In order to become successful in life, it is quite essential to be healthy and wise. While any sort of physical restrictions of the body can be fought with and dealt with, the central processing unit of our body that is our brain needs to be absolutely perfect in order to live a happy & successful life. For all our errands what we primarily need is a sharp brain so as to understand our environment and act promptly & make well evaluated decisions.

Along with a perfectly working brain, what we need is a control over our emotions. Being over excited or unduly angry all the time would not help us in any way. Quoting in the right terminology all our psychological factors must be balanced enough.

And what if you discover that you yourself have or some of you known to has a brain disorder? One such common brain disorder is bipolar disorder. This disease not only effects our emotions and decisions on daily errands, in extreme cases it can lead to suicides as well.

Here are some facts that you must know about this brain disorder:

1. Bipolar disorder is not just caused by any single factor. Like several fibers come together to intertwine a cloth, varied pressures in our family, social and professional life culminate to such an ailment.

2. The medical experts believe that having a patient of bipolar disorder in the blood relatives does not surely mean that you would have this disorder yet it increases the chances of the same. Similarly, having no history of such disorder in the family does not certify that you won't have this ailment.

3. All in all fortune is the key to escaping just any ailment or disease.

4. Bipolar disorder can be characterized by the cyclical mood swings that can initiate at any age that is adolescence or the later years of life. Here have also been several cases when the young children have been afflicted by the bipolar disorder.

5. This disorder does not spare just any gander, race, ethnicity or the social class.

6. In order to treat the bipolar disorder the medical experts use an amalgamation of anti-depressants, mood stabilizers, anti-psychotics or anti-manics and psychotherapy.

7. There are some usual biologic similarities in the bipolar disorder patients. These can be proved by the tests & imaging scans. Such patients manifest over production of the stress hormones known as cortisol; hyperactivity over and above the usual behavior that shows up with unusual movements & emotional functions; reduced functioning of brain activities in some regards linked with the cognitive functioning; fast biological clock (that regulates our body's circadian rhythm – to be precise the cycle of walking & sleep); and severe flooding of calcium in to the brain cells.

While these were some general and basic facts about the bipolar disorder, the experts have defined the basic factors of bipolar disorder as follows:

1. Biochemical or biological
2. Genetic or familial
3. Medication induced
4. Environmental

8. Biochemical or Biological Causes

In terms of the biochemical factors, the experts explain that bipolar disorder occurs in a particular part of the human brain when numerous neurotransmitters (that are some sort of chemical messengers) are malfunctioning. Several neurotransmitters can be involved in the bipolar disorder taking place like dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, etc.

In such cases the disorder remains dormant or asleep in our brain for years and can be triggered off by the external factors like crisis or stress. The medical experts have discovered that the brain of the patient suffering with the bipolar disorder is - wired differently – as compared to the normal person. This also explains the maddening alterations of the extreme emotions.

9. Genetic or Familial

In case there is any first-degree blood relative suffering with the bipolar disorder, such individuals can surely be subjected to this disorder. The first degree blood relatives in this case could be siblings, offspring, parents, etc. While this increases the risk only in comparison with those who have one of this sort of familial history, anybody for that matter can be a prey to this disorder. The research scientists are working hard on the look for the specific genes that trigger this disorder.

10. Medication Induced

In case a patient is misdiagnosed and is given the medications that are not able to control the disorder or rather take it on a higher grade, bipolar disorder can be triggered off. At times the physician or the psychiatrist just catch on the depression and are not able to see the other unusual changes in the patients that might be sidetracking them from the original diagnosis. This could lead to certainly wrong medication.

For instance, an anti-depressant medication could activate a manic incident in case of the patients vulnerable to the bipolar disorder. It happens when the manic stage is overlooked owing to misdiagnosis. Actually, the patients of bipolar disorder are given the anti-manic & anti-depressant medications, simultaneously. The anti-manic medications actually produce a shield to protect your patient from mania, stimulated by the prescribed anti-depressants.

Besides the above mentioned drugs, there are several others that trigger bipolar disorder in the individuals. These include cold medications, appetite suppressants, designer drugs (like cocaine, amphetamines, etc.), corticosteroids, and excessive in-take of caffeine. All these land up to mania. The abuse of alcohol & other stimulants also trigger the bipolar disorder.

11. Environmental

This mood disorder can also be triggered off by the modern age stressful life. In our day to day lives where we are concerned with all our personal, social and professional links, such events could be innumerable like career loss, shocking death of the loved one, geographic changes, pregnancy, financial bankruptcies, etc.

Stress leading the bipolar disorder can happen for the people of varied age or condition like old adults, adolescents, pregnant women, etc. In all these ages and conditions, there are huge changes that the individuals face and ones who have a shaky foundation at family front or suffering through the low self esteem, could easily become subject to the crisis.

The experts explain that just one time trigger is enough for the disorder to take place and henceforth, the cycles begin. In case the ailment is not diagnosed early enough, it could be quite hard to control.

However, the individuals who have strong will power, coping capacity and fighting back mechanisms and are little self aware, can face the situation rather effectively.