Nearly 3% of adolescents in the U.S. struggle with bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder in teens is a state of emotional instability consisting of heightened emotions and low moments. It can interfere with your teen’s daily life and can be tough on the entire family.
If your teen is struggling with bipolar disorder, it is vital to seek professional treatment to help manage symptoms and establish stability. Nexus Teen Academy is a teen mental health treatment center in Arizona that can provide sustained support for your loved one’s bipolar or other mental health disorders. Call our team today and get help.
Let’s get a better understanding of what bipolar is and how different therapeutic interventions can be used to help a teen struggling with bipolar disorder.
Understanding Bipolar Disorder in Teens
Bipolar disorder causes several tumultuous effects on your teen, leading to mixed emotions ranging from one extreme to the other. Let’s unpack bipolar disorder in teenagers:
The Basics of Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a mental condition in teens that causes emotions to range from low-energy episodes (depression) to heightened-energy episodes (hypomania or mania). Teen bipolar disorder exists in different forms:
Bipolar I has extreme mood swings with serious manic episodes lasting for at least 7 days.
Bipolar II is less severe than bipolar I. It has more frequent depressive episodes and fewer hypomania episodes.
Cyclothymic Disorder symptoms are defined by frequent mood swings. But it is also less severe than Bipolar I and II.
Identifying Mood Swings in Teens
Teenagers struggling with bipolar disorder often exhibit different signs of mood swings. These signs are mostly dependent on the type of bipolar disorder. They include:
Mania is seen as heightened energy, reduced need for sleep, and frequent risky behavior.
Hypomania which has similar features as mania but is less severe.
Depression is seen in the form of loss of interest, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, and low moods.
Several triggers can lead to these signs, including:
Changes in your teen’s routine.
Disruption of sleep patterns.
Stress.
Gender Differences in Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder does not play favorites when it comes to boys or girls. However, there are some differences in how it affects boys and girls. Let’s break it down:
Mood Swings in Teen Boys
Teenage boys struggling with bipolar disorder often exhibit more aggressive mood swings and are easily irritable during manic episodes.
Social expectations can also force boys to suppress their emotions, making it difficult to seek assistance or express their concerns. This can also delay diagnosis and proper bipolar disorder management.
Mood Swings in Girls
Unlike boys, girls experience more variability in their mood swings. Girls struggling with bipolar disorder often experience rapid cycling, where their moods change quickly from lows to highs and vice versa.
Hormonal changes during adolescence and menstruation can also shape mood swings. Sometimes, these factors increase the symptoms of bipolar disorder in teen girls.
10 Therapies for Managing Mood Swings
There are several therapeutic modalities used to manage mood swings in teens struggling with bipolar disorder. Most of these therapies are evidence-based and proven to be effective. We have carefully selected ten therapies proven to manage bipolar disorder in teens effectively. Let’s delve into them:
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT for teens helps identify negative thought patterns contributing to mood swings and develop healthier coping mechanisms. Techniques like behavioral activation and cognitive restructuring can also help your teen manage their emotions and behaviors.
Family therapy: this type of treatment involves the entire family participating in therapy sessions. It focuses on improving communication, support systems, and overall family functioning. Family therapy helps parents understand bipolar disorder and learn strategies to support their teen, creating a more stable environment.
Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT): This therapy helps teens establish regular sleep-wake schedules, eating habits, and exercise routines. It promotes a healthy lifestyle that can significantly improve mood stability in bipolar disorder.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Teen DBT is a special form of CBT. It equips teens with skills for managing intense emotions, improving communication, and building healthy relationships. DBT can be particularly helpful if your teenager is struggling with impulsivity or suicidal ideation.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy: As the name suggests, mindfulness-based therapy teaches your teen mindfulness practices like meditation and deep breathing to increase self-awareness and emotional regulation. Mindfulness can help your teen manage stress and improve coping with mood swings.
Art Therapy: This type of treatment encourages deep interaction with art, such as painting or drawing. It allows teens to express themselves creatively and explore their emotions in a safe and nonjudgmental space. Art therapy can be particularly beneficial for teens who struggle with verbal communication.
