Seventy thousand. It's also been said that the typical person has more negative than positive thoughts. And for those of us diagnosed with bipolar disorder, there is a good chance that we may be having more negative thoughts than the average person out there.
During manic episodes, it is not unusual for bipolar people to experience "racing thoughts" and "flight of ideas."2 These two associated symptoms involve extremely rapid thought processes that sometimes leap from topic to topic at incredible speed.
No two people with bipolar disorder share the same thoughts or experiences, but there are some common thought patterns among most folks who have it. This includes cyclical thinking, manic and/or depressive episodes, suicidal ideation, and psychosis.
BRAIN FACT: Every day your brain processes about 70,000 thoughts.
Because mood disorders like bipolar change the person's state of mind, they affect thinking patterns of decision-making that are typically based on rational thought processes. Someone with a depressed mood thinks differently than someone who is simply sad.
People with bipolar disorder may experience extreme shifts in mood, meaning that they can rapidly move from feeling depressed to having an episode of mania. The condition also affects concentration, energy, and decision making. Former names for bipolar disorder include manic-depressive illness and manic depression.
Effects on thinking and memory
Some people with bipolar disorder may find it harder to think, to reason, and to remember things. Changes in thinking that can occur as people go through the different phases include: changes in attention span and focus. racing thoughts during a high, or manic, phase.
Researchers have developed a new way to determine the beginning and end of each thought. Identifying this moment as a "thought worm" has allowed scientists to calculate exactly how many we have a day - and the average was a staggering 6200.
The average person has over 60,000 thoughts a day (according to Dr Fred Luskin at Stanford University). Of those 60,000, 90% of them are repetitive – through the day and from previous days!
Tendencies of the mind
In 2005, the National Science Foundation published an article summarizing research on human thoughts per day. It was found that the average person has about 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day.
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.
Bipolar disorder can cause a lack of empathy, but symptoms may also make it more challenging to focus on the feelings of others. While there is no medication to improve empathy, treating bipolar disorder can help. Introspection, guided emotional learning, and observing emotions in others may also help build empathy.
After a manic or hypomanic episode you might: Feel very unhappy or ashamed about how you behaved. Have made commitments or taken on responsibilities that now feel unmanageable. Have only a few clear memories of what happened during your episode, or none at all.
“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.
Whether you fear never getting “better,” being abandoned by your loved ones or even fear the “good days” with bipolar disorder, your experience with fear is not only valid, but most likely common among others in the bipolar community.
Here is what we know. The Psychology of Looping Thoughts. A reoccurring thought loop is a fixation on fears, motives, or how we feel we should have acted or not acted. While looping thoughts are a bi-product of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), other individuals with anxiety can also have looping thoughts.
For many of us, we tend to get stuck on negative thinking. For some reason, our brains defer to the negative. According to the National Science Foundation, 80% of our thoughts are negative and 95% of our thoughts are repetitive.
Todays science estimates that 95 percent of our brains activity is unconscious, meaning that the majority of the decisions we make, the actions we take, our emotions and behaviours, depend on the 95 percent of brain activity that lies beyond conscious awareness.
Experts estimate that the mind thinks between 60,000 – 80,000 thoughts a day. That's an average of 2500 – 3,300 thoughts per hour. That's incredible. Other experts estimate a smaller number, of 50,000 thoughts per day, which means about 2100 thoughts per hour.
We produce up to 50,000 thoughts a day and 70% to 80% of those are negative. This translates into 40,000 negative thoughts a day that need managing and filtering — no small task for any person or entrepreneur.
According to research by Dr. Fred Luskin of Stanford University, a human being can have around 60,000 thoughts per day—and 90% of these are repetitive! These thoughts can contain a mixture of negative, positive and inquisitive thoughts.
[1] It makes sense considering that when people became manic, they had more energy to use, and more ideas racing through their minds, leading to creativity. Jimi Hendrix, arguably one of the greatest rock and roll guitarists of all time, was said to be a genius in his own right. He wrote the song “Manic-Depression.”
Bipolar disorder symptoms overlap with other conditions, such as depression, anxiety disorders, and ADHD. This can lead to misdiagnosis.
Helpful Traits
The authors reviewed 81 studies that noted positive characteristics in patients with bipolar and found a strong association with five qualities: spirituality, empathy, creativity, realism, and resilience.