Impacts of Bipolar Disorder on Professional Life Research (Research Paper Sample)

Impacts of Bipolar Disorder on Professional Life
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Institution
Bipolar Disorder
There are various mental illnesses the people may suffer. There is a significant proportion of the population, not only in the country but across the world, with mental disorders. Mental illness cause mild to critically severe disturbances of the mind which may result in a change of behavior. Mental illnesses make a person unable to lead a normal life and unable to cope with life’s demands and routines. Most mental disorders have no known cause, and their diagnosis is complicated (Geddes, & Miklowitz, 2013). According to the American Psychiatric Association, there are more than 200 classified forms of mental disorders. The disorders have different symptoms and effects on the lives of people. Bipolar disorder is one of the major mental diseases which affects the moods and the feelings of a person. This disorder affects the social relations of individuals and the professional aspects of working people (Michalak et al., 2017). This paper investigates the impacts of bipolar disorder on people’s working life.
Bipolar disorder is one of the major mental diseases. It is a mood disorder and may affect the functioning of a person. It is a chronic illness that causes unusual shifts in the mood of a person, energy, ability to think straight, and performance of normal tasks (Forty et al., 2014). It is also referred to as the manic-depressive illness. The shifts in the moods among the patients with bipolar disorder are more severe compared to that of an average person. People with this disease experience variations of episodes of extreme high moods and very low moods. The instances of high moods are known as mania or hypomania while the lows are referred to as depression (Geddes, & Miklowitz, 2013). If the disorder is not treated, the condition worsens and may lead to suicide and other effects. However, under medication and therapy, patients can suppress the disease and live with it.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) categorizes the disorder into four types. Bipolar I Disorder is a disorder where patients experience one or more episodes of mania or the extreme high moods. The instances of high moods are severe such that it requires hospitalization or they last for an extended period (Forty et al., 2014). During this instance, a patient's loses touch with reality. In other instances, they experience episodes of both mania and depression. Bipolar II Disorder is a type of bipolar disease where a person experiences extremely depressive episodes and a less severe episode of high moods. This kind of bipolar disease has no extreme symptoms. Cyclothymia or Cyclothymic Disorder is a condition of unstable mood shifts which is characterized episodes of mild hypomania and depression for an extended period, usually more than two years. Patients who suffer from this type of bipolar disorder experience instances of normal moods and stability. The other form of bipolar disorder is the condition that does not meet the criteria for bipolar I, II or cyclothymia but experiences conditions of significant mood shifts (Geddes, & Miklowitz, 2013). The symptoms may not last long enough, or the episodes may not fit the requirements for bipolar I and II.
The symptoms vary from one person to another. Some patients may experience one episode in a decade while others may have frequent mood shifts. The mania phase of the disease is characterized by extreme energy, increased activity, and productivity (Forty et al., 2014). The person may indicate signs of inflated self-esteem, reduced need for sleep, being talkative, rapid loss of attention, episodes of racing thoughts, increased productivity, and engaging in harmful activities. The depression phase of the disorder is characterized by a feeling of sadness and emptiness, loss of pleasure in daily activities, loss of energy, difficulty in concentration, appetite and weight loss, sleep disturbance, and recurrent thoughts of death (Michalak et al., 2017). The diagnosis of this disorder is conducted by professional psychiatrists who study the mood swings of a person. With the correct diagnosis, a person is put on medication and therapy. The common types of medications include mood stabilizers to treat and prevent mania and antidepressants for treating depression. Also, patients may be put under psychological treatments such as counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Impacts of Bipolar Disorder on Professional Life
The effects of this disorder may be far reaching both in the life of the patient and the people around them. This mental problem adversely and significantly affects the patients’ careers and jobs. People suffering from bipolar disorder have high rates of unemployment and loss of work (Nafees, 2013). According to Nafees, most individuals with bipolar disorder are unemployed. This is because patients with this disorder tend to have high rates of absenteeism from work and they end up being sacked. The episodes of mania and depression may frequently occur in severe cases of the disorder. When this occurs, a patient is unable to go to work which leads to unproductivity. The disease leads to loss of working time as patients take some time to depress the moods. This leads to sacking or quitting. Other cases of the disorder are accompanied by instances of physical pain such as a migraine which makes a person unable to work (Nafees, 2013). Also, when the mood episodes occur, the situation may become unmanageable. This may cause strain in the relationships with the coworkers. This creates an awkward situation at the place of work and may lead to disciplinary action and may even result in termination of the job contracts. When this happens, the career advancement of a person is halted, and his or her profession suffers. In the case of patients under medication, the side effects associated with the medicines provided may worsen the situation at the workplace. The drugs that are used to treat this disorder are associated with drowsiness, poor coordination, nausea, difficulty in speech, and rapid loss of concentration (Procyshyn & Jeffries, 2015). This makes the patients have problems at workplaces which negatively affects the profession of a person.
It is also a difficult task to get a job when a person is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Employers would be uncomfortable hiring people with mental illnesses. It becomes hard for the bosses to trust such employees and their capabilities are put in doubt. This makes young graduates who have been diagnosed with the problem have difficulties when seeking employment (Nafees, 2013). Bipolar patients may be misunderstood at the workplaces. When they recover from the manic or depressive episodes, they suffer low-grade depression and anxiety. The conditions may take some time to fade off, and therefore the patients may take a long time to adjust to the normal lives. At the workplaces, such patients may be accused of laxity and complacency in the execution of their duties. This has adverse effects on the career progression and professional development.
Popular People with Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorders do not choose their patients. They affect people from all classes in the society from politicians to celebrities. While there is no single profession is associated with the disorder, the majority of the people publically known to suffer from the illness are artists (Filer, 2014). Individuals with this disorder are thought to be crazy and abnormal. Therefore, people rarely tal...