Mental Health True or False?

True or False?

Here are some mental health statements. Are they true or false? The answers are below.

1. OCD is an anxiety disorder.

2. People with bipolar disorder can get psychotic.

3. Bipolar disorder in children is the same as bipolar disorder in adults.

4. Lithium is the only true mood stabilizer.

Answers:

1. True!  OCD is an anxiety disorder. Joni  Johnston, in her excellent book The Complete Idiots Guide to Controlling Anxiety  lists OCD as one of the seven sisters of anxiety: general anxiety disorder, social phobias, panic disorder, agoraphobia,  specific phobias, PTST and finaly, OCD.

2. Absolutely true.  People with bipolar disroder can get psychotic. When my partner Ivan was in the hospital for three months- he was manic and very psychotic. This is normal with a full blown bipolar I manic episode. The psychosis is treated with antipsychotics such as Abilify, Seroquel, Risperdal and Zyprexa.  I write about Ivan in my book Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder: Understanding and Helping Your Partner.

3. False!  Bipolar disorder in children (also called pediatric bipolar disorder) is not the same as adult onset bipolar disorder.  The childhood bipolar disorder diagnosis is very controversial. In fact, in the last ten years, the childhood bipolar disorder diagnosis has increased by 40%!   Adult onset bipolar tends to start in the teenage years and early 20′s and is a very specific diagnosis. There has not been a significant increase in adult diagnoses since the 1940′s.  To clarify: More people are being correctly diagnosed- but there is little evidence to say that more adults have bipolar disorder.

4. True!  Lithium is the only true mood stabilizer. All of the other 'mood stabilizers'- Lamictal, Tegretol, and Depakote are actually anticonvulsants.

You are now ready to test your family and friends!

Julie

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