Is Your Depression Treatment-Resistant? TMS Therapy May Help
Depression can be tricky to treat. Your unique physiology can mean many different medications don’t work for you. Fortunately, there are other options for treatment-resistant depression.
7 Ways Bipolar Disorder Affects Your Daily Relationships
Bipolar disorder is a well-documented mood disorder with several variations. Accompanying the notorious mood swings are additional symptoms that can make it hard to maintain healthy relationships.
At Genesis Psychiatric Solutions, board-certified psychiatrist Dr. Ifeanyi Olele treats a range of mental health issues, including bipolar disorder. Here are seven things you should know about how this condition can affect your daily relationships.
Emotional whiplash
If you have bipolar disorder, your moods can be incredibly difficult to track. Manic phases followed by deep depression keep everyone around you on edge, wondering what version of you they’ll see on any particular day. This alone can take a toll on relationships.
Unwanted caregiving status
Parents, partners, or children of people with bipolar disorder often unexpectedly end up as long-term caregivers of their family member or loved one. This can severely damage a normal parent-child or couple relationship.
Children left adrift
Children of a parent who has bipolar disorder often feel ignored or mistreated.
Some studies even note that kids can feel the same negative emotions their affected parent is feeling, and the risk of developing a psychiatric disorder themselves is higher for such children than for children whose parents do not have bipolar disorder.
Intimacy issues
A person with bipolar disorder can go from wanting sex all the time to wanting none at all. Being partnered with someone who is constantly out of sync when it comes to sexual appetite is draining.
Problems at work or with finding a job
People who have bipolar disorder have a higher risk of problems at work and are more likely to be viewed as unemployable due to stigma, fluctuating energy levels, distractability, and absenteeism.
Neighbor and community conflicts
Bipolar disorder can cause hypomania and a lack of inhibition and/or impulsivity. This can lead to public incidents that offend neighbors or damage property, leading to further stigmatization from the community and a breakdown of formerly friendly relationships.
Loss of friends
Stigma, manic episodes, and deep, lasting depressive moods can all cause friends to back away or be pushed away. Over time, a person with bipolar disorder can become more and more isolated, which only makes symptoms worse.
Dr. Olele can provide treatment options for managing your bipolar disorder and improving your daily relationships. To learn more, contact us by calling our office closest to you. We’re located in Fairfax and Alexandria, Virginia, and in Washington, DC. Schedule a 10-minute phone consultation today.
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