Mia is a 21-year-old student who has bipolar disorder. The first manifestation appeared in college, when she could live without sleep for several days, attended dozens of parties in a week, had many sexual partners, and also spent almost all her money. After these events, Mia fell into a prolonged depression and refused to leave her bed for weeks until her parents took her to a therapist. Mia was diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder and prescribed Lithium, as well as antidepressants, which she stopped taking after Lithium began to show the effect.
During the manic episodes, Mia used marijuana a couple of times and drank alcohol; however, she has no problems with substance abuse and addiction. The only problem Mia emphasizes is the number of sexual partners that she had during her active months. In addition to medicines, Mia undergoes psychotherapy sessions and showed little progress in several visits. This treatment is not yet effective enough, since Mia does not accept the disease during the recovery and is still sure that her problem was depression.
I believe that Mia can face some cognitive disorder, especially if she does not admit her bipolarity and does not take medication regularly. Bipolar disorder is associated with some cognitive impairment, which may occur to a greater or lesser extent depending on the period and treatment. Most often, such problems are impaired attention, verbal learning, and memory, as well as some executive functions (Solé et al., 2017).
In addition, often, bipolarity affects people’s demonstration of their emotions and understanding of others’ feelings (Lima, Peckham, & Johnson, 2018). Possible interventions can be both medications enhancing cognitive functions and non-pharmaceutical methods. For example, functional recovery through tasks and exercises, the training aimed at social cognition, as well as prevention of disorders by the absence of substance abuse and smoking can be such methods (Solé et al., 2017). Thus, Mia with bipolar disorder can fulfill her professional and routine duties.
Although Mia is currently in a good mood and stable condition, there are risks of deterioration due to manic or depressive episodes. Mia has a risk of an eating disorder related to refusal to eat as a manifestation of a depressed state. In addition, there is a risk of anxiety associated with reduced mobility and emotional state as evidence of depression. There is also a risk of alcohol and drug abuse that is related to the high excitability of the nervous system as a manifestation of a manic episode of bipolar disorder (“Bipolar disorder,” 2020). Such problems are most likely for Mia’s diagnosis and health state.
The patient can use such preventive measures as taking medication prescribed by a therapist, regular exercises, and dynamic leisure activities, as well as communication with loved ones. Mia also should keep a diary to track changes in behavior to conduct an early intervention in case of worsening symptoms (“Bipolar disorder,” 2020). However, if Mia will show signs of worsening of symptoms, then the intervention should be hospitalization, a high-calorie diet, elimination of stimuli and sources of stress, as well as frequent rest.
The most convenient way to determine treatment progress is to view the patient’s behavior diary, as well as personal communication with her. There are many scales for evaluating individual symptoms, such as anxiety, as well as estimates of bipolarity as a whole (Mullowney, n.d.). Although these scales most often require honest answers from patients, obvious external symptoms can also indicate problems, for example, too fast speech and distracting attention or, vice versa, a tired look and lack of interest.
The expected outcomes of Mia’s treatment include a good stable mood, rational and thoughtful behavior, a healthy diet and sleep schedule, as well as an adequate level of cognitive functions for routine and study. For this purpose, such sources as medicines and sessions prescribed by her therapist, as well as educational tools such as training to maintain the girl’s cognitive abilities and social awareness, will be used. Thus, if Mia admits her problem and follows the recommendations, she will be able to control her condition.
References
Bipolar disorder (n.d.). National Institute of Mental Health. Web.
Lima, I. M., Peckham, A. D., & Johnson, S. L. (2018). Cognitive deficits in bipolar disorders: Implications for emotion. Clinical Psychology Review, 59, 126–136.
Mullowney, S. (n.d). Psychiatric Assessment Tools. Web.
Solé, B., Jiménez, E., Torrent, C., Reinares, M., Bonnin, C. D. M., Torres, I., … Vieta, E. (2017). Cognitive Impairment in bipolar disorder: Treatment and prevention strategies. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 20(8), 670–680.