With symptoms such as depressed mood or swift mood changes, bone-deep fatigue, and dark thoughts, living with mood disorders like bipolar disorder can be difficult at times. On the days when your symptoms peak, you may feel especially frustrated and overwhelmed.
If you are both highly sensitive and have depression or bipolar disorder, the world can feel like an overwhelming, overstimulating place from which there is no escape. But that doesn't mean you have to feel bad about who you are.
Having a mental health condition such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) might predispose a person to feeling overwhelmed, says Dr. Romanoff.
Signs of A Bipolar Meltdown
A burst of energy. Feeling irritable. Extremely happy and euphoric mood. Speaking fast.
Talking rapidly, sudden changes in topic, or “leaps of logic.” Having more energy than usual, especially if needing little sleep. Being intensely focused, or finding it hard to focus. Involuntary facial movements, such as twitches or mouthing.
A bipolar person may avoid relationships because they don't feel good enough for other people. Sometimes these feelings come on quickly and cause those with mental health conditions to push away others in existing relationships. This can lead to social isolation.
Highly sensitive people (HSPs) tend to get overwhelmed or over-stimulated because they “process more information from their environment and from within than others do,” said Jean Fitzpatrick, LP, a psychotherapist who specializes in working with HSPs.
This experience often stems from feeling like things are out of your control — like life's happening to you and you're not an active agent. You have too many emails, social events, or obligations, and the mountain of things feels impossible to tackle. Feeling overwhelmed also often causes procrastination.
When you struggle with anxiety even small everyday tasks can seem like mountainous obstacles. As a result, you'll start to feel even more overwhelmed and nervous because you can't get things done. That's because anxious thoughts tend to “blow up” even the smallest things.
Overreacting is a symptom of bipolar disorder,1 but phrases like this minimize the person's experience of this symptom. When supporting a loved one living with a mental health condition like bipolar disorder, it's important that your words demonstrate empathy rather than exasperation.
Living with bipolar disorder does not mean that a person will experience difficulty making and maintaining friendships. However, without suitable treatment and a support network, symptoms of the condition may put a strain on relationships.
Oversharing. It can be hard to process and filter the constant thoughts, heightened feelings, and energy levels of a manic episode. This can sometimes result in feeling unable to stop oneself from sharing random or inappropriate compulsive thoughts, even in serious situations.
Our brain shuts down as a protective response to keep us safe when our nervous system is overloaded,” he says. Initially, emotionally numbing is helpful, because it helps calm our overwhelmed minds. Over time, it can be harmful and lead to behaviors with serious consequences to our emotional and physical well-being.
Becoming easily overwhelmed and distracted can sometimes be hallmark symptoms of ADHD. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, people with ADHD might experience symptoms like: restlessness. difficulty focusing.
Feeling overwhelmed is perhaps the most common symptom of anxiety, and it can actually affect you on a very base level.
Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is a mental health condition marked by unstable emotions, a distorted self-image and an overwhelming desire to be noticed. People with HPD often behave dramatically or inappropriately to get attention.
It appears that not everyone can handle being friends with someone who has bipolar and it could be for a variety of reasons. Maybe they have their own overwhelming situations or maybe they don't fully understand bipolar disorder so they don't know how to handle it and just need education.
Bipolar disorder can cause your mood to swing from an extreme high to an extreme low. Manic symptoms can include increased energy, excitement, impulsive behaviour, and agitation. Depressive symptoms can include lack of energy, feeling worthless, low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts.
It's common for people with bipolar disorder to feel isolated. Isolation comes from the person with bipolar choosing to isolate themselves and those around them walking away and forcing isolation on them.