It is possible to predict future mood swings in bipolar people by monitoring their thoughts and behaviour.
People with bipolar disorder suffer from extreme mood swings that veer between moments of emotional highs and euphoria to deep depression.
Researchers followed 50 British patients with bipolar disorder for a month, studying how they think and act. Individuals who believed extreme things about their moods - for example, that their moods were completely out of their own control or that they had to keep active all the time to prevent becoming a failure - developed more mood problems in a month's time, it was found. In contrast, people with bipolar disorder who could let their moods pass as a normal reaction to stress or knew they could manage their mood fared well a month later.
The findings are encouraging for talking therapies - such as CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) - that aim to help patients to talk about their moods and change their thinking about them.
People with bipolar disorder suffer from extreme mood swings that veer between moments of emotional highs and euphoria to deep depression.
Researchers followed 50 British patients with bipolar disorder for a month, studying how they think and act. Individuals who believed extreme things about their moods - for example, that their moods were completely out of their own control or that they had to keep active all the time to prevent becoming a failure - developed more mood problems in a month's time, it was found. In contrast, people with bipolar disorder who could let their moods pass as a normal reaction to stress or knew they could manage their mood fared well a month later.
The findings are encouraging for talking therapies - such as CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) - that aim to help patients to talk about their moods and change their thinking about them.