Individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) tend to be impulsive and engage in risky behaviors—pleasurable activities with high potential for negative consequences.
During a manic episode, individuals may feel like they are on top of the world and that they are able to do anything. They have heightened levels of energy, creativity, and euphoria. In this state individuals may engage in reckless behavior such as quitting their job or racking up huge credit card bills.
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.
The known maladaptive types of coping mechanisms, or negative coping skills, evident in BD patients are “… rumination, catastrophism, self-blame, substance use, risk-taking, behavioral disengagement, problem-direct coping, venting of emotions, or mental disengagement” (Apaydin & Atagun, 2018).
Overall, aggressive behavior is more likely to occur during manic, mixed mood, or psychotic states. One study in people with bipolar disorder suggests that people with current psychosis had significantly higher total aggression scores, hostility, and anger than those without current psychosis.
Answer questions honestly. But don't argue or debate with a person during a manic episode. Avoid intense conversation. Don't take comments or behavior personally.
The Relationship Between Bipolar Disorder & Anger. Bipolar disorder is characterized by frequent mood cycles, fluxing between mania and depression. While anger isn't always present, people with this frustrating condition may find they quickly experience angry outbursts when they feel agitated, irritated, or annoyed.
Mania in particular tends to trigger aggressive emotions and anger. The racing thoughts and high energy levels you experience can leave you feeling angry, irritable, and frustrated. Those angry emotions, in turn, can cause aggressive and inappropriate behaviors.
Your loved one with bipolar disorder can't control their moods. They can't just snap out of a depression or get a hold of themselves during a manic episode. Neither depression nor mania can be overcome through self-control, willpower, or reasoning.
Living with someone who has bipolar disorder can present challenges, especially if they aren't currently being treated. You can support your loved one by listening to them, encouraging them to get treatment, and helping them follow a healthy routine.
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.
It's common for someone with bipolar disorder to hurt and offend their partner. When someone is first diagnosed, there are often relationship issues that need to be addressed. Couples counseling can help you: Understand that there's an illness involved in the hurtful behavior.
While there is no way to know whether West's behavior or comments are related to his mental health, most experts agree that people with bipolar disorder can behave erratically and may at times lose their “filter” and say or do socially inappropriate things.
People who experience delusions of grandeur, as well as those around them, do not always recognize it as being anything more than pompousness, arrogance, or boastfulness. If delusions occur during manic episodes, this is a clue that bipolar disorder is involved.
“People with bipolar disorder often report that there's an obsession of the day or the week, and as one problem gets resolved, it can easily be replaced by another problem,” Hubbard says. “There's something in the brain that needs to ruminate and worry and obsess about different topics.
Bipolar disorder may make it more difficult for you to interpret people's emotions. Missed clues make it harder for you to empathize when others feel happy or sad. If someone is feeling troubled, you may lack enough empathy to be moved to help.
Signs of A Bipolar Meltdown
A burst of energy. Feeling irritable. Extremely happy and euphoric mood. Speaking fast.
Narcissism is not a symptom of bipolar disorder, and most people with bipolar disorder do not have narcissistic personality disorder.
Anger and irritability are common symptoms of bipolar disorder. While anger is a normal response that many people feel at moments in their life, a person with bipolar disorder will be more vulnerable to impulsive and often irrational outbursts.
But what is often not so apparent is the lesser-known side of a destructive manic episode: Dysphoric mania. Dysphoria in bipolar disorder is characterized by increased energy and activity, as seen in euphoria, but the mood is dominated by excessive and persistent irritability.
It's common to feel embarrassed, humiliated, ashamed, even worthless. There's often regret, sharpened by fear that you've alienated people in your life. Realizing that you've caused hurt and hardship—a major wellspring of guilt—only compounds the pain.
You can be physically aggressive. Kicking things, slamming doors, punching walls, pushing against someone a bit too hard. (Note: if there is a lot of energy around these symptoms, there is a chance you are experiencing mixed or dysphoric mania, not angry depression. See more below.)
You may experience symptoms of depression, plus mania or hypomania at the same time. For example, you may feel very energised and impulsive, while feeling upset or tearful. Or you may feel very agitated or irritable. You may also experience highs and lows very quickly after the other, within the same day or hour.
As with many emotions, however, people with bipolar disorder appear to be more vulnerable to extreme reactions. “Everyone can become frustrated or angry, but loss of control can be part and parcel of bipolar disorder rage,” says Jeffrey Borenstein, MD, president and CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.