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http://www.medicinaeinformazione.com/ / medicinaeinformazione Bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive, is characterized by alternating manic and depressive phases, moods characterized by euphoria or irritability disproportionate to daily life events or by deep depression. It is essential to intercept crises at their onset to avoid serious dysregulation, but how can you recognize the first warning signs? And how can you learn to manage stress and self-regulate your emotions to prevent the onset of a manic or depressive episode? And which medications are the most suitable combined with psychotherapy, even in a group or family, to learn to manage the disorder over time? We asked Prof. Massimo Biondi, Director of the Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit at the Policlinico Umberto I in Rome, who explained to us how, like other forms of depression, bipolar disorder has an important biochemical basis, combined with a psychosocial one, especially since some stressful life events, such as bereavement for example, produce changes in the brain of the substances that regulate mood and in those who are predisposed, they can represent important triggers. An important step in the treatment of bipolar disorder is information on the initial symptoms (sleeplessness, irritability, euphoria...) that usually increase over a week or two and for this reason a dedicated psychotherapy, called psychoinformation, given to the patient and his family can be helpful in learning to recognize the risk signals together with a pharmacological therapy that must be continued over time, with a regular sleep-wake rhythm... And to be able to live peacefully with a bipolar disorder - as many artists in the past and today have managed to do - a good doctor-patient relationship is also essential, that therapeutic alliance made of listening and trust that puts the patient in a position to actively participate in his own treatment process (empowerment) and makes him feel that his doctor is at his side in every step of the delicate path of diagnosis and therapy.