Is Your Child Dealing
Are you caring for your child with suspected or diagnosed Bipolar Disorder?
This experience can be overwhelming and isolating and can take a toll on you. To help you understand what your child is going through and how you can help yourself as the primary caregiver, we have prepared some information about Bipolar Disorder in children.
What is Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar Disorder or Bipolar Affective Disorder is a chronic mental health condition or a recurring condition that affects the mood of a person and makes them behave outside their character – between mania and depression. Bipolar Disorder, as the term suggests, more accurately describes the cycling of moods that is experienced by the person between the two poles of ‘high’ or elevated mood and ‘low’ or depressed mood.
The elevated mood is also referred to as mania, a period of elevated, expansive or irritable mood, high energy levels and inappropriate behaviours. In children, this constant switching of moods can cause significant problems in familial and social relationships. It can also impede the growth of your child, especially during Early-Onset Bipolar Disorder which happens for children as young as age 5.
Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder in Children
Early-Onset Bipolar Disorder refers to children experiencing Bipolar symptoms as young as 5 years old. Unlike adults that may feel euphoria when they are in their ‘high’ mood, children will be irritable or prone to destructive outbursts and then spiral down to being depressed and withdrawn during their ‘low’ mood.
A person with Bipolar I will have extreme manic states, their behaviour quickly escalates and their mania is likely to require hospitalisation.
Bipolar II is considered more common; their manic symptoms are less severe and cause less impairment for the individual. In Bipolar II these episodes are referred to as hypomania.
Bipolar Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) is another diagnosis but of a milder form of Bipolar Disorder whose mood episodes do not last as long or be as severe as symptoms from Bipolar I and II.
In Children, a manic (high mood) episode can include the following symptoms:
- Feeling overly confident or extremely euphoric
- Less need for sleep
- Excessive talkativeness
- Racing thoughts and easily distracted
- Disjointed or distorted thinking
- Symptoms of psychosis such as hallucinations and delusions
- Decreased ability to make sound or rational decisions
- Increased focus on goal-directed activity
- Loss of interest in things they usually enjoy
In a depressive state (low mood), a child with a Bipolar Disorder will experience the opposite of mania:
- Low, sad or pessimistic mood
- Difficulty making decisions
- Uninterested in performing everyday tasks
- Uninterested in activities they once found pleasurable
- Disruptive sleep and sometimes Insomnia
- Loss of appetite
- Recurrent thought of death and suicide
What causes Bipolar Disorder?
Several factors may contribute to a person developing Bipolar Disorder such as genetics or hormonal problems. Some studies show that 6% of children with a parent experiencing Bipolar Disorder will also develop the condition (Boston Children’s Hospital). Environmental factors such as abuse, trauma, mental stress, significant loss or substance misuse can also trigger Bipolar Disorder. Neurotransmitters, mainly serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine also affects the brain’s chemical disposition and likely cause Bipolar Disorder.
Diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar Disorder can develop at a very young age and impede children’s growth. If not properly addressed, they can carry this mental health condition to adolescence and through to adulthood.
Other symptoms from childhood disorders like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder can also display Bipolar-like qualities in children but are not necessarily part of the diagnosis for Bipolar Disorder. As such, it is necessary to get your child to a Pediatric GP or a Psychiatrist that specialises in helping children to get professional medical help that can determine how to properly aid your child.
A diagnosis involves systematic interviews alongside ruling out other behavioural and mental health conditions. For children to be diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, they must experience constant or periodical extreme mood changes on most days for at least 6 months.
Treatments of Bipolar Disorder
Get the help your child needs through an early diagnosis. Typically, bipolar disorder is treated with a combination of three different types of medication; a mood-stabilizing drug, antipsychotics and anti-depressants. However, with children experiencing Bipolar Disorder, drugs and other medication should be carefully assessed and be part of a multidimensional treatment to not impede their mental, physical and social growth. Seek the help of a GP or a Psychiatrist specialising in treating children with mental health conditions to carefully design a Bipolar Disorder treatment plan for your child.
How to help your Child with Bipolar Disorder
It can be very hard for parents to see their children experience Bipolar Disorder especially at such an early stage in their life. The best way to help your child is to bring them to a GP or Psychiatrist to seek professional help as early as possible. You can also turn to a mental health phone line or browse online for mental health services to know the steps that you’ll need to take.
Though it can be hard to connect with your child, especially one experiencing a mental health condition such as Bipolar Disorder, there are simple ways how you can help your child aside from finding them the professional doctor they need. As a parent, you can offer a listening ear and let them know you are there for them especially during their manic and depressive moods. Giving affirmations and positivity is also a good way to let your child know that everything will be alright and that you will always support them no matter what happens.
How to help yourself
Seeing your child experience Bipolar Disorder can be very painful but it can also be a stressful and frustrating experience for you. Supporting them and giving assurance every day can also take its toll and leave you exhausted especially if you find it hard to connect with your child. But you don’t have to go through it alone.
HelpingMinds® offers free and confidential support to people who are caring for someone living with mental health challenges. We have programs that specifically cater to parents or guardians of children experiencing mental health conditions. We also offer free counselling, support groups, rest and revive activities, school holiday programs, family programs, youth programs and advocacy to people living in WA.
Get Support from HelpingMinds®
Would you like to know more about free and confidential mental health carer services and how we can support you? Please feel free to contact HelpingMinds® via the form below or on (08) 9427 7100. For one of our team to get back to you, we will require your email address and/or phone number. Please know all information provided will be treated completely confidential and in line with our privacy policy.
