Mood Swings of Bipolar Patients Can be Predicted

Bipolar-disorder related mood swings can be predicted by thoughts and behavior, reveals study.

People with bipolar are prone to extreme mood swings that take them from great emotional highs to the pits of depression; the cause of these mood swings is often put down to the patients' genes and biology rather than their own thoughts and actions.

For this latest study, the researchers followed 50 people with bipolar disorder for a month. The team found that the patients' thinking and behaviour predicted their future mood swings even when their medical history had been accounted for.

"Individuals who believed extreme things about their moods developed more mood problems in a month's time," said study lead Warren Mansell, in Manchester's School of Psychological Sciences.

"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, faired well a month later," he added.

The study has been published in the American Psychological Association journal Psychological Assessment.

Source: ANI