Bipolar Disorder Treatment

If you notice bipolar disorder symptoms in yourself or in someone close to you, don’t wait to seek professional guidance. If left untreated, bipolar disorder can have negative effects on your relationships, career, and health. Additionally, bipolar disorder is a chronic and relapsing^[28] illness that requires continuous monitoring and medication to prevent new episodes. Once you seek help from your healthcare provider, you can greatly reduce your chances of experiencing these negative effects, since the disorder is highly treatable with the right plan from your provider. Your healthcare provider may recommend a combination of medication and therapy to treat your bipolar disorder. It is possible you may need more than one medication to keep all symptoms well-controlled. Some medications^[29] that are commonly prescribed for bipolar disorder include mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, antidepressants, or combination antidepressant/antipsychotics.

Bipolar disorder medication

Your provider may prescribe the following medications for bipolar disorder:

Therapy for bipolar disorder

A common form of therapy^[30] used to treat bipolar disorder is psychotherapy (also known as “talk therapy” or just therapy), wherein you and your therapist can discuss the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors that affect your quality of life. Some additional subtypes of therapy include:

• Behavioral therapy: Focuses on improving and developing new behaviors to help decrease stress levels improve quality of life.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): Focuses on learning to identify and modify patterns of thinking that go along with mood swings.
• Interpersonal therapy: Focuses on relationships and attempts to reduce the strains that having bipolar disorder might place upon them.
• Interpersonal and social rhythm therapy (IPSRT): This form of therapy incorporates interpersonal therapy (which focuses on reducing strain in relationships) with social rhythm therapy, which helps you develop consistent daily routines, such as maintaining a normal sleep schedule.

In addition to medication and therapy, some people with bipolar disorder find it helpful to attend a support group^[31]. Support groups can provide encouragement, teach coping mechanisms, and offer a safe place to discuss concerns about your disorder and its effects on your life. Support groups can also help those close to you by teaching them tools to better support you through your treatment.