World Bipolar Day is celebrated each year on March 30th, the birthday of Vincent Van Gogh, who was posthumously diagnosed as having bipolar disorder.
Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder:
- Feeling sad, hopeless or irritable most of the time.
- Lacking energy.
- Difficulty concentrating and remembering things.
- Loss of interest in everyday activities.
- Feelings of emptiness or worthlessness.
- Feelings of guilt and despair.
- Feeling pessimistic about everything.
- Self-doubt.
Bipolar disorder is treated with medications to stabilize mood. If the mood stabilizers do not fully manage the symptoms, other medications may be added to help calm the mania or ease the depression.
Along with mood stabilizers, psychotherapy is recommended to help the person develop appropriate and workable coping strategies to deal with everyday stressors and to increase medication compliance.