Bipolar Patient Imagine This Scenario:

¶ … Bipolar Patient

Imagine this scenario: You are working as an acupuncturist, when a charming young female patient comes in and begins to complain about insomnia. As amazing as it sounds, she has had little more than two hours of sleep each night for over a month. What is even more unusual is the fact that the young woman appears to be completely bubbly and energetic. She even looks perfectly healthy from a physical standpoint.

The young woman is talking feverishly, as though she is unable to stop. She goes on to begin talking about her sister. She is incredibly enthusiastic about this sister, whom she clearly loves dearly. You begin to think this sister must be waiting outside for her. And then it dons on you: This sister does not actually exist outside of the young woman's mind.

While she does not appear to be dangerous, it is clear that the young woman is mentally disturbed. In fact, she shows many of the signs of bipolar disorder. How, then, do you go about addressing this issue as an acupuncturist?

It is probably no coincidence that the young woman has come to see you. It is even more likely that she is aware of her bipolarity and is looking for some relief. Numerous studies have been conducted in recent years that have generated both scholarly and popular interest in acupuncture as a means of relieving bipolar disorders.

Before we can begin to address this problem as acupuncturists, however, we must first familiarize ourselves with the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Bipolarity is a disorder that is generally characterized by alternating periods of "highs" and "lows." During the "highs," the patient typically experiences a prolonged state of ecstatic jubilation. This may be accompanied by sleeplessness, incessant talking, and heightened ambitions. During the "lows," on the other hand, the patient experiences excruciating depression for a prolonged period of time. The depression may be so severe that the patient is unable to function normally and will refuse to leave the house and see friends, family, and acquaintances.

In our example above, the young female patient is clearly experiencing the "highs." This is also known as the manic phase of bipolar disorder. Some of the other signs and symptoms that a patient is experiencing mania include poor judgment, extreme irritability, an inflated sense of feeling and/or self-esteem, increased physical activity, recklessness, an inability to concentrate for prolonged periods, and a tendency to be distracted easily.

It is also possible, however, that a patient might seek out an acupuncturist when they are experiencing the low end of bipolar disorder. Some common signs and symptoms of a bipolar-based depression include thoughts of suicide, disruptions in one's sleeping and/or eating cycle, an inability to concentrate for prolonged periods of time, fatigue, and a loss of interest in day-to-day life.

While mania and depression are the two extreme poles that give bipolarity its name, there are also in-between states that many patients suffering from this disorder will experience. There is a milder form of mania, for instance, known as a hypomanic episode, in which patients display manic symptoms for a period of three or four days. If the manic episode lasts for a week or longer, as is the case with our patient above, then the patient is experiencing full-blown mania.

It is also somewhat common for bipolar patients to experience mixed episodes. These episodes involve "swinging" back and forth from one pole to the next, experiencing symptoms of both mania and depression within the same day.

From international surveys, we have come to learn that around 1.5% of all adults suffer from bipolar disorders. The average bipolar patient experiences around four episodes within a ten-year time span. There are those patients, however, who experience recurring episodes throughout their lives. Thus, it is quite likely that you will have to deal with a bipolar patient as an acupuncturist at some time or another.