Expert: Ivan Goldberg, M.D. - 11/14/2007

Question
What are the symptoms of Bipolar Disorder and is Lithium the best medication?
Can Bipolar Disorder affect your ability to hold down a job and do employers discriminate because of it?
I have a history of mental illness and various treatments for depression and anxiety, however until recently I wasn't aware of bipolar disorder and have always felt that my conditions have never been properly diagnosed/treated.

Answer
Hi Mark . . .

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder in which people have periods of depression and other times when they may be irritable or "hyper." Sometimes the depression and the irritability or "hyper" feelings occur simultaneously.

A screening instrument for bipolar disorder may be found at:
http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.bipolar-screening.html

While lithium is the oldest of the effective treatments for people with bipolar disorder you can read of other treatments at:
http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.bipolar.html

Bipolar disorder can affect one's ability to work, and I am sure there are some employers who discriminate against people with the diagnosis.

Best regards . . .
Ivan
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