Bipolar Lifestyles

Category Archives: Mental Illness

Why Bipolar Disorder Can Trigger Suicide

June 15, 2011

Bipolar disorder is notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat, and has a suicide rate of up to 20%. Studies suggest that half of people living with bipolar disorder have attempted to kill themselves.

Not all people with bipolar disorder have an equal suicide risk. Investigators who examined records from more than 32,000 members of two large prepaid health plans who had been treated for bipolar disorder determined that men with bipolar made fewer suicide attempts than women but were more likely than women to die when they did attempt suicide. 

People who had high anxiety levels made more suicide attempts than other people with bipolar disorder and also were more likely to succeed in their attempts to kill themselves.

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: Bipolar Disorder, Suicide
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How to Care for and Cope with a Bipolar Partner

June 14, 2011

If you’re involved with someone with bipolar disorder, the romantic relationship may be exciting, exhausting, and stressful. But it will rarely be easy, especially if the object of your affection doesn’t comply fully with treatment.

Bipolar disorder can be nearly as traumatic for the partners of those with the disorder as it is for the patients themselves. The episodes of depression and mania that bipolar people experience—which can lead to emotional withdrawal, out-of-the-blue accusations and outbursts, spending sprees, and everything in between—have been shown to induce stress, sexual dissatisfaction, and money worries in their partners, as well as depression. Depressive phases, during which the bipolar partner feels hopeless and sad, can drag a healthy partner down, too.

Feelings of stress, isolation, and rejection are common among those involved with a bipolar patient. Outside support and education can help.

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: Bipolar Disorder, Dating, Marriage, Relationships
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Great Parenting With Bipolar Disorder

June 13, 2011

You can still be a great parent, despite bipolar disorder — and you may find that you’re even more motivated to keep yourself healthy.

Being bipolar doesn’t have to end your dream of becoming a parent. While it’s natural to be nervous or concerned about how well you’ll be able to parent — and whether your children will have this illness too — many people with bipolar disorder have happy, healthy children and families.

Bipolar Disorder: Parenting Challenges

Being a parent is difficult for anyone. But being a bipolar parent does come with a unique set of stressors, worries, and challenges that parents without mental illness don’t worry about.

Parenting with bipolar disorder can be “immensely challenging, but often a good motivation for patients to stay compliant with their medication,” says Adele C. Viguera, MD, a psychiatrist and the associate director of the perinatal and reproductive psychiatry program at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Getting good control of your bipolar disorder is important just to be able to function in everyday life, and even more so if you plan to be a parent. “Take care of yourself first, or else everything else goes by the wayside,” stresses Dr. Viguera.

And don’t look at your disorder as something that will prevent you from being a good parent. “Patients with bipolar disorder are perfectly fit, wonderful parents,” says Viguera. “It’s just a condition that has to be managed.”

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: Bipolar Disorder, Home Life, Parenting
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Booze, Drugs, and Bipolar Disorder

June 12, 2011

As if mood swings, mania, panic, relationship issues, and deep depression experienced by people with bipolar disorder wasn’t hard enough to bear, 56% of bipolars also have a substance abuse problem1, which can make treatment even more difficult. 

Experts say that some bipolar patients are known to self-medicate with drugs or alcohol—though it’s not recommended. In fact, they say, it does more harm than good.

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  1. according to a 1990 study [↩]
: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bipolar Disorder, Drugs
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Do Pregnancy and Bipolar Disorder Mix?

May 17, 2011

As recently as 10 years ago, doctors advised women with bipolar disorder not to have children. While that thinking is now dated, bipolar women often face tough decisions about how to handle their medication during pregnancy. 

Most drugs prescribed for bipolar disorder carry some risk of birth defects, yet women who discontinue medication risk relapsing into a manic or depressive episode; during the postpartum phase the relapse rate is as high as 50% to 70%, by some estimates. Even more alarming, bipolar women are 100 times more likely than other women to experience postpartum psychosis, a severe mood disorder that, at its very worst, can result in infanticide.

