Ups and downs are natural in any romantic relationship, but when your partner has bipolar disorder it can feel like you're on an emotional rollercoaster. Not knowing what to expect each day is stressful and tiring. Over time, it wears on the relationship.
Dating someone with bipolar disorder can be challenging, because you can't control when your partner experiences a mood shift. To help your relationship succeed, focus on communication, support your partner's treatment plan, and don't forget to take care of yourself.
All relationships require empathy, communication, and emotional awareness. These qualities help a person be a supportive partner to someone with bipolar disorder. People with well-managed bipolar disorder can build healthy, long term relationships.
Of course, there are many reasons for infidelity within a marriage or committed relationship, and it's important to remember that having bipolar disorder does not mean you can't be faithful to a romantic partner.
Bipolar disorder can cause your mood to swing from an extreme high to an extreme low. Manic symptoms can include increased energy, excitement, impulsive behaviour, and agitation. Depressive symptoms can include lack of energy, feeling worthless, low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts.
Like other lifelong conditions, dating someone with bipolar disorder can have an impact on your relationship. The most helpful thing you can do is maintain open, honest communication about any issues that your partner's condition may cause and how you can work together to address them.
Bipolar Disorder and Marriage
But when one partner has bipolar disorder, simple stressors can reach epic proportions. That may be why as many as 90% of marriages involving someone with bipolar disorder reportedly fail.
Bipolar may worsen with age or over time if this condition is left untreated. As time goes on, a person may experience episodes that are more severe and more frequent than when symptoms first appeared.
“People with bipolar disorder are entitled to the human experiences that anybody else could have—like falling in love,” says David H. Brendel, MD, PhD, medical director of the Mood Disorders Program at Walden Behavioral Care in Massachusetts.
A bipolar person may avoid relationships because they don't feel good enough for other people. Sometimes these feelings come on quickly and cause those with mental health conditions to push away others in existing relationships. This can lead to social isolation.
A portion of the bipolar population becomes “controlling.” This at first can show up as a talkative and outgoing, but soon suggestions and discussions become manipulative. Examples of controlling statements include: “Why would you do that?” “Does that really make sense?”
Bipolar Triggers and Warning Signs
Bipolar disorder features extreme shifts in mood that are unpredictable and often disruptive to daily functioning. Changes in sleep patterns, eating habits, emotions, and behaviors accompany the mood swings.
Lamotrigine. Lamotrigine (Lamictal) may be the most effective mood stabilizer for depression in bipolar disorder, but is not as helpful for mania. The starting dose of lamotrigine should be very low and increased very slowly over four weeks or more.
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.
Instead of letting them feel that way, be empathetic of their situation. Be sure to let your loved one know that they can talk to you or act as a welcome distraction. Loving someone with bipolar disorder is about being there for them in whatever way they need.
The first onset of bipolar disorder symptoms (depression and mania) often surface when you are in your twenties, regardless of sex. However, research shows that the initial depressive episode in men tends to arise about 5 years earlier than in women. That's about 22 years old in men versus about 27 years old in women.
Although there is no official classification for end stage bipolar disorder, mild structural changes in the brain that lead to cognitive dysfunction can severely reduce someone's quality of life, especially toward the end of life.
While bipolar disorder cannot develop into schizophrenia, it's possible to experience symptoms of both. Before you consult a mental health professional, here are a few things you should know about the two conditions.
Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that causes unusual shifts in mood, ranging from extreme highs (mania) to lows (depression).