Straight Talk about Hypersexuality in Children with Bipolar Disorder by Dimitri Papolous

From Bp Magazine. Here is one of the best posts I have read in a LONG time.  By Demitri Papolos, MD who wrote The Bipolar Child.


A very common symptom of bipolar disorder— hypersexuality — is one that particularly affects and disturbs the families of children who have the illness, and yet is rarely talked about.

By Demitri Papolos, MD

 

Hypersexuality in children is rarely openly discussed for two reasons: one is that sexuality in children (bipolar or not) is simply not spoken about in public; and the other, sadly, is that parents of hypersexual children are afraid to mention the subject. They are petrified that child protective service agencies will find out and wrongly assume that a hypersexual child is an over stimulated child, and that overstimulation stems from sexual abuse in the home. Few people—even the professionals at child protective service agencies— realize that hypersexualityis very common during the manic or hypomanic stages of bipolar disorder in adults and in children.

What is the definition of hypersexuality?

Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary describes “hypersexual” as “unusually or excessively interested in or concerned with sexual activity.” It is an accepted fact that hypersexuality hypersexuality is a symptom of hypomania or mania in an adult who has bipolar disorder.

In children, the symptom may manifest as a fascination with private parts and an increase in self-stimulatory behaviors, a precocious interest in things of a sexual nature, and language laced with highly sexual words or phrases.

Click here to visit Bp Magazine and read Straight talk about Hypersexuality in Children with Bipolar. 

A note from Julie:

 If you have bipolar disorder, do you have hyper sexuality? This is a common symptom of mania, especially euphoric mania. I have struggled with hyper sexuality symptoms since age 17.


 


At what age did yours start and how do you manage them now?


 


I have worked on this for many years and finally have it under control. Imagine dealing with the symptoms as a child!

Julie

Related posts:
Parent of a University Student with Bipolar Disorder?
Three Bipolar Disorder Symptoms No One Wants to Talk About: My Most Viewed Blog Post Ever is from BP Magazine
Reader Question: Children and Mental Health Diagnoses