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: Bipolar Disorder, Reproduction
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Bipolar Public Service Announcement

May 12, 2011

: Bipolar Disorder
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Dependent Personality Disorder: Five Subtypes

May 11, 2011

Dependent personality disorders share many similarities in symptoms and can often be difficult to diagnose.Psychologist Theodore Millon, Ph.D., identified and described five distinct subtypes of personality disorders related to dependent personality disorder. Dependent personality is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders under the category of personality disorders, along with its five subtypes, including disquieted, accommodating, immature, ineffectual and selfless dependent.

Disquieted Dependent

The disquieted dependent patient generally exhibits a mixture of dependent and avoidant characteristics. He or she is often sustained by an institution of some sort, which reinforces parasitic tendencies. Sufferers of this disorder have little or no desire for self-autonomy.

The disquieted dependent is lonely unless surrounded by authority figures at all times and is constantly apprehensive, fearing abandonment. This innate separation anxiety can be manifested in the form of anger towards people who fail to understand the disquieted dependent’s need for security. Other avoidant propensities include a disconcerted sense of dread and foreboding, restless perturbation and fretfulness.

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: Dependent PD
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Dependent Personality Disorder

May 10, 2011

There are eight characteristics of Dependent Personality Disorder, and a person has to have five of them to be diagnosable. It’s mainly characterized by an overwhelming and excessive need by the person to be taken care of that leads to submission and clinging behaviors and fears of separation. This can be broken down as follows:

1) Has great difficulty making everyday decisions (like what to wear or where to eat) without an excessive amount of advice and reassurance from others. If they are criticized or shown disapproval, they will take this as further proof of their worthlessness and lose faith in themselves even more.

2) Tend to be passive and let other people (usually a single person take the initiative and assume responsibility for most major areas of their lives. This could be dependence on a spouse or parent…and this person actually decides everything from where to live to what school to attend to what job to get to who to marry, even. This need goes beyond the age-appropriate dependence of a young child on his or her parent or of an elderly or handicapped person. Usually, their social relations are limited to the few people they are dependent on.

3) Often have difficulty expressing disagreement with other people, especially those on whom they are dependent. This is because they have a fear of losing support of approval. They’ll go along with something they feel/know is wrong and not risk losing the help of those they look to for guidance. They don’t want to alienate those they receive nurturing from.

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: Dependent PD, Personality Disorders
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How to Handle the Compulsive Liar with BPD in Your Life

May 8, 2011

From “The Catcher in the Rye” to “Catch Me If You Can,” there are several references in media and art that showcase compulsive lying as a form of entertainment. But if you know a compulsive liar, chances are there is nothing funny or entertaining about the condition, which can be common in people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

In fact, your trust might be broken if you’ve been seriously misled by someone who compulsively lies. This can lead to broken friendships and relationships.

So how can you approach a compulsive liar and maintain a relationship with one without being fed, well, more lies?

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: Borderline PD (BPD), Relationships
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Why Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar Disorder are Commonly Misdiagnosed

May 7, 2011

The diagnosis of a personality disorder or mood disorder is made based on a set list of criteria for each disorder, which is found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatry (DSM). It is usually clear whether a person has Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) or Bipolar Disorder, but due to the similarity in symptoms between the two disorders, misdiagnosis is common.

A recent report in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that 40 percent of people diagnosed with BPD had been misdiagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Another study published in the journal determined that people who score positive on the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (used to screen for the presence of mood disorders) are just as likely to be diagnosed with BPD as Bipolar Disorder. About 24 percent of people who scored positively on the questionnaire were diagnosed as bipolar and about 28 percent as having BPD.

Similar BPD and Bipolar Disorder Symptoms

People with either Borderline Personality Disorder or Bipolar Disorder are likely to experience the following symptoms:

  • Impulsivity
  • Unstable mood
  • Irritability and anger
  • Depression
  • Poor social functioning
  • Suicide attempts

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: Bipolar Disorder, Borderline PD (BPD)
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The 5 Most Common Co-Occurring Conditions with Borderline PD

May 6, 2011

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a complex mental illness that is often difficult to diagnose because it generally co-occurs with other disorders. These other disorders can mask the symptoms of BPD, often leaving the underlying disorder untreated.

