More than one million children in the U.S. suffer from manic depression. Psychiatrist Demitri Papolos and his wife, Janice, are authors of the book, The Bipolar Child. Some medications like Ritalin that are used to treat explosive outbursts, attention deficits and hyperactivity can make bipolar conditions worse, causing children who are misdiagnosed to suffer from hallucinations and psychosis. Unlike adults with bipolar, the symptoms in children are different. Bipolar children feel scared all the time.
Many bipolar children refuse to sleep for days at a time.
Lines between reality and fantasy are often blurred for bipolar children. More and more bipolar babies are being seen, some as young as 18 months. Research suggests that although manic-depressive disorder is usually diagnosed during the late teens and 20s, signs of the mental illness may surface in early as infancy. Its milder, type II form causes depression alternating with hyperactivity, while the more severe type I disorder produced frenzied, even psychotic episodes that may send the patient to the hospital, followed by deep, crippling depressions. No more excuses.