By Abhishek Agarwal -
Bipolar disorder was once only seen in adults but studies are showing children also get the manic depressive illness. The only issue is many of the kids are being diagnosed as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) Though now many researchers and doctors are realizing that bipolar is rearing its ugly self in childhood along in adolescence.
The early the diagnosis is made in children, the better their chances of having successful treatments and living inhibited lives that would otherwise be full of chaos. It seems though that anything doing with children is full of controversy. Medicating children with bipolar is not without its debates. Many doctors feel with medication (which is given first) along with talk therapy will work. However, many parents along with psychologists disagree with this method.
It seems that as soon as parents realize their child is on medication that the child loses some of his or her personality.. a sense of who they are that parents seem to love. It’s not true actually. Anytime a person is medicated or overly medicated, they do not lose a sense of who they are. However, it can be said that medications can make some children “spacey” or just plain “out of it”. This of course causes concern among the parents and doctors, making them questions if medicine is actually necessary and if the child is better off without any.
An effective therapy for children is play therapy especially for children with bipolar disorder. These children tend to live better childhoods. Play therapy typically places the child in certain “pretend” situations where they must have a logically and emotionally healthy solution. Play therapy is good for some children but not so good in others. In certain bipolar children, the mood swings are so strong that the child cannot control both their emotional reactions and other actions to situations.
A new therapy being introduced is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The therapy centers on the patient learning to recognize bipolar symptoms, what triggers it and inappropriate behaviors that go along with it. It also comes up with alternatives to that “bad” behavior. This therapy allows the patient to discover for themselves what they can do to avoid manic or depressive episodes and how to effectively manage it. For adults, this is a good option… for children, however, it is still quite new. This therapy does work well with medicine therapy.
Cognitive therapy requires some level of resolving crisis and vital thinking that does not occur in children typically. For that reason, it is not used a lot in children under certain age guidelines and their maturity level. Some researchers say if the cognitive and behavioral therapy had some changes and were geared toward children, that it could work. This can prove difficult to do however.
No matter the end result, childhood treatment options should be discussed with their doctor, psychiatrists, psychologists, parents and teachers to come up with a livable and realistic treatment. Every person that child comes into contact should be aware of the process in order for it to be triumphant. Should they have concerns about what kind of effects it will have on the child or they see a difference in a bad result, they need to speak up when necessary. Parents should also not be afraid to change doctors if they feel their child is not getting the care and attention they need. The goal behind treatment is to get the child to live in society and function “normally” as the law says.
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