The five conditions that most commonly co-occur with BPD are:

  • Mood disorders
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Substance abuse
  • Eating disorders

Mood Disorders

BPD commonly co-occurs with mood disorders such as depression and Bipolar Disorder. Rates of depression in people with BPD can be as high as 60 percent, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

As many as 20 percent of people with BPD may also have Bipolar Disorder. Because both BPD and Bipolar Disorder are characterized by unstable moods, impulsivity and interpersonal difficulties, it may be difficult to recognize which disorder is causing the symptoms.

Anxiety Disorders

People with BPD often experience debilitating anxiety, panic attacks and excessive worrying that can be symptomatic of BPD or of a co-occurring anxiety disorder. There are several anxiety disorders that can co-occur with BPD: Panic Disorder, phobias, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Social Anxiety Disorder, agoraphobia and separation anxiety. The rates for co-occurrence vary among the anxiety disorders.

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: Borderline PD (BPD)
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Borderline Personality Disorder – Guidelines for Family

May 4, 2011

GOALS: GO SLOWLY

1. Remember that change is difficult to achieve and fraught with fears. Be cautious about suggesting that “great” progress has been made or giving “You can do it” reassurances. Progress evokes fears of abandonment.

The families of people with Borderline Personality Disorder can tell countless stories of instances where their son or daughter went into crisis just as that person was beginning to function better or to take on more responsibility. The coupling of improvement with a relapse is confusing and frustrating but has a logic to it. When people make progress – by working, leaving day treatment, helping in the home, diminishing self-destructive behaviors, or living alone- they are becoming more independent. They run the risk that those around them who have been supportive, concerned, and protective will pull away, concluding that their work is done. The supplies of emotional and financial assistance may soon dry up, leaving the person to fend for herself in the world. Thus, they fear abandonment. Their response to the fear is a relapse. They may not make a conscious decision to relapse, but fear and anxiety can drive them to use old coping methods.

Missed days at work, self-mutilation, a suicide attempt, or a bout of overeating, purging or drinking may be a sign that lets everyone around know that the individual remains in distress and needs their help. Such relapses may compel those around her to take responsibility for her through protective measures such as hospitalization. Once hospitalized, she has returned to her most regressed state in which she has no responsibilities while others take care of her. When signs of progress appear, family members can reduce the risk of relapse by not showing too much excitement about the progress and by cautioning the individual to move slowly. This is why experienced members of a hospital staff tell borderline patients during discharge not that they feel confident about their prospects, but that they know the patient will confront many hard problems ahead. While it is important to acknowledge progress with a pat on the back, it is meanwhile necessary to convey understanding that progress is very difficult to achieve. It does not mean that the person has overcome her emotional struggles.

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: Borderline PD (BPD), Downloads
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Borderline Personality Disorder Factsheet

May 4, 2011

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a devastating mental illness that centers on the inability to manage emotions effectively. Heritability of this illness is estimated to be 68%.

The symptoms include: fear of abandonment, impulsivity, rage, bodily self?harm, suicide, and chaotic relationships. While some persons with BPD are high functioning in certain settings, their private lives may be in turmoil. Others are unable to work and require financial support.

Officially recognized in 1980 by the psychiatric community, BPD is two decades behind in research, treatment options, and family psychoeducation compared to other major psychiatric disorders. BPD has historically met with widespread misunderstanding and blatant stigma.

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: Borderline PD (BPD), Downloads
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How to Beat the Springtime Blues

May 3, 2011

We mostly think of seasonal depression as being the “winter blues,” but believe it or not, spring also marks the onset of depression symptoms in some people. With the increase of sunlight in this week’s change of seasons to spring, you may start to notice some symptoms of spring depression.

If you are struck with Seasonal Affective Disorder(SAD), the transition to springtime can be painful. You may have gotten used to staying indoors, eating carbohydrate-heavy food, or sleeping in. With more activities going on in the longer days, you might find it hard to break out of your old pattern. You might resist the onset of spring by refusing to put away winter clothes, procrastinating on your spring cleaning, or by continuing a high-calorie diet without exercising.

Could you be at risk for springtime Seasonal Affective Disorder? Find out and learn how to beat it.

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: Seasonal Affective Disorder
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Hard Depression, Soft Bipolar

May 2, 2011

Still depressed? Maybe you’re being treated for the wrong illness.

