Is Everybody Bipolar?

In the old days in American psychiatry, nearly everybody was thought to be a little bit schizophrenic. While this is a serious psychiatric disorder that involves incongruous thoughts and emotions that are often very peculiar, even the slightest symptoms of distress were considered to be schizophrenic in nature. When somebody acted in a way that we didn’t understand or couldn’t tolerate, it was very easy to label them as abnormal. Nowadays, we, the public, go further – we label them “bipolar.”
With all the television programs that we see almost every day, we’ve all become pseudo-experts in psychiatry. Not only do we have the problems of celebrities and historical figures put forward for our analysis, but we’re also asked to diagnose ourselves. Who among us hasn’t seen the ads for Cymbalta, Zoloft and Abilify? The drug companies expect us to see ourselves in their ads and to go to the doctor and ask for the medicine. This way, too often, people are put on medicines that may or may not be appropriate for their condition.
Some good can come from the current practices. At some point in their lives, 15 to 25 percent of Americans suffer from a major depressive episode (commonly known as clinical depression). Prozac, Celexa, Lexapro and Zoloft have probably improved many lives for people to go down to their doctor and request it. These medicines are very safe; the risk of severe side effects or any major difficulties is small and they are very effective. Therefore it is very comfortable for doctors to prescribe them without doing a thorough psychiatric evaluation, leading to the patients getting better and the doctor becoming confirmed in his or her expertise. However, for some bipolar patients, antidepressants may actually add to their problems by triggering a manic episode.
The challenge for psychiatrists is to discriminate between those who have a mood disorder that will respond to treatment and those who have personality traits that are enduring and unchangeable. While other mental health professionals all have opinions on medications and when they are necessary, the psychiatrist may be in the best position to assess the underlying psychiatric disorder and determine the appropriate treatment. Many problems can also be addressed by talking therapy, which the practice of Dr. William Hankin, MD provides to every patient.
Dr. William Hankin, MD is Board Certified in general psychiatry and is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. For more information about this or other issues, contact Dr. Hankin at his Atlantic County office in Linwood at (609) 653-1400 or his Cape May County office in Cape May Court House at (609) 465-4424, or visit www.WHHMD.com.