For this assignment, you will write a 5–6-page paper on the topic of bipolar and bipolar and related disorders. You will create this guide as an assignment; therefore, a title page, introduction, conclusion, and reference page are required. You must include a minimum of 3 scholarly supporting resources outside of the resources provided by your course. Assessing and Treating Patients with Bipolar Disorder Assessing and Treating Patients with Bipolar Disorder In your paper, you will choose one of the following diagnoses: Bipolar I, Bipolar II, Cyclothymic Disorder, Substance/Medication-Induced Bipolar and Related Disorder, Bipolar and Related Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition. Your paper will include a discussion of your chosen diagnosis of bipolar and related disorders on the following:

Assessing and Treating Patients with Bipolar Disorder

There are several mood disorders that patients experience with varying degrees of manifestations. Bipolar disorder is among the common mental illnesses that can either be chronic in that it persistently or constantly reoccurs or episodic in that it can occur with seasons. The symptoms of bipolar disorder are mostly observed during late adolescence or early adulthood but may also manifest in children. Bipolar disorder can be diagnosed across three distinct mental issues based on the frequency and severity of symptoms manifested. The basic types of bipolar disorder include bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, and cyclothymic disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2021). Bipolar disorders differ in the severity and recurrence rate of the episodes of depression and hypomania. Patients might also experience bipolar symptoms unrelated to the three types of bipolar disorders with mental conditions known as other specified and unspecified bipolar and related disorders. Bipolar II disorder is a major mental illness along the bipolar disorder spectrum that affects a significant number of people. This guide is developed to define and improve the understanding of Bipolar II disorder for mental health practitioners. It provides the prevalence and neurobiology of bipolar II disorder, its diagnostic criteria, population-specific considerations, approved pharmacological treatment options, side effects of the treatment options, FDA approvals, and warnings and examples of how to prescribe medications for Bipolar II disorder.

Prevalence and Neurobiology of Bipolar II Disorder

Bipolar II disorder is among the most common mental health illnesses. Bipolar disorders, in general, are estimated to affect about 1 percent to 2.5 percent of the world population (Marzani & Neff, 2021). Evidence shows bipolar II disorder has the highest seasonal prevalence, majorly during the onset of mood disorders (Yeom et al., 2021). The condition affects an estimated 2 percent of the U.S. population. Notably, most of the world’s population is at risk of developing bipolar II disorder. Although an estimated 4.4. percent of the adult U.S. population has had or is expected to develop bipolar II disorder, the mental illness is noted to be more prevalent among adolescents and people in their middle ages (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.). The symptoms set up early during adolescence, while the mental disorders can be fully experienced during the early 50s. Notably, there seem to be no significant gender differences in the development of bipolar II disorder as it proportionately affects men and women at the rate of 2.9 percent and 2.8 percent of the population, respectively (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.).

The exact etiology of bipolar disorders is not well understood. However, recent empirical evidence from analyses of bipolar disorder subtypes shows a strong but imperfect genetic correlation between the development of the disorders (Mullins et al., 2021). The genetic component affects the production and regulation of neurochemicals, especially serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitters, which affect mood regulation and lead to dysregulation. Environmental factors such as stressful life and childhood maltreatment increase the predisposition to bipolar disorders (McIntyre et al., 2020).