Jim Phelps, M.D. is an Oregon psychiatrist who wrote the book,  ”Why Am I Still Depressed?: Recognizing and Managing the Ups and Downs of Bipolar II and Soft Bipolar Disorder.” A better title may have been, “Screw the DSM: Let’s Discuss What’s Really Going On.”

“In the DSM mode of thinking,” Dr. Phelps tells us, “making an accurate diagnosis requires determining whether the patient with depression symptoms is unipolar or bipolar, whereas in the Mood Spectrum approach, we clinicians don’t ask what might be the most accurate label for you. Instead, we ask where your symptoms might lie on the Mood Spectrum. … Instead of saying yes or no as to whether you might have bipolar disorder [we] try to determine how much bipolarity you have.”

The diagnostic threshold for bipolar II is hypomania, but here’s the catch: Hypomania is often barely discernible, especially in a population that may spend 50 days depressed for every one day hypomanic. A walk on the wild side for some may be using real butter on their toast.

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: Bipolar Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Unipolar Depression
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Springtime Depression: Don’t Worry About Not Being Happy

April 26, 2011

Valerie Reiss wrote a poignant post earlier on springtime depression. I found it very comforting because, although I am energized by the changing of seasons and more sunlight, I also feel pressured during the months of April and May to be one happy camper all the time. Do you know what I mean?

I always hated April and May in college because I felt like such a sour puss for accidentally whining here or there, for not wearing the Colgate smile everyday on my way to class.

There are actually more suicides in April and May than in January and December, even though you’d think people would crash during or after Christmas, when the weatherman predicts a blizzard that will have your kids out of school for weeks.

The reason for the spikes during the spring? Depressives get the boost of energy they need to kill themselves. I know that sounds horrible, but it’s true. And I can’t help but think that part of it is that melancholic folks recognize the blast of sunshine and hope around them … their friends breaking out of their gray moods as they hop on the mountain bike for a long ride … and feel even more desperate because the sunshiny mood hasn’t made it to them, yet.

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: Unipolar Depression
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Springtime Depression is Touching My Soul

April 26, 2011

“APRIL is the cruelest month,
breeding Lilacs out of the dead land,
mixing Memory and desire,
stirring Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.”

– T.S. Eliot, The Wasteland

Though I was calling it “Ungrateful for a Break in the Cold Gray Weather” and “Lame,” apparently some doctors have a kinder, more clinical term for the nice weather blues: “Spring Exacerbation.” No one knows why exactly suicides are at their highest this time of year, or why those suffering from SAD can get an extra dose of wham-slam when the sun re-appears. Some say sadness meets a slight energy lift–just enough to act on ruminations. Others speculate that there’s a feeling of “Wow it’s gorgeous out and I still feel crappy? That must mean I will never be happy.” Whatever it is, it’s true.

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: Personal Stories, Unipolar Depression
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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

April 22, 2011

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), once called shell shock or battle fatigue syndrome, is a serious condition that can develop after a person has experienced or witnessed a traumatic or terrifying event in which serious physical harm occurred or was threatened. PTSD is a lasting consequence of traumatic ordeals that cause intense fear, helplessness, or horror, such as a sexual or physical assault, the unexpected death of a loved one, an accident, war, or natural disaster. Families of victims can also develop posttraumatic stress disorder, as can emergency personnel and rescue workers.

Most people who experience a traumatic event will have reactions that may include shock, anger, nervousness, fear and even guilt. These reactions are common; and for most people, they go away over time. For a person with PTSD, however, these feelings continue and even increase, becoming so strong that they keep the person from living a normal life. People with PTSD have symptoms for longer than one month and cannot function as well as before the event occurred.

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: PTSD
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Symptoms of Adult ADHD

April 21, 2011

In adults, attention deficit disorder often looks quite different from it does in children—and its symptoms are unique for each individual.

Trouble concentrating and staying focused:

  • “Zoning out” without realizing it, even in the middle of a conversation.
  • Extreme distractibility; wandering attention makes it hard to stay on track.
  • Difficulty paying attention or focusing, such as when reading or listening to others.
  • Struggling to complete tasks, even ones that seem simple.
  • Tendency to overlook details, leading to errors or incomplete work.
  • Poor listening skills; hard time remembering conversations and following directions.

