Bipolar disorder treatment in Houston & across Texas

What bipolar disorder actually looks like

In this condition, there are two “poles” at different ends of the spectrum. On one side you have depression, and on the other side you have mania or hypomania. The latter can present as feeling unusually good or energetic, with particular periods in time remembered as “really productive” or as “out-of-control energy, reckless”. You can present with a decreased need for sleep, extreme irritability, racing thoughts and being overly talkative. Your judgment can be affected. Others might also see that you are not like your usual self.

At Tentie Psychiatry we make sure to carefully assess your symptoms, with keen evaluation over time, in order to understand you as a person, to provide the most accurate assessment of your situation and to offer the best treatment possible.

When is it time to see a psychiatrist?

• Periods of markedly reduced need for sleep — not insomnia, but genuinely not needing sleep and feeling fine.
• Stretches of unusual energy, racing thoughts, or talkativeness that other people have noticed.
• Uncharacteristic spending, risk-taking or impulsive decisions during those periods.
• Depression that started young (childhood, teenage years), or has never fully responded to standard treatment.
• Marked agitation, irritability, or symptoms worsening on antidepressants.
• A family history of bipolar disorder, or of relatives described as “difficult” or “up and down”.

Treatment options

Several classes of mood-stabilizing agents have strong response evidence. The right choice of medication depends on a careful review of your history and of previous medication trials with good outcomes or unwanted adverse effects. Certain medical conditions or treatments can also mimic some symptoms. Antidepressants, alone or in combination, can potentially make you feel worse. This is why treatment needs a careful and watchful approach. Augmentation strategies and combination treatment exist for partial response to mood stabilizers. Psychotherapy has strong independent evidence for treatment and works well in combination with medications.

Good and consistent sleep, physical activity and abstinence from alcohol or drugs, among others, are great additions to your wellbeing.

All treatment options are carefully reviewed with you, and you will have ample time and understanding to make the right decisions without feeling pressured.