Could it be true that Bipolar disorder is really a type of seizure according to National Alliances of Mental Illness members advociates?

Answer 1

This is an interesting theory, based on the idea that the portions of your brain that perceive what mood is "correct" for a certain situation are having a kind of electrical storm, shooting and firing neurons like crazy. This makes the individual with the disorder manic or depressed, regardless of outside cues. Another reason this theory gets attention is that for years now, a lot of anticonvulsant(seizure) drugs have been used off-label for controlling Bipolar disorder, to good effect. Brand names Depakote, Tegretol, Lamictal, Topamax, and others are used by many doctors as front-line drugs when an individual is diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. Nevertheless, as long as the stigma of mental illness persists in this country, people will continue to believe that it's "all in their head" and be ashamed to seek treatment. Bipolar disorder, as well as a host of other "mental" illnesses, are truly biologically based, even if we don't yet know exactly how.