August 2022

Bipolar disorder (also called “manic depression” or “manic depressive disorder”) is a mental illness that causes an individual to experience extreme shifts in mood, energy, thinking, and behavior. People with this disorder may feel the highs of mania one minute, and feel extremely depressed the next. The moods experienced with bipolar disorder are more than just a few bad moments— they are cycles that can last anywhere from days to months. Also, these changes in mood are so severe that they hinder people’s ability to function on a daily basis.

The symptoms of bipolar disorder typically begin to manifest themselves in the late teens or early in their adult years, though many people may develop this disorder at other points in their lives. Though a definitive cause of the disorder is unknown, it’s believed that both genetic and environmental factors are responsible. Children who have a parent or sibling with bipolar disorder have an increased risk of developing the disorder. 

Some of the signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder are listed below:

Signs of a manic state

• Feeling extremely happy.
• Talking faster than is normal.
• Feeling agitated.
• Overconfidence.
• Decreased sleep.
• Irritability.
• Racing thoughts.
• Behaving impulsively.
• Engaging in high-risk behaviors, such as reckless driving, gambling, or excessive spending.

Signs of a depressive state: 

• Feeling sad or hopeless.
• Irritability.
• Low self-esteem.
• Abandoning favorite activities.
• Having difficulty concentrating or remembering.
• Experiencing unusual sleep habits such as sleeping too much or too little.
• Thinking about death or suicide.

People frequently ask me how I  treat patients who have bipolar disorder. In truth, there are many paths to successful treatment, which is why the most important step in the entire process is proper diagnosis. Since bipolar disorder is often overdiagnosed, it’s crucial that a thorough and accurate assessment be made at the beginning of the process. When it is verified that bipolar disorder is present, things such as mood stabilizers and medications can be used as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. 

Though it’s a great help, when it comes to the treatment of bipolar disorder, medication alone usually doesn’t fix the problem. Most people with bipolar disorder, benefit greatly from psychiatric care that helps them understand things that may trigger episodes and also how different coping techniques can delay or altogether prevent episodes. Self-care plays an important role in managing bipolar disorders. Some of the self-care strategies for bipolar disorder include sleep, rest, diet, exercise, meditative and spiritual practices, and avoidance of stress. The ultimate goal of psychiatric care is to help patients be able to lead happy, productive, and fulfilling lives. 

The tendency to try to figure out if you have bipolar disorder is not unusual, especially if you’ve spotted what you believe are signs in yourself. Trying to diagnose yourself is likely to cause you unnecessary worry, however, and there’s no need to put yourself through this. Your best option is to see a psychiatric nurse practitioner who can conduct an appropriate assessment to determine whether you have bipolar disorder, another mental health disorder, no mental health disorder, or perhaps symptoms resulting from substance misuse.

If you are interested in treatment for bipolar disorder, or if you have any questions for me, feel free to contact me here. I look forward to speaking with you soon. 

Why is self-care so important?

Self-care is a general term that describes everything you do deliberately for your mental, physical, and emotional well-being. This sounds simple, but for a variety of reasons, many people don’t pay enough attention to self-care. You need to be conscious of your overall well-being before you can reach a level where you’re experiencing true self-care. It all starts from small daily changes to our routines and thought processes. Things like not staying up all hours of the night binge-watching shows when you know it will negatively affect your sleep. Or constantly scrolling through social media for hours on end, instead of focusing on yourself, and the things in life that nurture your entire being.  Though it’s often overlooked, self-care truly enhances all areas of our lives. 

Self-Care Improves Focus

When you are less stressed you’re, better able to focus. When you’re unable to focus, your thoughts and energy are spread out inconsistently throughout the day, so you end up being busy, but not really productive. An optimal self-care routine would help you have mental clarity, which would allow you to concentrate, and have more clarity and focus when going about your day.  With an emphasis on mindfulness, self-care is key to strengthening your level of focus.  

It gives you a break from stress and boosts your immune system

Taking a timely break from our busy daily routines is an absolute must when it comes to maximizing your self-care. Whatever activity puts your mind at ease and allows you to take a mental and emotional vacation, needs to be made a priority. Things like massages, meditation, exercise, and rest are at the core of a healthy self-care routine, and they allow your body’s nervous system to go into a ‘ rest and restore mode. When your body is rested and in a state of minimal stress, it will protect you from catching a cold, the flu, or experiencing a variety of other immune system issues. 