Music Therapy: Music therapy is more healing through entertainment. It involves your teen making songs, playing musical instruments, singing, or simply listening to their favorite music. Like art therapy, music therapy can provide a creative outlet for emotional expression, helping to create a calming effect and improve mood.
Wilderness Therapy: This involves spending time in nature and participating in outdoor activities. It allows your teen to reconnect with nature and tap into the therapeutic power of the natural surroundings. Wilderness therapy can be particularly beneficial if your teenager struggles with social isolation or needs to develop coping mechanisms in a natural environment.
Equine therapy involves interacting with horses in a therapeutic setting. It can improve your teen’s emotional regulation, communication skills, and self-confidence.
Educational Therapy: Educational therapy can be helpful for teens with bipolar disorder who are struggling academically. Educational therapists can identify learning challenges and develop strategies to help teens succeed in school.
Remember, professional experts like Nexus Teen Academy will adopt a more personalized approach based on your teen’s unique needs and create an individual treatment plan based on this. Although the therapies above can be effective as standalone treatments, they can be combined with medication when necessary.
Medication Management For Teens to Stabilize Mood
Medication can be instrumental in managing your teen’s bipolar disorder. It can help your teenager stabilize their moods and also reduce the severity of bipolar disorder symptoms. Here are the common types of medication commonly used for teen bipolar disorder:
Mood Stabilizers: They are used to neutralize high and low emotions during bipolar disorder episodes. Examples of these medications include valproate and lithium. Lamotrigine is not approved for teens, although studies show that it can effectively manage bipolar depression.
Antipsychotics: These medications are sometimes used to manage the symptoms of psychosis or mania that occur during bipolar disorder. Common examples include quetiapine, olanzapine, and risperidone.
Antidepressants: These medications can also be used to manage bipolar disorder. However, experts advise against using them as a standalone treatment. Instead, they recommend using antidepressants together with mood stabilizers. Examples of antidepressants include lurasidone, fluvoxamine, sertraline, and fluoxetine.
Medication management is highly personalized and dependent upon the needs and history of the client. It considers the specific type of bipolar disorder your teen is struggling with, your teen’s age, and gender. For example, some medications may be preferred for Bipolar I and others for Bipolar II. Healthcare professionals will also adjust treatment depending on hormonal changes in teen girls. This means that you have to work closely with a qualified psychiatrist to ensure effective medication for your teen.
Moreover, if the client shows signs of addictive behavior or past substance abuse, medication will likely not be recommended.
Lifestyle Modifications and Support
Apart from medication, lifestyle changes can also help manage bipolar disorder in your teen. A simple change of diet, sleep pattern, or exercise routine could help your teen improve significantly. Consider the following:
Teach your teenager mindfulness practices such as deep breathing or meditation. These techniques can improve your teen’s emotional control and self-awareness and help them manage stress.
Encourage your teen to participate in regular exercise. Physical activity can reduce depression and anxiety symptoms, which are common comorbidities with teen bipolar disorder. Therefore, activities like yoga, biking, or walking can help your teen manage bipolar disorder.
Facilitate and encourage your teen to eat a healthy, balanced diet. Experts recommend a balanced nutrition consisting of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins. These can help with mood stability and improve overall well-being.
Encourage your teen to adopt healthy sleep habits. They should avoid too much screen time before bedtime and establish a relaxing bedtime routine. This will promote better sleep quality and healthy mood regulation.
Help your teen establish a regular daily routine incorporating the tips above. You can work with them to give them a sense of ownership and guide them responsibly. Remember, to achieve optimal results, your teen must be consistent.
Emerging Therapies and Personalized Care
The world is constantly changing, and so is mental health treatment. Researchers and studies are constantly exploring new therapies and interventions. A good example of an emerging intervention is neurofeedback. It is a technique that uses real-time monitoring of brain activity to help people learn to control their brain function. It also improves the symptoms of mood disorders such as bipolar disorder.
