Читать книгу Bipolar Disorder For Dummies - Joe Kraynak - Страница 12

In This Chapter

▶ Examining genetic vulnerabilities

▶ Investigating other possible contributing factors

▶ Understanding the brain and the way it functions and dysfunctions

▶ Looking at how medications can help

As with all mental illnesses, at this point in time, doctors diagnose bipolar disorder by observation only – identifying patterns of change in how a person is feeling and behaving. Medical science has no brain scans or blood tests that can conclusively make the diagnosis, and research now shows that the chances of eventually developing one simple screening test are next to nothing. In fact, it seems likely that what’s referred to as bipolar disorder isn’t just one disorder but rather many different disorders of brain and body function that share similar emotional and behavioral patterns.

These underlying disorders develop from complex combinations of genetic and nongenetic factors that the scientific community is only just beginning to understand. Importantly, the growing science of bipolar disorder can help eliminate the commonly held myth that it’s some type of weakness or defect in moral character. Make no mistake – bipolar disorder is a real physical illness or illnesses.

Another fact that’s also becoming clear is that although the brain is the site of many of the problems found in bipolar disorder, bipolar also affects the rest of the body in important ways. And the environment’s interactions with brain and body play critical roles in the development and evolution of bipolar disorder.

In this chapter, we explore the biological basis of bipolar disorder, looking at factors inside and outside the human body that may contribute to its onset and progression with the goal of understanding what is currently known about what causes bipolar disorder and what is yet to be uncovered by science.