Improved Relationships

Many people rely on their partners for emotional support. This is normal and a healthy part of long-term relationships. The problem is when one partner overly relies on the other partner, to the point where it’s causing emotional strain and tension. Sometimes one partner heavily relies on the other because they’re lacking fulfillment or confidence in certain areas of their life. To relieve the stress and emotional burden that overreliance can have on a relationship, each partner should invest in self-care. When both partners engage in emotional self-care, they keep in tune with and fulfill their own needs. When partners tap into their own sense of self-worth, fulfillment, and happiness independent of their relationship, they can then come together and enjoy one another in a healthy, fulfilling manner without additional stressors. As an added bonus, being in tune with your own feelings often leads to improved communication, which allows for an even stronger bond to be built during the relationship.

These are just some of the benefits of self-care. Keep in mind, that your self-care is yours and yours alone. You get to decide what ideal self-care is for you, which may be different than what it looks like for someone else. The beauty in life is that we are all unique and therefore we all have a different view of what self-care is. What’s important is that we take the time to learn ourselves, and incorporate self-care into our daily lives to achieve mental, physical, and spiritual balance.

Telemedicine services provide more and more people with access to high-quality care from the comfort of their homes. Telepsychiatry specifically has seen a significant boost in the number of patients receiving the therapy they need to manage and overcome their disorders. Telepsychiatry is a subset of telemedicine and has the capability to deliver a broad array of behavioral health services such as psychiatric evaluations, medication management, therapy (individual, group, and family) as well as patient education. As long as you have a smartphone or computer access, you can have your telepsychiatry session anywhere. This article will discuss a few of the many benefits of telepsychiatry.  

Expands Access

Telepsychiatry puts access to critical mental health services possible for men, women, and children who live in rural or remote areas where psychiatric nurse practitioners may be scarce. Many states, like Alaska, have lifted geographic limitations, allowing mental health providers from other states to practice telepsychiatry within their borders. Psychiatric nurse practitioners can provide services in correctional institutions when the patient and client cannot always physically face to face. With the implementation of telepsychiatry, a huge roadblock has been removed and people can now get the appropriate care they need with the click of a button. 

Saves Time

With psychiatric nurse practitioners now serving clients over long distances through telepsychiatry, travel time has gone from upwards of 2 hours, to now a few seconds to walk over to a laptop. This is a game changer for many clients because they no longer have to navigate time off from work, change daycare schedules, or make time shifts from their normal daily routine. Psychiatric nurse practitioners may actually be able to provide service to more clients each day if they have no need to commute to a physical office. 

Comfort

For a long time, there has been a stigma around mental illness and mental health as a whole. This has prevented many people from seeking the help that they so desperately need. For patients concerned about appearing publicly at a psychiatric nurse practitioner’s office, working with clinical mental health counselors from home via telepsychiatry can ease their anxieties and promote acceptance of treatment. Aside from any stigmas that may exist, many people are extremely nervous when they have to go to the “doctor’s office” for anything. With telepsychiatry, an individual can have their session in their living room, in a park, or anywhere in the world, they feel comfortable. Comfortable patients usually have a more open mind which can make the overall counseling experience much smoother for everyone involved. 

Ease of Communication and Monitoring

Telepsychiatry enables all necessary communication and monitoring to take place via a phone, laptop, or desktop computer. This makes it easier for psychiatric nurse practitioners to communicate, monitor, and follow up with their patients in real time.

Through telepsychiatry, psychiatric nurse practitioners are able to send their patients appointment reminders, mental health resources, and various types of information. Being able to do all of this at the touch of a button versus having to schedule an in-person visit ensures that patients get the care they need without delay.  

Furthermore, telepsychiatry allows the symptoms of patients to be monitored through physical view or via sensors connected to apps.  through remote patient sensors and telemedicine apps. Telepsychiatry ensures that the optimal frequency of communication can be maintained, to maize each patient’s individual treatment plan. 

If you’d like to learn more about how I use telepsychiatry to provide care for my clients, feel free to contact me here. I look forward to speaking with you.