Hawthorne Press Tribune
The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 63, No. 36 - September 9, 2021
Hawthorne High School of Manufacturing & Engineering
Brings Real World Learning to Our South Bay Students
Students use the same industry-leading design principals and 3D Design Software used by companies like Northrop Grumman, Boeing and Walt Disney Imagineering. They explore the worlds of architecture and product design to appreciate the world they live in, experiment
with aerodynamics and biomechanics to understand the world they use, they are trained in state of the art manufacturing labs to create the world they want. This is STEM education and it is at the heart of our school. Photo courtesy Centinela Valley Union High School District.
Seniors
Understanding When Depression
May be Something More
(BPT) - It is common for people to experience
both periods of happiness and sadness
throughout their lives, but it can be hard to
determine whether prolonged versions of these
emotional states indicate something more serious
than changing feelings. Sharp mood swings
between extreme highs and extreme lows can
often be a sign of a mood disorder. Bipolar
disorder, also known as manic-depressive
disorder, is a lifelong serious mental health
condition that causes debilitating, severe mood
swings and changes in energy and activity levels.
An estimated 5.8 million adults in the U.S.
experienced bipolar disorder in the past year.
When symptomatic, most people living with
bipolar disorder spend more time in the depressive
phase, called bipolar depression. Major
depressive episodes in bipolar depression may
cause depressed moods, fatigue, loss of interest
in activities, or even suicidality. Alternatively,
a person experiencing a manic episode may
express increased energy and activity, unusual
talkativeness, agitation, risky behavior, distractibility,
and poor decision-making. People
living with bipolar disorder experience a 10-30
times higher rate of suicide, compared with
the general population.
During a manic or hypomanic episode,
individuals living with bipolar disorder may
have an elevated mood and an exaggerated
sense of self-confidence, and they are less
likely to characterize their behavior as risky
or problematic. Most of these individuals are
likely to seek treatment during a depressive
phase because depressive symptoms may be
more troubling, negatively impact their quality
of life, and cause functional impairment.
Bipolar depression can be difficult to diagnose,
in part because people living with the condition
are likely to experience other conditions
with similar symptoms like anxiety disorder
or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD). Additionally, bipolar depression is
commonly misdiagnosed as unipolar depression
- or frequent depressive episodes without mania
or hypomania. In fact, only 20% of people with
bipolar disorder who are experiencing bipolar
depression are diagnosed correctly within the
first year of seeking treatment.
Dr. Roger S. McIntyre, M.D., FRCPC,
Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology,
University of Toronto, Canada, has been
working with people with bipolar depression
for 20 years and knows the importance of getting
the correct diagnosis. “It is imperative for
healthcare providers to take the time to fully
learn and understand an individual’s lived
experiences, and that requires the individual
to place significant trust in their care team.
Once that trust is established, it allows for
more productive conversations with people
See Seniors, page 7
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