Bipolar isn’t just something that happens to adults; it happens to children, too. Unfortunately, like many disorders and conditions once thought to be exclusive to adults paediatric bipolar disorder isn’t acknowledged by a consensus of mental health professionals.
Bipolar in children is more pronounced, typified by abrupt mood swings, jumping between hyperactivity and lethargy, intense temper tantrums, and defiance. Plus, cycling between moods is often more rapid and more severe than in adults, and may result in chronic irritability, with little peace.
Mental health professionals won’t diagnose (if they even diagnose at all) a child with bipolar unless they have at least four of the following.
- Irritable mood
- Extreme sadness
- Lack of interest in play
- Rapidly changing moods lasting at least a few hours
- Explosive, often destructive rages
- Separation anxiety
- Defiance of authority
- Distractibility
- Sleeping little or sleeping too much
- Bed wetting
- Night terrors
- Strong and frequent cravings
- Impaired judgment and impulsivity
- Belief in own abilities that defy the laws of logic (ability to fly, for example)
These behaviour alone are normal for children to exhibit, but combined together and accompanies by rapid mood wings and hyperactivity can point to paediatric bipolar disorder.
If you suspect your child may have bipolar, contact your mental health professional. Ask them to test your child for bipolar and explain why you think your child may have it.
If you decide to use a natural course for treatment, consider Truehope EMPowerplus, an all-natural formulation of 36 vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants. Clinical, peer reviewed research has found that that EMPowerplus can help manage bipolar, even in children. Talk to your health care provider about using EMPowerplus.