Understanding Bipolar Disorder & Addiction
Bipolar disorder is a chronic mood disorder characterized by alternating episodes of mania (or hypomania) and depression. During manic episodes, individuals experience elevated energy, reduced need for sleep, grandiosity, impulsivity, and racing thoughts. During depressive episodes, they experience profound sadness, fatigue, hopelessness, and withdrawal. The dramatic mood cycling of bipolar disorder creates an extraordinarily high vulnerability to substance use disorders -- in fact, bipolar disorder has the highest rate of co-occurring addiction of any mood disorder.
During manic phases, the impulsivity and sensation-seeking behavior inherent to the condition often leads to reckless substance use, binge drinking, or experimentation with stimulants that amplify the euphoric feelings. During depressive phases, individuals turn to alcohol, opioids, or sedatives to alleviate the crushing emotional pain and fatigue. This pattern of cycling substance use -- stimulants during depression, depressants during mania, or substances used indiscriminately in both phases -- makes diagnosis and treatment particularly complex.
Substance use profoundly destabilizes bipolar disorder. Alcohol and drugs disrupt the delicate neurochemical balance that mood-stabilizing medications are designed to maintain, trigger rapid cycling between mood episodes, and increase the severity and frequency of both manic and depressive phases. At Trust SoCal, our psychiatrist and clinical team specialize in the nuanced interplay between bipolar disorder and addiction, providing carefully coordinated medication management and psychotherapy that stabilizes mood while simultaneously addressing addictive behaviors.