Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder can make it challenging to regulate emotions and stay on track with daily responsibilities. At Exhale Health, a mental health practice in Scottsdale, Arizona, highly skilled and trauma-informed Katrina Kaczmarek, MSN, APRN, PMHNP, offers personalized and evidence-based treatment for various mood disorders, including bipolar disorder and manic depression. To learn more about bipolar disorder and get the care you need and deserve, call the office to schedule an appointment. Or request one online today.

What is bipolar disorder?

Bipolar disorder causes mood changes that cycle between mania (feeling energized and overconfident) and depression. 

The three main types are:

Cyclothymic disorder

Cyclothymia causes hypomania (mild mania) and less severe depression.

Bipolar I disorder

Bipolar I disorder patients experience extreme mood swings and may suffer from psychotic episodes involving hallucinations and/or delusions.

Bipolar II disorder

Bipolar II disorder also causes depressive and manic mood shifts. However, mania is less pronounced than with bipolar I disorder and doesn’t cause psychosis.

Exhale Health can treat all forms of bipolar disorder. Your provider can also diagnose and treat other mood disorders, including depression, major depressive disorder (MDD), and various anxiety disorders, like social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

What symptoms are typical of bipolar disorder?

A major depressive episode consists of five or more of the following problems experienced for at least two weeks:

• Loss of interest in most or all pleasurable activities
• Low mood most or all of the time
• Increased or decreased appetite
• Significant weight change
• Frequent pacing and/or other purposeless movements
• Difficulty thinking clearly
• Indecisiveness
• Chronic fatigue
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
• Repeatedly considering death and suicide

Mania causes three or more symptoms representing substantial behavioral changes:

• Inflated self-esteem
• Racing thoughts
• Talking more
• Little need for sleep
• Focusing on goal-directed activity
• Being easily distracted
• Recklessness and irresponsible behaviors like overspending and speeding

Mania symptoms must be present consistently for at least a week. Hypomania episodes must also affect the patient most of the time but for at least four consecutive days.

What are some treatments for bipolar disorder?

At Exhale Health, Katrina Kaczmarek takes an individualized approach to bipolar disorder, considering various factors that influence each patient’s mental health. While there is no known cure for bipolar disorder, this all-encompassing approach is the most effective way to manage the condition.

Patients with more severe symptoms may benefit from medication management and medicines like mood stabilizers and antidepressants. You might need antipsychotics if you have bipolar I disorder.

Your provider works with you to determine which medicines best suit your unique health needs, goals, and lifestyle.

Call Exhale Health to schedule an appointment. You can also request a bipolar disorder consultation online, which is fast and easy.