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8.1 Introduction

Learning Objectives

  • Identify assessment cues of bipolar disorders
  • Identify nursing priorities for clients with bipolar disorders
  • Plan outcomes for clients with bipolar disorders
  • Describe safety/protective interventions for clients with bipolar disorders
  • Apply evidence-based practice when planning care and interventions for clients with bipolar disorders
  • Analyze treatments for clients with bipolar disorders
  • Apply the nursing process to clients with bipolar disorders at risk for suicide

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes dramatic shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to think clearly. Moods shift from abnormally elevated moods called manic episodes to abnormal low moods of depression. See Figure 8.1[1] for a depiction of the shifts in mood that occur with bipolar disorder. Severe bipolar episodes of mania can also include hallucinations or delusions, which can be confused with symptoms of schizophrenia.[2] This chapter will discuss the signs, symptoms, and treatments for bipolar disorder and explain how to apply the nursing process when caring for clients with bipolar disorder.

 

Illustration of two masks, one happy and one anguished
Figure 8.1 Bipolar Disorder

 


  1. P_culture.svg” by he:משתמש:נעמה מ is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
  2. National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2017). Bipolar disorder. https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Bipolar-Disorder

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Nursing: Mental Health and Community Concepts - 2e Copyright © 2025 by WisTech Open is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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