Bipolar disorder could be described as a figurative grab-bag of varying symptoms: you’ve got your depression, your mania, your psychosis, and so much more! Jokes aside, the ups and downs of bipolar disorder not only make the disease difficult to diagnose, but predispose any diagnosed individual with the dangerous risk for developing a misuse or abuse disorder. And the confusion alone that accompanies the frustration of a bipolar diagnosis can be enough reason to seek an escape from what can develop into debilitating symptoms.
An individual diagnosed with bipolar disorder might drink alcohol because they are feeling up, or drink because they are feeling down. Since bipolar runs through cyclic periods of depression and mania, both provide reasons for drinking: if you’re in the midst of a manic episode, you might throw all inhibition to the wayside, exhibit risky behavior and poor decision-making, and turn to alcohol to fuel the euphoria you already feel. (The symptoms of mania or hypomania include the sensation of feeling high or wired, restlessness, lessened need for sleep, insomnia, rushing thoughts, distraction, intensified senses, and increased energy…all conducive to having a good time.)
When mania wanes, the bipolar individual descends into depression: irritability, desire to isolate, loss of appetite, hopelessness, lack of concentration, anxiety, sadness, waning interest in activities once enjoyed. In some cases, bipolar disorder can be more dangerous than unipolar depression, as mania can develop into psychosis: false beliefs (such as believing you’re invincible, god-like) or hearing voices (schizoaffective disorder is a specific caveat of bipolar disorder, too).
And a mixed mood combines the symptoms of depression and mania: putting someone diagnosed as bipolar at the highly dangerous risk of suicide and risky behavior alike.
When someone diagnosed as bipolar drinks, alcohol doesn’t affect them quite the same way as others. 45 percent of those diagnosed as bipolar have an alcohol abuse disorder as well.
The symptoms of mania and depression can cause the individual to self-medicate, or use when those symptoms are too difficult to overcome. Alcohol intensifies both mania and depression. When the bipolar individual swings back and forth between the two extremes, the co-occurrence of bipolar and an alcohol abuse disorder puts the individual at a much higher risk for suicide and other risky outcomes. It’s crucial to understand that while bipolar disorder alone is a difficult illness, introducing alcohol to the equation can make symptoms far worse, even if they seem to help, if only for a little while.
