Bipolar Disorder: a Quest for Understanding

Bipolar Disorder: A Quest for Understanding


Psychology is an ever expanding field that has grown to encompass several different issues. These issues range from subjects concerning human behavior and why humans behave the way they do, as well as what causes a person to develop a psychological disorder that effect their behavior. There are several psychological disorders and with each disorder comes a variety of causes and effects that psychologist devote their life to studying. One of the more complex psychological disorders is bipolar disorder. According to Myers (2011), “Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania” (p.481). When a person who has bipolar disorder reaches the manic phase, they are “typically over talkative, overactive and elated” (Myers, 2011, p. 481). However, what goes up must come down and once the person reaches the peak manic state, eventually they reach the depressive state. Myers (2011) states that “Though bipolar disorder is much less common that major depressive disorder, it is often more dysfunctional” (p. 482). This mood disorder can be classified into four types that include: Bipolar I, Bipolar II, Cyclothymic Disorder and Bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (“Using APA”, 2010). As with most psychological disorders, there is still much that we do not understand. However, based on research that combines understanding of the patients and symptoms as well as potential causes, bipolar disorder is a result of biological factors as well as environmental factors and with proper treatment can be controlled.
One of the contributing pieces of bipolar disorder is biological factors. When discussing bipolar disorder, the most prevalent biological factor is genetics. Myers (2011) stated, “We have long known that mood disorders run in families” (p.484). In fact, the likelihood that a person will develop bipolar disorder is much...