Bipolar disorder - L'Infirmière Magazine n° 407 du 01/09/2019 | Espace Infirmier
 

L'infirmière Magazine n° 407 du 01/09/2019

 

FORMATION

ANGLAIS

ÉMILIEN MOHSEN  

PROFESSEUR D’ANGLAIS AUX IFSI DE NANCY ET AUTEUR DE « MAÎTRISER L’ANGLAIS MÉDICAL » ET « L’ANGLAIS MÉDICAL PRATIQUE », ÉD. LAMARRE

A first-year trainee nurse is carrying out her first internship in psychiatry. Her tutor is checking what he knows about the symptoms and treatments of bipolar disorder.

Tutor: What do you know about bipolar disorder ?

Nurse: It’s characterized by extreme mood changes, like mania and depression.

Tutor: Tell me more about these mood swings…

Nurse: Well, mania manifestations can range from being very happy, full of energy and self-importance, to very quickly talking, being easily distracted, irritated, agitated, delusional, having illogical thinking and hallucinations, not being able to sleep and not eating.

Tutor: And what about the depression symptoms ?

Nurse: I guess it’s when the person would feel sad and hopeless and at times also irritable, lacking energy, not concentrating or remembering things and events, would lose interest in everyday life and feel emptiness, pessimism and even despair, would have self-doubt, lack of appetite, sleep and in extreme cases would have suicidal thoughts. Between these two high and low episodes, the person would seem to have a normal mood, though some might swing quickly from one mood to another, and still others might show a mixed state of the two. The problem is that the person might be unaware of this.

Tutor: This is all true. And any known causes for this condition ?

Nurse: Oh, I have no exact idea on that!

Tutor: Well, there isn’t any exact cause. Specialists say that there are many factors like the chemical imbalance of the brain, that’s the neurotransmitters like the serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline. It also seems to run in families, though no single gene seems to be responsible, but rather genetic and environmental influences are thought to trigger it. In this context, the factors that might trigger bipolar disorder could be relationship breakdown, any kind of abuse, the death of family member, physical illness or overwhelming problems of everyday life.

Nurse: But then is there a clear diagnosis for bipolar disorder ? !

Tutor: Generally, if the GP suspects this, he or she would make a referral to a psychiatrist to make sure he isn’t wrong. The psychiatrist will make an assessment by checking the family history and the person’s medical background, but will also check if you have an underactive or an overactive thyroid, and probably most of all how the person feels just prior to, and during, an episode of mania and/or depression, and if this leads to the idea of self-harm.

Nurse: And anything about the treatments that we’d propose for this condition ? I’m afraid I know nothing special about that as we don’t study this at school.

Tutor: It would generally be a mix of therapies.

Nurse: Can you be more specific ?

Tutor: Well, depending on the mania or depression episodes that might last between three months to a whole year, there are many treatment options that go from medicine, like mood stabilizers to prevent the symptoms, to behavioral and phycological therapies to recognize and manage the signs, and lifestyle advice, in the context of occupational therapy, to enjoy daily activities and find purpose in life.

Nurse: I guess I know much better on the subject now. Thank you.

VOCABULAIRE

Assessment: évaluation

Behavorial therapy: thérapie comportementale

Bipolar disorder: trouble bipolaire

Condition: état de santé

Delusion: hallucination

General practitioner: médecin généraliste

Medical background: antécédents médicaux

Mixed state: état mixte

Normal mood: humeur ordinaire

Self-harm: automutilation

Common phrases

Bipolar disorder is characterized by extreme mood changes, like mania and depression.

→ Le trouble bipolaire se caractérise par des changements extrêmes d’humeur, comme les troubles maniaco-dépressifs.

Depression manifests in feeling sad and hopeless, losing interest in everyday life and even despair and suicidal thoughts.

→ La dépression se manifeste chez le malade par la sensation de tristesse et de désespoir, le manque d’intérêt pour la vie quotidienne et même, la détresse et les pensées suicidaires.

A number of factors trigger the symptoms, like the chemical imbalance of the brain, family history and environmental influences.

→ Plusieurs facteurs déclenchent les symptômes, comme le déséquilibre chimique du cerveau, les antécédents familiaux et les influences personnelles.

A psychiatrist makes an assessment by checking the family history and the person’s medical background, but also checks if the patient has an underactive or an overactive thyroid.

→ Le psychiatre procède à un bilan afin de vérifier les antécédents familiaux et médicaux de la personne, et pour savoir si elle souffre d’hypo ou hyperthyroïdie.