Bipolar Treatment for Teens at Nexus Teen Academy
Nexus Teen Academy takes a more personalized approach to the treatment of bipolar disorder in teens. We recognize that every teenager is different and struggles with unique challenges. So, we adopt a comprehensive approach that considers the symptoms of bipolar disorder, personal circumstances, age, and gender.
At Nexus, we also understand how important family is in the healing process. To account for this, our program offers family therapy and family time once a week to ensure that clients can still meet with parents and other family members as they receive treatment.
By using a comprehensive approach, we help teenagers recover from bipolar disorder and other underlying mental health issues. Call our team to learn more about our teen residential treatment center in Arizona personalized care for mental health treatment.
You should remain calm and reassure your teen of your availability and support. Do not increase their emotions by arguing with them. Instead, offer them emotional support by listening actively, validating their emotions, and helping them find professional assistance.
Yes, certain hobbies or activities can trigger mood swings associated with bipolar disorder. Withdrawal from friends and family or social activities and excessive screen time can particularly trigger mood swings. As a parent, you must be vigilant and help your teen identify common triggers and develop a plan to deal with them.
When explaining your teen’s bipolar disorder to friends and family, ensure you respect your teen’s dignity and privacy. Do not disclose what they wouldn’t want to be disclosed. Focus on the basic information about your teen’s condition and how it affects their life. Emphasize the need to support your teen with friends and family.
If traditional medications fail, consider exploring other interventions, such as therapies. Therapies like CBT, DBT, exposure therapy, music, and art therapy can help your teen manage bipolar disorder. However, remember to seek expert opinions from qualified healthcare professionals.
The long-term effects of teen bipolar disorder include difficulty forming and maintaining healthy relationships, trouble maintaining employment, and poor academic performance. To effectively prepare for the future, focus on establishing a supportive network for your teen. Also, learn more about bipolar disorder and advocate for your teen’s needs. Remember to collaborate with healthcare professionals like Nexus Teen Academy to establish a comprehensive, personalized treatment plan for your teenager.
Managing Teen Bipolar Disorder in Arizona
Published On May 8, 2024
Table of Contents
Nearly 3% of adolescents in the U.S. struggle with bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder in teens is a state of emotional instability consisting of heightened emotions and low moments. It can interfere with your teen’s daily life and can be tough on the entire family.
If your teen is struggling with bipolar disorder, it is vital to seek professional treatment to help manage symptoms and establish stability. Nexus Teen Academy is a teen mental health treatment center in Arizona that can provide sustained support for your loved one’s bipolar or other mental health disorders. Call our team today and get help.
Let’s get a better understanding of what bipolar is and how different therapeutic interventions can be used to help a teen struggling with bipolar disorder.
Understanding Bipolar Disorder in Teens
Bipolar disorder causes several tumultuous effects on your teen, leading to mixed emotions ranging from one extreme to the other. Let’s unpack bipolar disorder in teenagers:
The Basics of Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a mental condition in teens that causes emotions to range from low-energy episodes (depression) to heightened-energy episodes (hypomania or mania). Teen bipolar disorder exists in different forms:
Identifying Mood Swings in Teens
Teenagers struggling with bipolar disorder often exhibit different signs of mood swings. These signs are mostly dependent on the type of bipolar disorder. They include:
Several triggers can lead to these signs, including:
Gender Differences in Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder does not play favorites when it comes to boys or girls. However, there are some differences in how it affects boys and girls. Let’s break it down:
Mood Swings in Teen Boys
Teenage boys struggling with bipolar disorder often exhibit more aggressive mood swings and are easily irritable during manic episodes.
Social expectations can also force boys to suppress their emotions, making it difficult to seek assistance or express their concerns. This can also delay diagnosis and proper bipolar disorder management.
Mood Swings in Girls
Unlike boys, girls experience more variability in their mood swings. Girls struggling with bipolar disorder often experience rapid cycling, where their moods change quickly from lows to highs and vice versa.
