Prozac for the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder.

                                                                                         

Prozac is a medication often prescribed for bipolar disorder, bulimia, and other anxiety disorders. The medication is highly effective because it acts as a serotonin inhibitor, which means that it helps balance the serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin levels are responsible for mood stability, depressive states, and control of anxiety, fears, and phobias.

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a mental illness that is caused by a combination of biological, neurological, emotional, and situational factors. The real causes of bipolar disorder are not yet fully understood. It is understood, however, that imbalances in the neurotransmitters of the brain, such as serotonin, are partially responsible for the predisposition of bipolar disorder in some patients.

Bulimia is an eating disorder in which the patient eats excessively and then purges themselves of the food they have recently eaten either through vomiting or induced bowel movements. Bulimia is caused by a number of psychological and emotional factors, and in some cases even environmental factors. The emotional factors relating to bulimia are very similar to factors involved with bipolar disorder and low self esteem issues, which are connected to serotonin levels in the brain.

Anxiety disorders are thought to be caused by abnormal fluctuations in brain chemistry. Anxiety is defined as the intense and somewhat debilitating feeling that something bad is going to happen. Everyone feels anxiety at some point, but the normal person usually has a logical reason for it. With bipolar disorder, the reason for the anxiety may not be known, or it may not be logical even when it is known.

Prozac is a very potent treatment for bipolar disorder, bulimia, and anxiety because it controls and balances the serotonin levels in the brain. In bipolar patients, it is often prescribed in conjunction with other medications. Prozac is an effective treatment for depression, but can cause manic episodes to exacerbate. For this reason, Prozac is generally prescribed along with an anti-psychotic drug that helps moderate manic episodes. Therapy sessions and counseling is another part of the treatment.

In bulimia patients, Prozac is generally the only prescription given. However, it is used in combination with treatment of symptoms by counseling and therapy. The idea behind this counseling is to determine why the patient has developed a sense of low self-worth, and to allow the patient to learn that what they recognise is not necessarily reality. This is very helpful in bulimia patients who binge and purge as a development of how they perceive their bodies.

Bipolar disorder patients are often prescribed Prozac with great success. Counseling may also be used as a part of the treatment. In therapy sessions, patients may be taught techniques to control their anxiety through rationalization of situations that may not at first appear rational. For example, if a patient feels anxiety over a cigarette burning in an ashtray, they can learn techniques to allow their mind to rationalize the situation and recognise that there is no real danger of fire, and consequently no reason for the anxiety. These techniques are very efficacious in conjunction with Prozac for treating bipolar disorder.

Overall, Prozac is a very impressive treatment for many types of mood disorder. Along with Lithium, it is often thought to be a miracle drug, to help patients gain stability and normal lives while living with a changeable, unrealistic view of themselves or their surroundings.

About the author:
Mark is a life long depression sufferer and maintains a site devoted to the understanding and treatment of depression in all it's many forms. Visit his site for more information at http://www.overcome-depression.com

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