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Antidepressants in Bipolar Disorder
DOI link for Antidepressants in Bipolar Disorder
Antidepressants in Bipolar Disorder book
Antidepressants in Bipolar Disorder
DOI link for Antidepressants in Bipolar Disorder
Antidepressants in Bipolar Disorder book
ABSTRACT
Depression is a significant part of bipolar illness; bipolar patients spend much more time in a depressed state than in a manic state (49% compared with 12%) (1). As well, there is a high rate of suicide in bipolar patients (2). It is not unusual for a bipolar patient to be initially diagnosed with a major depressive episode, and even if a family history of affective disorder is obtained, these patients often receive a prescription for antidepressants (1,3). Clinician error also results in bipolar patients receiving antidepressants instead of mood stabilizers. In one naturalistic sample, 37% of patients were misdiagnosed as unipolar after already having had a hypomanic or manic episode (1).