You can be helpful and supportive to a mentally ill spouse if he/she recognizes the illness and seeks ongoing treatment. You'll also find you can be more sympathetic to your spouse if you understand what is happening to him/her, and if he/she is willing to take major responsibility for managing the illness.
“When you're in a hypomanic or manic state, you're also more likely to feel you're in love,” says Haase. “You may then act on that feeling when making major long-term life decisions, not understanding your state had something to do with what you were feeling.”
You might feel great and get a lot done, but those around you might see changes in your mood and activity levels. To get a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, you must have had at least one manic or hypomanic experience. Signs of manic behavior include: Your mood isn't comfortable.
People with bipolar experience both episodes of severe depression, and episodes of mania – overwhelming joy, excitement or happiness, huge energy, a reduced need for sleep, and reduced inhibitions. The experience of bipolar is uniquely personal.
The test also included questions from a checklist often used to diagnose bipolar disorder. It was found that individuals who scored in the top 10 percent of manic features had a childhood IQ almost 10 points higher than those who scored in the bottom 10 percent.
It would be hard to improve on this description: “Bipolar anger is impulsive, intense, erratic, and explosive. It is being asked a simple question and responding with irrational anger and/or irritation. It is lashing out, for no logical reason, on those that love and care for you.
Without effective treatment, bipolar disorder can cause severe high and low mood episodes. The symptoms of these episodes may negatively affect a person's life. Bipolar disorder may also increase the risk of self-harm and suicide.
Romantic relationships with someone who has bipolar disorderEducate yourself. This is the first thing you should do when you start a relationship with someone who has bipolar disorder. Ask about their experience. Try to be patient. Be open. Support their care. Get support when you need it.
Bipolar disorder means I'm really “crazy.” While bipolar disorder is a serious mental disorder, it is no more serious than most other mental disorders. Having a mental disorder doesn't mean you're “crazy,” it just means you have a concern that is negatively impacting how you live your life.
Bipolar disorder often runs in families, and research suggests that this is mostly explained by heredity—people with certain genes are more likely to develop bipolar disorder than others. Many genes are involved, and no one gene can cause the disorder.
You can still be a great parent, despite bipolar disorder — and you may find that you're even more motivated to keep yourself healthy. Being bipolar doesn't have to end your dream of becoming a parent.