44 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k m a y / j u n e 2 0 1 4
PATHOLOGY PERSPECTIVES
Anticonvulsants
Lamictal, Neurontin, Topamax, and
other anticonvulsant drugs are sometimes
used to limit manic symptoms.
Antipsychotics
Abilify, Risperdal, Seroquel, and Zyprexa are
some of the drugs that are used to manage the
hallucinations or delusions that can occur at
the opposite extremes of bipolar disorder.
Antidepressants
Severe depression is often the trigger that leads
individuals to seek medical help. But taking only
antidepressants can precipitate a manic episode,
or rapid cycling symptoms. Consequently,
antidepressants are typically only prescribed
when antipsychotic and/or mood-stabilizing
drugs are also being used. The most commonly
prescribed antidepressants for bipolar disorder
include Paxil, Prozac, Wellbutrin, and Zoloft.
The medications that treat bipolar disorder are
not gentle, and they almost always have to be used
in combinations. Some of these drugs can have
These illnesses are serious on their own, but they can
also make standard bipolar treatment less effective.
BIPOLAR TREATMENT
One of the most challenging aspects of bipolar
disorder is treating it in such a way that the
patient is neither manic nor depressive, but
spends the majority of his or her time in a range
of normal functioning. Successfully treating
only manic symptoms can throw a person into
a deep depression. Treating only the depressive
symptoms can throw a person into dangerous
levels of mania. Treatment goals are therefore
designed to reduce the severity and frequency of
mood swings: to tamp down the mania, and to lift
up the depression. A variety of pharmaceutical
interventions may be used in this context.
Mood Stabilizers
These include varieties of lithium, including
Eskalith and Lithobid. Valproic acid (Depakote)
is another mood stabilizer. These drugs are
effective at tamping down manic symptoms,
but they usually don't address depression.
Resources
Cheney, T. "An Insider's Tips: How NOT to Treat Bipolar Disorder." Psychology Today. Accessed April 2014.
www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-bipolar-lens/201301/insiders-tips-how-not-treat-bipolar-disorder.
National Institute of Mental Health. "Bipolar Disorder." Accessed April 2014.
www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml.
Ostacher, M. "Pathology and Management of Treatment Resistance in Bipolar Disorder." Psychiatric Times.
Accessed April 2014. www.psychiatrictimes.com/articles/pathology-and-management-treatment-resistance-
bipolar-disorder.
Soreff, S. et al. "Bipolar Affective Disorder." WebMD. Accessed April 2014.
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/286342-overview.
Tartakovsky, M. "Bipolar Disorder Fact Sheet." PsychCentral. Accessed April 2014.
http://psychcentral.com/lib/bipolar-disorder-fact-sheet/0001561.
WebMD. "Helping a Loved One with Bipolar Disorder." Accessed April 2014.
www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/helping-loved-one-with-bipolar.
