阅读理解March 30th is the World Bipolar Day. Liu Tiebang, president of Shenzhen Kangning Hospital,introduced bipolar disorder (BD) to the public in an effort to raise awareness for the mental health illness.
Bipolar disorder, also called manic depression (躁郁), is a mood disorder which can cause a patient's mood to change from a very high to a very low. Manic symptoms (症状) can include increased energy, quick response, unusual talkativeness, a lack of need for sleep, high self-esteem and so on. Depressive symptoms can include less energy, loss of interest or pleasure, feeling worthless, low self-esteem and suicidal(自杀性的) thoughts.
Patients with BD are often misdiagnosed (误诊） as depression. Liu said that while someone is experiencing a manic stage, he or she may be unusually talkative, sociable and outgoing. Patients having these kinds of problems may not realize that they are ill and often do not look for medical care. On the other hand, patients experiencing depressive periods are more likely to be noticed.
"With the development of treatments and medications, the treatments for BD have become better at present," said Liu. "The medications are safer. Patients getting the right treatments at the earlier stage of BD have a higher possibility of recovery (恢复); or the mania and depression may happen again."
For patients with BD, in addition to medication, other methods such as physical treatments, psychological treatments, social support groups and crisis intervention may be useful for managing their symptoms and controlling mood changes.
