Bipolar Disorder: A Serious Psychiatric Condition - Impact of Untreated Bipolar Disorder on Family and Friends

Written by HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

Effects of Untreated Bipolar Disorder on Loved Ones

Patients do not work out their negative behaviors (e.g., spending sprees or even becoming verbally or physically aggressive) in a vacuum. They have a direct effect on others around them. It is very difficult for even the most loving families or caregivers to be objective and consistently sympathetic with an individual who periodically and unexpectedly creates chaos around them.

Many patients and their families, therefore, cannot admit that these episodes are part of an illness and not simply extreme, but normal, characteristics. Such denial is often strengthened by patients who are highly articulate and deliberate and can intelligently justify their destructive behavior, not only to others, but also to themselves.

Often family members feel socially alienated by the fact of having a relative with mental illness, and they conceal this information from acquaintances. (This is particularly true if the patient is female and lives away from home.) People with more education are more likely to feel ostracized by their acquaintances than are those with less education.

Economic Burden

The economic burden of bipolar disorder is significant. In 1991, the National Institute of Mental Health estimated that the disorder cost the country $45 billion, including direct costs (patient care, suicides, and institutionalization) and indirect costs (lost productivity and involvement of the criminal justice system). In spite of the obvious need for professional help, access to medical therapies is not always available for patients with bipolar disorder. In one major survey, 13% of patients had no insurance and 15% were unable to afford medical treatment.

Bipolar's Association with Physical Illnesses

Diabetes. Diabetes is diagnosed almost three times more often in people with bipolar disorder than it is in the general population. A 2002 study reported that 58% of bipolar patients were overweight, with 26% meeting the criteria for obesity. Being overweight is a significant risk factor for diabetes and so it may be the common factor in both diseases. Drugs used to treat bipolar also pose a risk for weight gain and diabetes. Common genetic factors have also been implicated in diabetes and bipolar disorder, including those causing a rare disorder called Wolfram syndrome and those that regulate carbohydrate metabolism.

Migraine Headaches. Migraines are common in patients with a number of mental illnesses, but they are particularly common among bipolar II patients. In one study, 77% of bipolar II patients had migraines while only 14% of bipolar I had this headache, suggesting that difference biologic factors may be involved with each bipolar form.

Hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism (low thyroid levels) is a common side effect of lithium, the standard bipolar treatment. However, evidence also suggests that bipolar patients, particularly women, may be at higher risk for low thyroid levels regardless of medications. It may in fact be a risk factor for bipolar disorder in some patients.

For comprehensive information on bipolar disorder, visit the HealthyPlace.com Bipolar Disorder Community.

Source: NIMH Bipolar Publication. April 2008.

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