by Kaye Boss

Created on: April 29, 2009

Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder which affects moods, energy levels, and activity levels in day-to-day activities. This mental disease is often identified by what are known as mood episodes in the person. While everyone goes through moody moments, a mood episode is a mood swing that lasts for longer periods of time. For example someone with a mood disorder would experience feelings of either manic (outgoing, overly happy feeling) or depressive (sad, hopeless feeling) for a period of one to two weeks. These moods would last most, if not all of the day in length.

Before branching further into the topic of whether or not a mother can be a good parent if suffering from bipolar disorder, it is important to search further into the identifying symptoms and risks of someone who suffers from this mental disease. In order to describe the symptoms we must separate the disorder into the two different moods; manic and depressive. Symptoms of the manic mood swing are feelings of irritability and high energy (as if they were caffeinated all the time), restlessness, little sleeping, and having unrealistic beliefs. By unrealistic beliefs I am referring to a person that is overconfident in their abilities, and they will partake in actions that they feel are pleasurable and put them at risk without thinking through the risks. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the depressive state will cause a long period of anxious, worried emotions that accompany fatigue, suicidal feelings, and a lack of concentration on activities that they would normally be able to handle.

So, what are the risks of having bipolar disorder in your life? Aside from the effects that can be assumed present with the above listed symptoms, bipolar disorder has been statistically proven to co-exist with other diseases and conditions such as migraines, thyroid disease, obesity, diabetes, and heart problems. Bipolar disorder, when at the highest state of the moods (either manic or depressive) can also cause severe symptoms of hallucinations and delusions, and in many people substance abuse.

Now, finally, to get to the subject of why a mother with bipolar disorder cannot make a good parent. While I am hopeful for people suffering from mental disorders; a mother, especially a mother to younger children, is not capable of handling her role as a mother. Bipolar disorder is a mental disease that has no cure, it can simply be treated with mood stabilizers. Ironically however one of the side effects of many mood stabilizers

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