Helping Someone with Bipolar Disorder |
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Posted Date: 6/30/2009 |
Blog by: poost |
Viewed: 168
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Category: Mental Health Disorders » Bipolar Disorder |
Since bipolar illness trend to be relapsing and remitting, a person can only benefit from long-term psychotherapy and counseling. The person needs to know the problem with him to provide understanding and rationalization of the overwhelming disinterest. Knowing that all his abnormal behavior are caused by the disorder can be anti-depressed on its own.
The further treatment of bipolar disorder involves physical, psychological and social interventions. Individuals with severe problems should be admitted. This provides him a break from self-care and allows support, listening, observation, prevention and close monitoring. Avoid the pitfall of not helping such a person just because it seems and ‘understandable’ reaction to serious or difficult circumstances. First there is the physical intervention. Recreational drugs such as alcohol should be stopped. Prescribed, medicines such as corticosteroids should be gradually reduced. He should be advised about regular exercise which is especially very good for mild to moderate depression. Then comes the psychological intervention. The person should be educated about his illness that what is the problem with him, why dose he act and think like this what are the factors involved and what can the person do himself to relieve himself. There should also be regular follow up at weekly intervals and it should be by the same professional so that the individual can trust him, can rely upon him and comes to him to share his feelings and experiences. This also builds up the morale of the person who sometimes in unable to confide in with anyone else due to interpersonal difficulties and problems. Next is the cognitive behavior therapy. It involves the identification of the automatic dysfunctional thinking that maintains the negative perceptions that feed the illness. They commonly include catastrphzing, overgeneralising, and categorical thinking. Cognitive behavior therapy involves identifying the links between these thoughts, consequent behavior, feeling high or low and then testing their logic. This is done by considering their evidence either in therapy sessions or by behavioral experiments that is asking others about the reasons of the particular behavior. This counteracts learned helplessness by challenging the erroneous assumptions on which they are based. The person is encouraged to set himself small, easily accomplished tasks and to feel pleased if he succeeds. Then comes the interpersonal therapy. This psychotherapy is probably as effective. The therapist focuses on a person’s relationship involved in or affected by their illness using problem solving techniques to help him find solutions. Couple therapy is particularly important when a person is in a relationship with both the person and the partner attends the therapy sessions. Family therapy is effective not only in as family with problems but also as a way of helping the family to help the person get better. It may involve understanding one family member’s illness as a systemic solution for a wider problem within a family.
Then there is also the option of social treatments. Many people also have associated social problems. For financial problems, eligible benefits are given and debt counseling can be done to acquire or change the job. Housing should be adequate with secure tenancy, with safe and social neighbors. For young children, child care support should be provided. Assistance with social problems can make a significant contribution to recovery. Other interventions include the provision of group support, social clubs, occupational therapy and referral to a social worker. Educational programs, self help groups and informed and supportive family members can help improve the outcome.
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