My Fleep:
Family & Parenting
Family & Parenting
Could Your Loved One’s Anger Really Be Bipolar Disorder?
Are you involved in a close relationship with someone whose
occasional outbursts of temper at times shock and surprise
you? Do you find yourself sometimes looking at your
teenage son and wondering where all of this sudden rage
could have come from, when you have provided him a happy
home? Is your relationship with your wife one you would
describe as loving and happy, if only it wasn't interrupted
by her recurring bouts of irritability and anger over what
seems to you like trivial things?
While people can and often do become overwhelmed by
negative emotions that they're unable to handle without
having a major psychiatric disorder, there is also the
possibility that your loved one is suffering from bipolar
disorder – and that's what is causing these angry eruptions.
Bipolar disorder is characterized by shifting moods and
emotional volatility. When a person with bipolar disorder
is not well, they can be very reactive and more easily
provoked into sudden outbursts of anger. Irritability and
anger is one of the usual symptoms of bipolar episodes – in
both depression and mania. What may seem like an
abnormally explosive reaction to you may be something that
the person with bipolar disorder in an episode may see as
very natural, feeling that they had every right to be angry
and express themselves in that way. When in an episode, a
person with bipolar disorder usually does not have
perspective on the appropriateness of their reactions, and
may often see their anger as being justifiable.
The thing is, everyone gets irritated and annoyed. It's
just that people in the midst of a bipolar episode are
especially volatile and express their irritability in a
higher intensity than someone who is ‘normal'.
Bipolar disorder can be hard to recognize when it has gone
undiagnosed. In teenagers, one expects emotional
volatility and hostility. Their hormones are out of
control, their brains are still developing, and they are
finding themselves in a difficult and uncomfortable
transition period in their lives. It's natural for a
teenager to be angry. It can be hard to distinguish
between bipolar disorder and natural teenage discomfort
until they get a little older and begin to exhibit regular
patterns of recurring depressions and manias. However, if
you are concerned that your teenager's anger is an ongoing
and uncontrollable problem, it's best to get him checked
out by a doctor, psychiatrist and/or therapist.
While it's possible that recurring fits of inappropriate
anger in your loved one may be a result of bipolar
disorder, it's important not to jump to any conclusions.
Only a qualified professional can make that diagnosis, and
many ‘normal' people simply cannot handle their tempers, or
do not care to. Outbursts of anger alone cannot be used to
make a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, many other signs and
symptoms have to be present. There are other psychiatric
disorders that can be characterized by angry outbursts,
such as major depressive disorder, borderline personality
disorder, schizoaffective disorder, cyclothymic disorder,
substance induced mood disorder, and intermittent explosive
disorder.
If your loved one can be encouraged to get help, you may
both find out that it's a psychiatric disorder causing his
or her angry outbursts. That information will help you
both gain perspective and understanding. You will realize
that his or her anger is not an attack on you - you didn't
cause the inappropriate anger, it's the result of a mental
illness. Knowing this will help you have compassion for
your loved one as you support him or her in getting help.
Realizing that your loved one's anger is coming from a
major psychiatric disorder can help protect you emotionally
from taking their anger personally. When your loved one
reacts inappropriately in anger, you will be less likely to
hold it against him or her, and your relationship will
improve.
----------------------------------------------------
David Oliver, writer and researcher, is a specialist in
bipolar disorder who helps both supporters and sufferers of
this illness through his website. For a customized FREE
mini-series on dealing with bipolar disorder, whether you
have it, or are supporting a loved one, visit
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/freereport
Are you involved in a close relationship with someone whose
occasional outbursts of temper at times shock and surprise
you? Do you find yourself sometimes looking at your
teenage son and wondering where all of this sudden rage
could have come from, when you have provided him a happy
home? Is your relationship with your wife one you would
describe as loving and happy, if only it wasn't interrupted
by her recurring bouts of irritability and anger over what
seems to you like trivial things?
While people can and often do become overwhelmed by
negative emotions that they're unable to handle without
having a major psychiatric disorder, there is also the
possibility that your loved one is suffering from bipolar
disorder – and that's what is causing these angry eruptions.
Bipolar disorder is characterized by shifting moods and
emotional volatility. When a person with bipolar disorder
is not well, they can be very reactive and more easily
provoked into sudden outbursts of anger. Irritability and
anger is one of the usual symptoms of bipolar episodes – in
both depression and mania. What may seem like an
abnormally explosive reaction to you may be something that
the person with bipolar disorder in an episode may see as
very natural, feeling that they had every right to be angry
and express themselves in that way. When in an episode, a
person with bipolar disorder usually does not have
perspective on the appropriateness of their reactions, and
may often see their anger as being justifiable.
The thing is, everyone gets irritated and annoyed. It's
just that people in the midst of a bipolar episode are
especially volatile and express their irritability in a
higher intensity than someone who is ‘normal'.
Bipolar disorder can be hard to recognize when it has gone
undiagnosed. In teenagers, one expects emotional
volatility and hostility. Their hormones are out of
control, their brains are still developing, and they are
finding themselves in a difficult and uncomfortable
transition period in their lives. It's natural for a
teenager to be angry. It can be hard to distinguish
between bipolar disorder and natural teenage discomfort
until they get a little older and begin to exhibit regular
patterns of recurring depressions and manias. However, if
you are concerned that your teenager's anger is an ongoing
and uncontrollable problem, it's best to get him checked
out by a doctor, psychiatrist and/or therapist.
While it's possible that recurring fits of inappropriate
anger in your loved one may be a result of bipolar
disorder, it's important not to jump to any conclusions.
Only a qualified professional can make that diagnosis, and
many ‘normal' people simply cannot handle their tempers, or
do not care to. Outbursts of anger alone cannot be used to
make a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, many other signs and
symptoms have to be present. There are other psychiatric
disorders that can be characterized by angry outbursts,
such as major depressive disorder, borderline personality
disorder, schizoaffective disorder, cyclothymic disorder,
substance induced mood disorder, and intermittent explosive
disorder.
If your loved one can be encouraged to get help, you may
both find out that it's a psychiatric disorder causing his
or her angry outbursts. That information will help you
both gain perspective and understanding. You will realize
that his or her anger is not an attack on you - you didn't
cause the inappropriate anger, it's the result of a mental
illness. Knowing this will help you have compassion for
your loved one as you support him or her in getting help.
Realizing that your loved one's anger is coming from a
major psychiatric disorder can help protect you emotionally
from taking their anger personally. When your loved one
reacts inappropriately in anger, you will be less likely to
hold it against him or her, and your relationship will
improve.
----------------------------------------------------
David Oliver, writer and researcher, is a specialist in
bipolar disorder who helps both supporters and sufferers of
this illness through his website. For a customized FREE
mini-series on dealing with bipolar disorder, whether you
have it, or are supporting a loved one, visit
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/freereport