Our therapists offer bipolar disorder therapy in Marietta, GA

Counseling for Bipolar Depression—Therapists in Marietta, GA

Almost six million people in the United States have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, and while those words feel scary to hear, there are effective treatments for this severe mental illness. Many people are working closely with a therapist to find a diagnosis that explains their behavior and a treatment that allows them to manage their symptoms.

The therapists on staff at Thriveworks Marietta understand the particular difficulties a Bipolar diagnosis can bring into an individual’s life. We also understand that those difficulties can be overcome. Our mental health professionals have worked with many clients to find the right diagnosis and the right treatment plan that allows them to live their life on their terms—not Bipolar’s. Reach out today for help.

Signs and Symptoms for Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder is a mental illness wherein people cycle between two extreme moods—mania and depression. These cycles often feel confusing and erratic, and people who suffer with it deserve the utmost patience, empathy, and care. Understanding how the illness works is often an important part of healing for both the individual who is diagnosed and their loved ones. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) outlines how both the mania and the depression of Bipolar Disorder can look within an individual’s life. It details the criteria for both mania and depression. People who have Bipolar Disorder will experience both.

Depression Phase

The depression phase of Bipolar is characterized by empty, weepy, and sad feelings that result in a generally depressed mood and disinterest in everyday life. This mood should last for the majority of the day and for a continuous two weeks. Individuals will also experience at least three of the following:

1. Powerful and overwhelming emotions such as guilt, shame, and/or worthlessness.
2. Fluctuations in appetite or weight—either a gain or a loss.
3. Declining fortitude and energy.
4. Accelerated or retarded psychomotor activity—e.g., nervously and rapidly tapping one’s foot or slurred speech.
5. Unfocused attention and indecisiveness.
6. Sleep disruptions—the inability to sleep or possibly sleeping too much.
7. Recurrent thoughts of suicide or death.

Mania Phase

The other phase is mania. At times, mania can be stereotyped as a frenzied glee—all happy, all the time. While some may experience mania as such, it can be frenetic euphoria or irritability. The DSM-5 explains the criteria:

1. An unnaturally high mood of either jubilation or anger that last for a minimum of seven days.
2. If the mood is euphoric, the DSM-5 requires three of the signs listed below to be present for the mood to be considered mania. If the mood is irritability or anger, then four symptoms are required.
   • Racing thoughts that will not slow, rest, or settle.
   • A substantially smaller need for rest and sleep.
   • An attention span that hops from subject to subject.
   • Furiously making plans to achieve long-forgotten personal and/or professional objectives.
   • Loquaciousness, especially compared to the amount an individual speaks when not in a manic mood.
   • A self-image that is over inflated and aggrandized.
   • Behavior that could be harmful and/or risky.
3. These signs cannot be attributable to the physiological effects of drug use or a medication to be considered mania.
4. These symptoms must result in one of the following within an individual’s life to be considered mania:
   • Disruptions in one’s ability to live daily life.
   • Hospitalization in order to treat or prevent harm.
   • A psychotic episode.

Within Bipolar Disorder, there are many subcategories for diagnosis. Working closely with a therapist is usually an important part of finding the correct diagnosis and treatment.

Therapy for Bipolar Disorder with Thriveworks Marietta

If you are ready to work closely with a mental health professional to figure out what may be happening to you, the therapists at Thriveworks Marietta are ready to work for you. If you have already been diagnosed with Bipolar Depression and want a skilled, caring mental health professional on your team, the therapists at Thriveworks Marietta are ready to work for you.

When you contact our office, you may have your first appointment within the week. We offer evening and weekend appointments, and we work with most insurance providers. Let’s find a treatment plan that works for you. Contact Thriveworks Marietta today.