Disorganization and Forgetfulness:

  • Poor organizational skills (home, office, desk, or car is extremely messy and cluttered)
  • Tendency to procrastinate
  • Trouble starting and finishing projects
  • Chronic lateness
  • Frequently forgetting appointments, commitments, and deadlines
  • Constantly losing or misplacing things (keys, wallet, phone, documents, bills)
  • Underestimating the time it will take you to complete tasks

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: ADHD/ADD
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Overview of Panic Disorder

April 20, 2011

Panic disorder is different from the normal fear and anxiety reactions to stressful events in our lives. Panic disorder is a serious condition that strikes without reason or warning. Symptoms of panic disorder include sudden attacks of fear and nervousness, as well as physical symptoms such as sweating and a racing heart. During a panic attack, the fear response is out of proportion for the situation, which often is not threatening. Over time, a person with panic disorder develops a constant fear of having another panic attack, which can affect daily functioning and general quality of life.

Panic disorder often occurs along with other serious conditions, such as depression, alcoholism or drug abuse.

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: Panic Disorder
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Abuse and Eating Disorders

April 19, 2011

Studies have shown that a high number of people suffering with eating disorders who have been subjected to some form of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. I do not believe studies can give an exact percentage since many victims of abuse repress the memories or have disassociated themselves from the abuse. Many of these people have found that their eating disorders help to protect them, repress or block out the memories, and numbed their feelings. Facing issues of abuse can be very painful, so most people feel they need to forget about it or make the memories disappear.

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: Abuse, Eating Disorders
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Clinical Psychology Guide to OCD

April 17, 2011

The following pdf is an in depth clinical psychology guide on Obsessive-Compulsive disorder, which was written by Dr. Andy Field.

Clinical Psychology Guide to OCD - Written by Dr. Andy Field Document version -pdf
: Downloads, OCD
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Borderline Personality Disorder

April 15, 2011

The main feature of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and emotions. People with borderline personality disorder are also usually very impulsive.

This disorder occurs in most by early adulthood. The unstable pattern of interacting with others has persisted for years and is usually closely related to the person’s self-image and early social interactions. The pattern is present in a variety of settings (e.g., not just at work or home) and often is accompanied by a similar lability (fluctuating back and forth, sometimes in a quick manner) in a person’s emotions and feelings. Relationships and the person’s emotion may often be characterized as being shallow.

A person with this disorder will also often exhibit impulsive behaviors and have a majority of the following symptoms:

  • Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment
  • A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation
  • Identity disturbance, such as a significant and persistent unstable self-image or sense of self
  • Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating)
  • Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior
  • Emotional instability due to significant reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)
  • Chronic feelings of emptiness
  • Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)
  • Transient, stress-related paranoid thoughts or severe dissociative symptoms

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: Borderline PD (BPD)
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An Overview of Borderline Personality Disorder

April 12, 2011

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This instability often disrupts family and work life, long-term planning, and the individual’s sense of self-identity. Originally thought to be at the “borderline” of psychosis, people with BPD suffer from a disorder of emotion regulation.

While less well-known than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness), BPD is more common, perhaps affecting up to 2 percent of adults, mostly young women. There is a high rate of self-injury without suicide intent, as well as a significant rate of suicide attempts and completed suicide in severe cases. Patients often need extensive mental health services, and account for 20 percent of psychiatric hospitalizations. Yet, with help, many improve over time and are eventually able to lead productive lives.

Symptoms of BPD

While a person with depression or bipolar disorder typically endures the same mood for weeks, a person with BPD may experience intense bouts of anger, depression, and anxiety that may last only hours, or at most a day. These may be associated with episodes of impulsive aggression, self-injury, and drug or alcohol abuse. Distortions in cognition and sense of self can lead to frequent changes in long-term goals, career plans, jobs, friendships, gender identity, and values. Sometimes people with BPD view themselves as fundamentally bad, or unworthy. They may feel unfairly misunderstood or mistreated, bored, empty, and have little idea who they are. Such symptoms are most acute when people with BPD feel isolated and lacking in social support, and may result in frantic efforts to avoid being alone.

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: Borderline PD (BPD)
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