Mental health professionals say that more and more children are receiving diagnoses of and treatment for bipolar disorder, and at younger ages. This is a serious brain disorder in which a person goes through extreme mood episodes of mania and depression, going from intense excitement and lack of focus to sadness and even suicidal behavior.
A 2007 study in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that the number of office visits resulting in a diagnosis of bipolar disorder for those under 19 was 1,003 per 100,000 people in 2002-03 in the United States. This was a dramatic uptick from 25 per 100,000 people in 1994-95.
Bipolar Disorder 101
"The prevalence of bipolar disorder in children in genuinely growing, but I think it's also because we are also becoming more aware that children who have very wild and very problematic mood swings may have bipolar disorder," said Dr. Rakesh Jain, a psychiatrist in Lake Jackson, Texas.
But another reality that's not popular among parents is that sometimes, components of the child's environment contribute to these behavioral disturbances, said Dr. Charles Raison, psychiatrist at Emory University.
There are, of course, children who genuinely have bipolar disorder, but he cautions that ideally, as a first line of defense, family support and therapy would be given to the child and problematic environments -- be it home or school -- would be improved, and then medication would be given as needed.
The story is featured inCNN.
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