Bipolar Disorder in Young People[i]

Bipolar Disorder, once known as manic depression, always known as a ferocious mental illness, seems to be showing up in children at an increasing rate, and that has taken a lot of mental health professionals by surprise. The illness until recently was thought to be the province of unfortunate adults. But bipolar disorder isn’t nearly so selective. Doctors are coming to the unsettling conclusion that large numbers of teens and children are suffering from it as well.

Although the official tally of Americans suffering from bipolar disorder seems to be holding steady – about 2.3 million, striking men and women equally – the average age of onset has fallen in a single generation from the early 30s to the late teens.

That number does not include kids under 18. Diagnosing the condition at young ages is new and controversial, but experts estimate that an additional 1 million preteens and children in the U.S. may suffer from early stages of bipolar disorder. And when adult bipolars are interviewed, nearly half report their first manic episode occurred before they were 21. One in five say it occurred in childhood.

If this underdiagnosis is true, it is an important warning sign for parents and doctors, since bipolar disorder is not an illness that can be allowed to go untreated. Victims have an alcoholism and drug abuse rate that is triple that of the rest of the population, and a suicide rate that approaches 20 percent.

Some experts believe that kids are being tipped into bipolar disorder that by family and school stress, recreational drug use and perhaps even genes that express themselves more aggressively from one generation to the next. Others argue that the actual numbers have not increased, but rather that we are better at diagnosing the illness. Still, by some estimates, at least half the people who are bipolar do not get treated.

If you would like more information about bipolar disorder, and/or suspect you may be suffering from it or from depression, you may want to contact your EAP counselor at 866/443-3277.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[i] Young and Bipolar, Time Magazine, 8/19/02, 38