High-Risk Activities and Environmental Extremes Impact Bipolar Disorder

High-risk activities and environmental extremes can destabilize your bipolar disorder.

Engaging in high-risk activities can help a doctor to diagnose bipolar disorder. High-risk activities are generally those that can hurt another person. Examples include overspending and hypersexuality.

Engaging in high-risk activities is very symptomatic of someone in a manic episode. Just because someone participates in these high-risk activities, does not mean they have bipolar disorder. A medical professional needs to diagnose bipolar disorder.

Environmental extremes can destabilize your bipolar by triggering a potential mood episode.

High-Risk Activities

First, let’s look at some high-risk activities.

High-risk Activity #1

Overspending

Even though I live with bipolar disorder, I can follow and balance a budget just fine. I can take care of the bills and make sure they are being paid on time.

Things become problematic when I get manic. Everything changes. There is no longer a moral compass. If something looks flashy and fun to buy, then the money is spent. I have known people to take out loans and open credit cards to fuel this spending frenzy.

It sounds scary when I read back on what I just wrote.

To prepare for a possible manic episode, put safety measures in place.

As soon as I have a desire to buy anything, I hand over the money and cards to my wife. She takes charge of the finances.

It is not my wife babysitting me either. We just changed the responsibility of the finances from me to her. Then, when I start to feel better, the money situation is switched back to me. It is a proactive approach to protect my family.

High-risk Activity #2

Hypersexuality

Sex is a topic that most find uncomfortable.

When it comes to bipolar disorder, hypersexuality needs to be discussed.

Everyone has a sex drive. Whether it be low, high, or somewhere in between, sex is something all humans desire and need.

Hypersexuality is a possible symptom of a manic episode. Think of hypersexuality as sex on steroids.

When an individual goes into a manic episode, energy increases, sexual energy increases and sometimes there is no longer a moral compass. Morals and values can make a 180-degree turn.

Hopefully, you have discussed this possible situation with your support team. They should be prepared on how to support you during this time.

This is why it is important to have a plan in place. Start implementing your plan as soon as symptoms emerge. This will reduce any negative fallout from the mood episode.

In a manic episode, it is like the person is drunk, losing all their inhibitions. They feel free to do whatever they want and do not think about possible consequences.

It is common for someone in a manic episode to hook up with fling after a fling, night after night. Not everyone goes to this extreme but it is important to understand the reality of the situation.

Environmental Extremes

Environmental extremes are external factors that impact bipolar disorder. Your lifestyle, chemical components, and environmental extremes all impact your bipolar disorder.

It is important to live your life but to be realistic and have reasonable expectations about your bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness of extremes. To help alleviate your symptoms, it is logical to lessen the extremes in your life.

Did you know that when you participate in an extreme activity, some of the same chemicals that flush through your body during a manic episode do so during the extreme activity as well?

Do your best to eliminate or reduce the extremes in your life.

Please do not get me wrong. I am not saying just because you skydive out of an airplane, bungee jump, or free climb, you will become manic. I am saying that you will increase the likelihood of triggering an episode.

Triggers

A trigger is anything that can lead to a mood episode. They generally precede an episode and are the reason for it.

As I mentioned, bipolar is a disorder of extremes. Bipolar disorder impacts your mood, energy level, motivation, sleep hygiene, hunger, and cognitive processing. It is important to get these various aspects of your bipolar disorder under control. It can become problematic when one of these elements is thrown off.

For example, look at your sleep hygiene. You are playing with fire if you stay up all night and do not maintain a consistent sleep and wake schedule. It is in no way a guarantee that you’ll get manic just because you stay awake all night. I am just saying you are increasing your likelihood of having an episode.

Messing around with your sleep hygiene can lead to a manic episode. It is not uncommon in an extreme case of mania to experience psychosis in a manic episode.

Routine is one of the best ways to maintain consistency and manage your bipolar disorder. To improve your sleep hygiene, go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning. Shoot for at least 8 hours of sleep. Keep tabs on your screen time before you go to bed.

High-risk activities and environmental extremes are general triggers when it comes to bipolar disorder.

Last Thoughts

You will have greater success in managing your bipolar disorder if you keep the high-risk activities and extremes to a minimum.

I have made progress in managing my illness by keeping track of my triggers, limiting extreme activities, improving my sleep hygiene, and focusing on my daily routine.

Some of these ideas sound very basic. That is because using the basics is one of the best ways to help treat your bipolar disorder.

It is best to pay particular attention to the basics and master them to keep the treatment of your bipolar disorder as easy and simple, as possible.

Bipolar is complicated enough.

Why not keep things simple?