If you have a loved one who is struggling to deal with their bipolar disorder, tough love may not be the best approach, but going to therapy may help. Our licensed, clinical experts see each client as a complex and layered human – not just a diagnosis.
Monitoring how you feel
Recognizing what activates your mood episodes goes hand-in-hand with monitoring your moods. Checking in with yourself daily on how you feel is a great self-help strategy for bipolar disorder. It can help you recognize any red flags or patterns.
It can backfire altogether.
Not only is tough love rarely effective, but it can actually fuel the flames of troubles. According to the National Institutes of Health, "'get tough' treatments do not work and there is some evidence that they may make the problem worse." This is especially true when it comes to addiction.
Set boundaries and establish consequences that encourage those who have bipolar to seek recovery on their own, all the while expressing your concern and willingness to help. Be supportive, patient, and understanding—without being used. Effective encouragement is helpful; enabling is not.
A portion of the bipolar population becomes “controlling.” This at first can show up as a talkative and outgoing, but soon suggestions and discussions become manipulative. Examples of controlling statements include: “Why would you do that?” “Does that really make sense?”
Don't take comments or behavior personally. During periods of high energy, a person often says and does things that he or she would not usually say or do. This can include focusing on negative aspects of others. If needed, stay away from the person and avoid arguments.
Here are some reasons why people with bipolar push others away: They don't want to burden people with their problems. The inside of a bipolar mind can be a dark place sometimes. It's common for people with bipolar to worry that their problems are going to bring people down.
Patients with rapid changes between the two states are known to have manic depressive states or episodes. Without the appropriate treatment, bipolar behavior can destroy relationships, deteriorate the individual's health, and/or endanger their job.
“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.”
Borderline personality disorder is one of the most painful mental illnesses since individuals struggling with this disorder are constantly trying to cope with volatile and overwhelming emotions.
But antisocial personality disorder is one of the most difficult types of personality disorders to treat. A person with antisocial personality disorder may also be reluctant to seek treatment and may only start therapy when ordered to do so by a court.
Personality disorders are some of the most difficult disorders to treat in psychiatry. This is mainly because people with personality disorders don't think their behavior is problematic, so they don't often seek treatment.
Arguments with your spouse, chilly weather, grief — a number of scenarios may provoke bipolar mania or depression. Certain medications, seasonal changes, and alcohol could trigger bipolar mood episodes, experts say. Here's why. Bipolar disorder is characterized by unusual shifts in mood and energy.
Avoid alcohol and drugs.
They can affect how your medications work. They can also worsen bipolar disorder and trigger a mood episode. And they can make the condition harder to treat. So don't use them at all.
A stressful circumstance or situation often triggers the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Examples of stressful triggers include: the breakdown of a relationship. physical, sexual or emotional abuse.
A “bipolar meltdown” is, much like “bipolar anger,” a very stigmatizing phrase, and not something that really exists. The phrase “bipolar meltdown” could refer to a bipolar person having a manic episode or being in a depressed state.
Note that individuals with bipolar disorder may also exhibit manipulative behavior. This may help them feel more secure as the manipulation provides a sense of control in unfamiliar situations.
Breakups can be brutal—and can easily trigger bipolar symptoms. The end of a relationship often ushers in dark feelings like abandonment, guilt, and rejection.
It negatively impacts friendships and romantic relationships. Ghosting is done by many of us living with bipolar disorder, especially during bipolar depressive episodes.
Ups and downs are natural in any romantic relationship, but when your partner has bipolar disorder it can feel like you're on an emotional rollercoaster. Not knowing what to expect each day is stressful and tiring. Over time, it wears on the relationship.
On the other hand, emotional intimacy can be challenging while dating someone with bipolar disorder, because their subjective experience of the relationship and the world around them can often shift without treatment. This can be surprising because you may not be able to follow the shift in their emotional states.
With bipolar rage there does not necessarily need to be a trigger, it can show up without warning and is always absent of reason. It chooses chaos, it's not the individual choosing to lose control. If anything, control is something we're desperate to have and that desperation only makes our anger more chaotic.