When it comes to mental illness, people think of a variety of illness symptoms. But in reality, mood disorders can be difficult to pinpoint, and even more so for people with bipolar disorder.
“People are used to thinking of moodiness or distress at work, exhaustion, etc. as usual,” said Carrie Bearden, PhD, associate professor of medicine in residence in psychiatry, behavioral sciences and psychology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
The severity of bipolar disorder varies from person to person.
If you have any of the following 10 signs, beware that your mood disorder can be caused by more than just an eccentric personality! Do you have any of these signs?
1. High mood
Bipolar disorder is characterized by irregular mania and depression.
During the manic phase, some patients are completely detached from reality.
Mild mania, too, is a form of mood disorder. Usually, people with this condition are high in mood and often in a state of euphoria, although they still have the ability to grasp reality.
“Mild mania can really be a very pleasant state,” Dr. Bearden said.
When a person’s mood is high, they may have a lot of energy and creativity, and they can experience that pleasurable state of mind during this time. This is the “up” (positive) side of bipolar disorder, and some people can have a very enjoyable time while this positive state lasts.
2. Inability to get things done
One of the characteristics of bipolar disorder is that they can’t get a lot of their plans done.
For patients who are able to use their energy appropriately, when they are in this mildly manic state, it can instead make them feel more productive in getting things done.
These patients are often unable to complete one task after another in a stepwise fashion, and instead their plans are often ambitious and unrealistic.
So when they work on these plans, they often fail to achieve them because they are so big and unrealistic that they have to move on to other things.
“They are easily distracted and may start planning to accomplish numerous things, but they never do,” said Don Malone, MD, director of the Center for Behavioral Health and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
3. Depression
Patients look no different from the average person when they are in a state of agitated depression.
“Compared to the average person, they have the same symptoms as the average depressed person in terms of energy, appetite, and sleep,” Dr. Malone said.
Unfortunately, the typical antidepressant medications themselves don’t work for bipolar patients.
Taking these medications can cause patients to have more frequent onset cycles, worsen their condition, or leave them in a state of complete detachment from reality after taking the medication.
“Antidepressants are extremely dangerous for people with bipolar disorder because taking them can put them into a manic state,” Dr. Malone added.
4. Irritability
Some people with “mixed mania” who also have bipolar disorder tend to be extremely irritable during this phase.
Everyone has bad days, which is one of the reasons why bipolar disorder is so hard to detect.
“We all have moments of irritability or moodiness,” Dr. Bearden said.
But for people with bipolar disorder, the mood often becomes more severe, so severe that it interferes with their normal interpersonal relationships. Especially when the person says, I don’t know why I’m so irritable …… but I just can’t control it.
5. Fast talking
Some people are naturally talkative; we’ve all seen what it’s like to be a talkative or articulate person, and “forced speech” is one of the most common symptoms of bipolar disorder.
“For this person, even if no one is talking to them, they will talk,” Dr. Bearden said.
These people talk fast, and if you try to talk to them, they’re likely to talk so much that you can’t interrupt.
They sometimes jump to a different topic.
“What a thing to egg on,” this way of talking is one of the most common symptoms of bipolar disorder, only when they’re in a manic cycle, otherwise it’s just like a normal person, Dr. Bearden explained.
6. Trouble at work
People with bipolar disorder often have trouble at work.
This is because many of the symptoms can affect their performance at work, their ability to deal with problems, and their interpersonal communication skills.
In addition to having trouble getting things done, during the manic, depressive phase they sometimes have insomnia, irritability, inflated egos, and depression, all of which can lead to excessive sleepiness and other moody problems.
Most of the problems encountered at work are related to interpersonal interactions, Dr. Malone said.
7. Alcohol or substance abuse
About 50% of people with bipolar disorder have problems with substance abuse, especially with alcohol, Dr. Bearden said.
Many people with bipolar disorder drink alcohol to relax during manic periods, and when depressed they tend to use alcohol to get rid of their depression.
Alcohol or substance abuse is a clear sign of bipolar disorder; try to control yourself and vent in a different way, even if you feel depressed.
8. Behaving bizarrely
When people with bipolar disorder are in a manic phase, they tend to be delusional.
“They think they’re great and they do things without thinking about the consequences, and everything is great in their eyes.” Dr. Malone said.
The two most common types of behaviors that result from this disorder are profligacy and sexual misconduct.
“A lot of my patients, what they do in the manic phase doesn’t happen in other times ……. In the manic phase, they do things differently,” Dr. Malone said.
9. Sleep problems
People with bipolar disorder often have sleep problems, too. When depressed, they may be very sleepy, but still feel tired and frazzled all the time.
And during the manic phase, even if they are sleep deprived, they don’t feel tired.
Even if they only get a few hours of sleep each night, they still feel energized.
The first thing Dr. Bearden recommends for people with bipolar disorder is to have a regular sleep routine.
10. Pie-in-the-sky thoughts
This symptom can be hard to recognize, but it happens all the time when people are manic.
People can feel like their mind is racing and they aren’t able to control or slow down their thoughts.
These pie-in-the-sky thoughts sometimes happen in a high-pressure state.
People in a two-level world may not recognize or acknowledge that their mind is a lot like a runaway race car, Dr. Bearden said.