Lithium: A Simple Element on the Periodic Table Eases Mania for Bipolar Sufferers

Did you know that the drug often used in mental healthcare for controlling manic symptoms displayed by those who are affected by Bipolar Disorder is nothing but a simple single element located in the Periodic Table?  Anbody who took elementary high school Chemistry knows that Lithium is one of the elements.  It is listed on the Periodic table as Li.  Remember that? 

I never added two and two together at that time and realized that it was the same drug used to treat Bipolar Disorder.  Its hard to link a metal, obviously broken down into a salt to be used in a capsule, but its a soft white metal, we often don't think of metals in these terms.  Of course, there are many different types of metal in the Periodic Table. I didn't know much about Bipolar Disorder until I gave birth to a child who has it and I was diagnosed myself.  My child takes Lithium and this simple salt, though semi-toxic, in small doses, in moderation under the close supervision of a Psychiatrist can be a miracle to those who suffer from the horrifying experience of a Biplolar Manic Episode.  Lithium is also used in batteries, hence why they are called Lithium batteries if you have ever heard the expression.  Technically, its an alkaloid metal and does not occur naturally in nature other than deep inside some rocks and very small amounts of the Earth's crust. 

Don't you find it odd that this element that is naturally produced is given such a stigma by society.  I was terrified to take the drug or have any of my loved ones take it until I realized all that it was, was a few particles off from salt.  Its technically a metal alkaloid as I was saying earlier, but it presents in the medication, Lithium, as a salt that is absorbed into the body and creates an unknown chemical reaction that takes away the suffering for many a person with Bipolar Disorder!  About now, you may be feeling a bit ridiculous - I know I was!  You want to know what is extremely odd, though, scientists and doctors still haven't the foggiest idea why this element works in reducing manic symptoms.  I'm stumped, too.  My theory is that is replacing something that certain people are lacking in their chemistry.  I guess we won't know for some time until a discovery is made by medical science.