How Mandatory Isolation Affects People with Bipolar Disorder

what causes bipolar disorder

Lockdowns and telling people to isolate at home with immediate family members affected absolutely everybody but some people dealt with it better than others. People with bipolar disorder have been very negatively affected by it, and that has a lot to do with what causes bipolar disorder.

Everyone has mood changes, and many of us will have our mood change throughout the day or work week depending on how things go. But the difference between a person with good mental health and a person with bipolar disorder is the bipolar person doesn’t have mood changes. They have mood swings, and the way they go from one extreme to the other with such suddenness that it is hard to comprehend for a lot of people. Even if you can’t comprehend why the person is going from being extremely upbeat to down in the dumps in no time at all, it’s important to know what causes bipolar disorder.

This debilitating mental health condition is caused by neurotransmitter imbalances in the brain. Of the big 4 – dopamine, GABA, norepinephrine, and serotonin – it’s dopamine and serotonin that factor into a person being bipolar. More accurately it’s having not enough of them that leads to them developing bipolar disorder, and increasing the quantity of both is how bipolar disorder medications like Seroquel work.

And while these medications do work well to manage bipolar disorder, when environmental factors come into play it can make the person’s condition worsen. The isolation that COVID forced on many people over the last 18 plus months has been a huge shift in environmental, emotional, and overall living factors that have taken a toll on the mental health of many people, especially those struggling with bipolar disorder. This is what we’ll look at here, as well as what a person with bipolar can do to enhance the effectiveness of their bipolar disorder medications.

Restlessness & Sleeplessness

Having regular and varied social interactions is important for all of us, and when we have less of them for whatever reason it is always a negative. A person with bipolar disorder will be like anyone else with that when they’re ‘up’. They won’t be happy to be missing those interactions, but it won’t be a huge problem either. The problem is when they’re ‘down’ and it is at these times that their depression-like feelings are very pronounced. For many of them this is something they’ve never had to experience before.

It has nothing to do with what causes bipolar disorder, but situational and environmental factors can make the condition worse. One aspect of all of this that’s come to light since COVID times began is that increased isolation has also made sleeplessness and daytime restlessness more common for people with bipolar disorder. Increased restlessness is an easy part of it to understand, as the energies that would normally go into being out and about and interacting with others end up being pent up and people with bipolar don’t have the same coping mechanisms that the rest of us do.

Affording Meds, Enhancing Effectiveness

Many Rx medications are prohibitively expensive for people, and that’s why ordering medication online from Canada makes a lot of sense if you are one of the thousands of people who need better prices on prescription drugs. A person suffering won’t be inclined to need to know what causes bipolar disorder, but they will want to know what’s the best treatment option for them. And if that involves the use of bipolar disorder medications then they will need to be taking those meds for the long foreseeable future.

Unless dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain can be bumped up permanently, the patient is going to likely be managing bipolar disorder for the rest of their lives. Seroquel is an effective bipolar disorder medication that works with neurotransmitter levels as well as changing the way they function in the brain. If it’s expensive for people they can also consider Seroquel generic, which costs less in the same way all generic medications do.

We said we’d conclude with ways to increase the effectiveness of bipolar medication and one of the best ways is to get more regular physical exercise. Although that would have been difficult for bipolar during Covid lockdowns being cooped up in small living spaces. There are apartment-friendly workouts and trying one might make you feel better. Many people even took to indoor yoga to calm and realign themselves. Another good idea is to try to go to bed, wake up at the same time, and eat meals at the same time of the day. Maintaining your healthy relationships is also greatly effective for mood management, and if you can’t do that in person then phone calls or video chats will work nearly as effectively.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The above information is intended to increase awareness of health information and does not suggest treatment or diagnosis. This information is not a substitute for individual medical attention and should not be construed to indicate that use of the drug is safe, appropriate, or effective for you. See your health care professional for medical advice and treatment.

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