Bipolar Disorder Informative Speech Outline

Jasmine Yard
SPCH 1500
10/5/14

Topic: Bipolar Disorder
General Purpose Statement: To inform.
Specific Purposes Statement: To inform my peers of the severity of Bipolar Disorder.
Central Idea: To inform my peers of the severity of Bipolar Disorder, including description, the causes and symptoms, the treatments and who is more likely to develop bipolar disorder.
“A Maniac Disease”
Introduction
I. There was a five-year-old boy sitting in a public school bus next to fifth grader who was repeatedly sticking a sharp object into his leg, waiting for him to react.
A. Can you imagine what kind of effect that has someone not just physically but mentally?
B. That little boy is now 38-years-old and is diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.
II. Several members of my family suffer from this mental

So what is bipolar disorder?
A. “It is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks”, (National Institute of Mental Health). (TRANSITION: Now we know what bipolar disorder is, what are the factors that causes it?)

II. The National Institute of Mental Health is a scientific organization who research Mental illness, and have found that there is no single cause of bipolar disorder.
A. There are many factors working together to produce bipolar disorder as well as increasing the risk.
1. One of those factors is that it can be genetic.
a. Now that means that you’re more likely to have it if someone in your family has it, but it does mean 100 percent that you will.
2. The other factor is the environment that you are raised in.

(TRANSITION: Since we know what causes it, what are some of the symptoms?)

III. People with bipolar disorder experience unusual and intense emotional states called “Mood Episodes”, which represent a drastic change from a person’s usual mood and behavior, (National Institute of Mental Health).
A. Mood episodes can be very explosive and irritable, (National Institute of Mental