People who are bipolar are usually diagnosed when they are in the depressive state because if someone is manic and overly productive, it may be mistaken for positive or productive behavior [ex: oh my, he's such a hard worker. Finished his work and took on 3 additional tasks. He is a great employee"] ans so no one thinks there is anything wrong. On the other hand, when a person is in the depressed stage, it becomes obvious FAST.
There are 2 kinds of Bipolar disease - Bipolar I and II.
Bipolar I is the "manic-depressive" cycling. The person will go up and down in a wave-like manner, ranging from manic stage [overly happy, generally over-productive, lack of sleep, rapid speech, delusional and overconfident] to depressive [always tired, increased sleep, lack of motivation].
Drug-induces psychosis is different and if there is no brain damage [neuron death], the psychosis should disappear as soon as the drugs wear off. The danger with drug-induced psychosis is that there is commonly permanent, irreversible brain damage.
If kids are involved in ANY kind of drug or alcohol use/abuse, they need help IMMEDIATELY. They must be removed from the environment and if necessary, placed in rehab programs.
The brain of children and young adults is still undergoing the process of chemical balancing and drugs/alcohol can cause SERIOUS effects that may cause more damage to the brain more-so than [for example] a 30 year old persons.
If you suspect that a child/teen is using drugs, please inform their parents, a teacher or a counselor.
If you suspect that a young adult [18-25] is using, informing parents is a good idea but not always effective because legally, they are adults. This does not mean that they should not be offered help.
For more information, you can check out Narcotics Anonymous at:
http://www.na.org/
For information on quitting smoking marijuana or on how to approach someone who you think needs help, you can visit:
www.marijuana-anonymous.org.
If the parents are using and the kids are at risk, please contact Child Protective Services. It may not be a pleasant phone call but it might save a child's life.
Hope this helps =)
