While bipolar disorder and narcissistic personality disorder are two distinct mental health diagnoses, researchers have long noted a link between the two, including symptoms of setting excessively high goals and impulsivity. Other shared traits may include a lack of empathy, sleep deficiencies, and mood changes.
It's possible to live with both bipolar disorder and narcissistic personality disorder symptoms. Research from 2013 suggests there might be a connection between bipolar disorder and cluster B personality disorders in general. In other words, they can often coexist.
He experiences brief periods of mania. Then he can be entertaining, charming, and charismatic. Then he is "full of ideas and plans", attractive and leader-like. In the manic phase, he is restless (often insomniac), full of pent up energy, explosive, dramatic, creative, an excellent performer and manager.
Let's recap. Manipulation isn't a formal symptom of bipolar disorder, although some people with the condition may exhibit this behavior.
Grandiosity and overconfidence. Easy tearfulness, frequent sadness. Needing little sleep to feel rested. Uncharacteristic impulsive behavior.
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.
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.
One of the worst side effects of bipolar disorder is the repetitive cycle of self-sabotage. But you can manage this symptom by mapping out your goals.
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.
Individuals with bipolar disorder may have a heightened sense of self-confidence and a reduced filter in their speech during manic episodes. This can cause them to speak harshly and say things they may not mean or fully consider the implications of.
What have we learned so far? Bipolar disorder and marriage can be toxic to a relationship. That's when a relationship fails or is failing. It can trigger negative reactions that could lead to self-harm, self-loathing or worse.
Anger Outbursts & Rage
Rage outbursts are commonly seen during a narcissistic collapse episode. In the narcissist's mind, it is easier to be angry than deal with the uncomfortable emotions of embarrassment, rejection, or shame. Rage is especially typical with vindictive narcissists.
If you have bipolar and wish to repair relationships damaged by your behavior (whether while symptomatic or not), it is vital to first recognize the other person's feelings and pain. Admitting to your actions and acknowledging the harm they caused your loved one is a good first step in the process of making amends.
If you or a loved one are experiencing symptoms of bipolar disorder or exhibiting narcissistic personality traits, it is typically best to consult a therapist or mental health professional. Due to the nature of the disorder, it is often crucial to receive professional guidance and treatment.
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.
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 experience amplified emotions, and consequently struggle in their inter-personal relations. They can also appear self-absorbed, resistant to reason and don't seem to care how people around them feel.
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.
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.
Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that can result in extreme shifts in mood. As this may affect how a person thinks, feels, and behaves, it may present challenges that can make it difficult to maintain friendships.
Bipolar people can be abusive, but then, so can non-bipolar people. The above notwithstanding, the extreme mood shifts of bipolar disorder may sometimes have a disinhibiting effect on abusive impulses that would otherwise not get expressed.
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.
Another 12-month inpatient study found that of 151 people with bipolar I disorder, a total of 11.92% (18 participants) experienced any form of aggression — this included verbal aggression or aggression against self, objects, or others.