How many people have Bipolar and how long does it take to get diagnosed?
- Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5.7 million adult Americans, or about 2.6% of the U.S. population age 18 and older every year. (National Institute of Mental Health) 3.9% of Americans will get Bipolar Disorder in their lifetime. 83% of cases of Bipolar Disorder are classified as severe.
- Consumers with bipolar disorder face up to ten years of coping with symptoms before getting an accurate diagnosis, with only one in four receiving an accurate diagnosis in less than three years. (DBSA, 2000)
- More than two-thirds of people with bipolar disorder have at least one close relative with the illness or with unipolar major depression, indicating that the disease has a heritable component. (National Institute of Mental Health)
How disabling is Bipolar?
- Bipolar disorder is the sixth leading cause of disability in the world. (World Health Organization)
- Participation in a DBSA patient-to-patient support group improved treatment compliance by almost 86% and reduced in-patient hospitalization. (DBSA, 1999)
What about life span and suicide for Bipolar?
- Bipolar disorder results in 9.2 years reduction in expected life span, and as many as one in five patients with bipolar disorder completes suicide. (National Institute of Mental Health)
- People with bipolar disorder are at great risk for suicide if they are not getting treatment. The National Mental Health Association reports that 30%-70% of suicide victims have suffered from a form of depression. Men commit almost 75% of suicides, even though twice as many women attempt it.
What about extramarital affairs and hypersexuality for Bipolar?
- A 1975 study that looked at lifetime sexual experience found extramarital sexual experiences to be more frequent amongst bipolar people - 29% had had 10 or more experiences.
- According to figures quoted by Goodwin and Jamison, hypersexuality was reported in 57% of manic individuals, based on averages across seven studies, with a range of values from 25% to 80%. "Sexual indiscretions" is such a significant marker of bipolar illness that it is included in the DSM-IV's diagnostic criteria.
Is the high divorce rate true for Bipolar?
- In the United States and Canada, at least 40 percent of all marriages fail. But the statistics for marriages involving a person who has bipolar disorder are especially sobering—an estimated 90 percent of these end in divorce, according to a November 2003 article, “Managing Bipolar Disorder,” in Psychology Today.
Good article on beating marriage odds with bipolar.
BIPOLAR RESOURCES:
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) offers peer-led and online support groups for persons with depression or bipolar and their loved ones. I regularly attend these support groups and enjoy them.
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) offers free trained volunteer classes and support groups for persons with mental illnesses and their loved ones. Also valuable.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) seeks to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illness through research. Educational resource.
Bipolarhome.org lists other resources of websites and newsgroups of possible interest. Peruse at your own risk.
National Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-8255 in the US