Hormonal changes during adolescence and menstruation can also shape mood swings. Sometimes, these factors increase the symptoms of bipolar disorder in teen girls.
10 Therapies for Managing Mood Swings
There are several therapeutic modalities used to manage mood swings in teens struggling with bipolar disorder. Most of these therapies are evidence-based and proven to be effective. We have carefully selected ten therapies proven to manage bipolar disorder in teens effectively. Let’s delve into them:
Remember, professional experts like Nexus Teen Academy will adopt a more personalized approach based on your teen’s unique needs and create an individual treatment plan based on this. Although the therapies above can be effective as standalone treatments, they can be combined with medication when necessary.
Medication Management For Teens to Stabilize Mood
Medication can be instrumental in managing your teen’s bipolar disorder. It can help your teenager stabilize their moods and also reduce the severity of bipolar disorder symptoms. Here are the common types of medication commonly used for teen bipolar disorder:
Medication management is highly personalized and dependent upon the needs and history of the client. It considers the specific type of bipolar disorder your teen is struggling with, your teen’s age, and gender. For example, some medications may be preferred for Bipolar I and others for Bipolar II. Healthcare professionals will also adjust treatment depending on hormonal changes in teen girls. This means that you have to work closely with a qualified psychiatrist to ensure effective medication for your teen.
Moreover, if the client shows signs of addictive behavior or past substance abuse, medication will likely not be recommended.
Lifestyle Modifications and Support
Apart from medication, lifestyle changes can also help manage bipolar disorder in your teen. A simple change of diet, sleep pattern, or exercise routine could help your teen improve significantly. Consider the following:
Emerging Therapies and Personalized Care
The world is constantly changing, and so is mental health treatment. Researchers and studies are constantly exploring new therapies and interventions. A good example of an emerging intervention is neurofeedback. It is a technique that uses real-time monitoring of brain activity to help people learn to control their brain function. It also improves the symptoms of mood disorders such as bipolar disorder.
Bipolar Treatment for Teens at Nexus Teen Academy
Nexus Teen Academy takes a more personalized approach to the treatment of bipolar disorder in teens. We recognize that every teenager is different and struggles with unique challenges. So, we adopt a comprehensive approach that considers the symptoms of bipolar disorder, personal circumstances, age, and gender.
At Nexus, we also understand how important family is in the healing process. To account for this, our program offers family therapy and family time once a week to ensure that clients can still meet with parents and other family members as they receive treatment.
By using a comprehensive approach, we help teenagers recover from bipolar disorder and other underlying mental health issues. Call our team to learn more about our teen residential treatment center in Arizona personalized care for mental health treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions
You should remain calm and reassure your teen of your availability and support. Do not increase their emotions by arguing with them. Instead, offer them emotional support by listening actively, validating their emotions, and helping them find professional assistance.
Yes, certain hobbies or activities can trigger mood swings associated with bipolar disorder. Withdrawal from friends and family or social activities and excessive screen time can particularly trigger mood swings. As a parent, you must be vigilant and help your teen identify common triggers and develop a plan to deal with them.
When explaining your teen’s bipolar disorder to friends and family, ensure you respect your teen’s dignity and privacy. Do not disclose what they wouldn’t want to be disclosed. Focus on the basic information about your teen’s condition and how it affects their life. Emphasize the need to support your teen with friends and family.
If traditional medications fail, consider exploring other interventions, such as therapies. Therapies like CBT, DBT, exposure therapy, music, and art therapy can help your teen manage bipolar disorder. However, remember to seek expert opinions from qualified healthcare professionals.
The long-term effects of teen bipolar disorder include difficulty forming and maintaining healthy relationships, trouble maintaining employment, and poor academic performance. To effectively prepare for the future, focus on establishing a supportive network for your teen. Also, learn more about bipolar disorder and advocate for your teen’s needs. Remember to collaborate with healthcare professionals like Nexus Teen Academy to establish a comprehensive, personalized treatment plan for your teenager.