder that causes abnormal changes in mood, energy and activity levels. In addition, it affects the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. The condition is considered one of the leading causes of disability.
Psychiatrist Jessica Martani, a specialist in human behavior and mental health, listed 10 facts about bipolar disorder that everyone needs to know. Check out:
1. It’s a disease, not just a mood swing
Bipolarity is a disease in which some areas of the brain (responsible for mood, energy, impulse, thought and movement) suffer deregulation, leading to changes in the behavior of individuals, explains the expert.
2. Has nothing to do with personality or character
It is a brain neurochemical dysregulation, which changes the way a person behaves throughout life. The condition has motivation in the way the brain is working.
3. There are different types and degrees
Type I bipolar disorder (classic form that alternates manic periods with depression) is rare, and affects around 1% of cases. However, type II bipolar disorder (the form in which depressive disorder and short periods of mania predominate) are much more common, around 5 to 8%, points out the doctor.
But, in contrast, cases of bipolar II disorder suffer from an average of 15 years of misdiagnosis. This is because they are treated like classic depression, with successive treatments that can aggravate the disease.
4. They can be very irritable
A minority of patients with bipolar disorder alternate periods of sadness (depression) with periods of joy (euphoria). Most have periods of depression and others of aggressive irritability (anger, hatred, hostility, psychomotor agitation and often alterations in sense perception, for example), details the psychiatrist.
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