Bipolar Disorder Can Make You Feel Like You Don't Need Sleep If you are experiencing the highs of bipolar disorder (mania), you may suddenly need dramatically fewer hours of sleep to stay alert and energized. For example, someone who regularly sleeps eight hours may feel rested on only four hours of sleep.
How many hours should someone with bipolar disorder sleep? People living with bipolar disorder should aim to get the recommended amount of sleep for their age. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends more than seven hours per night for adults.
The known maladaptive types of coping mechanisms, or negative coping skills, evident in BD patients are “… rumination, catastrophism, self-blame, substance use, risk-taking, behavioral disengagement, problem-direct coping, venting of emotions, or mental disengagement” (Apaydin & Atagun, 2018).
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.
People with bipolar disorder are more prone to stress than the average person; they have more difficulty adjusting to and recovering from stressors.
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.
Dealing with the ups and downs of bipolar disorder can be difficult—and not just for the person with the illness. The moods and behaviors of a person with bipolar disorder affect everyone around—especially family members and close friends. It can put a strain on your relationship and disrupt all aspects of family life.
People living with or caring for someone with bipolar disorder can have a tough time. During episodes of illness, the personalities of people with bipolar disorder may change, and they may become abusive or even violent. Sometimes social workers and the police may become involved.
You can feel exhausted because you have no energy and you're struggling with sleep. But fatigue can also be a problem during mania. Your racing mind can bring insomnia. It takes a long time to recover from mania, so you can feel physically and emotionally drained during the recovery, as well.
It's common for people with bipolar to get overwhelmed by work. Our real selves usually love work and want to keep going, but our “bipolar brains” simply don't care about what we want. I have a four-hour limit on how much I can work at once. Sometimes, it's two hours—but my maximum will be four hours on most workdays.
A manic episode can cause a person with bipolar disorder to experience hypersexuality. They may feel as if their sex drive is always very high, which can create difficulties. People experiencing hypersexuality may never feel satisfied with sex.
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.
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.
The life expectancy for someone with bipolar disorder is approximately 67 years old. A 2021 study researched the effect of bipolar disorder on longevity and found that: risk of death is 2.6 times greater than the general population. the average life span is between 8–12 years shorter than the general population.
Manic episodes cause euphoria, exaggerated self-confidence, racing thoughts, high energy and activity levels, and risk-taking behaviors. Depressive episodes are characterized by excessive sadness, lack of energy, loss of interest in activities, changes in eating and sleeping behaviors, and suicidal thoughts.
Bipolar blackout is a term that refers to a period of memory loss during and after a manic episode.
You may also suffer from delusions or hallucinations that could make you take risks you wouldn't normally take. One of the hallmark signs of mania is impaired judgment. This causes you to participate in extremely risky or dangerous behaviors. You do things without even considering the consequences of your actions.
Positive psychological traits of spirituality, empathy, creativity, realism, and resilience are frequently observed in bipolar individuals [239].
If you are a “highly sensitive person,” overstimulation from your environment can be a trigger for bipolar mood episodes.