Navigating any romantic relationship — whether it’s dating or marriage — can be a tricky endeavor. Add bipolar disorder, and relationships become even more challenging.
“One thing to make sure of is that you have a well-informed spouse. Without them knowing about what’s different about you, it’s very hard for them to live with you. As all do, I have my good and bad days, but the goal is to have more good than bad! I love my wife!
–J.G., Dallas, GA
Let’s answer this question: Can people with Bipolar have a healthy relationship? What do you think…
Successful couples share the belief that the partner with bipolar disorder has a responsibility in the relationship equal to that of the other spouse. Bipolar Disorder and Marriage Daniel, a computer software engineer in Portland, Oregon, was used to solving complicated problems. But when his wife, Julie, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he didn’t know...
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Julie A. Fast uses her extensive research and personal experience to offer strategies for managing bipolar disorder. Read more in this Q&A about how her insights can guide confident management and deepen our understanding of this brain-based illness. Julie A. Fast is a recognized authority in the mental health field. She is known for her...
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Giddy romance and mania have a lot in common, so it’s important to learn the signs to tell the difference between a bipolar mood swing and new romantic feelings. Euphoria: A True Love Sign or Manic Symptom? In Irving Berlin’s catchy Broadway tune “You’re Just in Love,” a puzzled young man wonders why he can’t...
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Although medication is the primary treatment for bipolar disorder, adding specific vitamins or supplements might provide additional relief from symptoms. Here’s what the research shows. Navigating treatment options beyond medications can be an important part of managing bipolar disorder, and vitamins and supplements may provide a supportive role. They not only have the potential to...
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A part of me feels that having and maintaining a healthy relationship is utterly impossible and hopeless because of my bipolar, but then there’s this voice in the back of my head that tells me it is most definitely possible. I just don’t believe it’s possible for me.
I would have to say it seems impossible, but I suppose it’s possible if your mate is on the same page as you as far as mood management and medication. I have been divorced 2x. Both divorces related to my mental health. First divorce was during hypo mania. It seems I just woke up one day, quit taking my med, started exercising OBSESSIVELY, lost a ton of weight and just decided t leave for greener pasture. Second divorce was during a time of deep depression. I could’t even get out of bed most days. He couldn’t tolerate it. Since then I have chosen not to be in a relationship, at least until I meet somebody that is supportive and understands that my mental health relies on a few consistent self care steps in order to stay stable.
Absolutely it is possible. I wouldn’t trade my husband of 22 years, who has Bipolar for anyone. It has taken me a long time to learn my husband and it has been a very bumpy road but it is still okay. I’m still learning and we still struggle and always will but we always do it together. Some things that have really helped me, especially in the dark times are to always think the best of Him and believe him. I trust him at his core and help him navigate when he is struggling and can’t trust himself. Our love and sacrifice are equal when he needs me I rise up to help him when I need him he does the same, I don’t have bi-polar but I do have needs and he recognizes them and meets them when he is able. When he is unable and I have, needs I reach out to others to help me because I understand my husband wants to but cannot. Loving someone with Bipolar is no different than loving someone without Bipolar because love is a choice, every moment of every day. Bipolar may present its many obstacles but I choose to love him in spite of those challenges and he chooses to love me in spite of my many challenges. Cheers to all those who are hoping for love, it is possible and probable if both involved love unconditionally. If you don’t know how to do that the greatest example of unconditional love is your Creator. Jesus Christ can teach you how to be loved and to love unconditionally. Read John 3:16-17 from the Bible.
I was diagnosed Bipolar at age 20 and had been abusing drugs and alcohol for a few years at the time. It wasn’t until a manic episode during a sober period that I believed I was actual Bipolar. During my using days my promiscuity ran high, like my moods (most of the time) and I had only one longer term relationship made up of hopeless romance and lots of chaos. I have been clean and sober for nearly 10 years now and medicated without a manic episode for about the same amount of time. Yet, as far as romantic relationships go I tend to want to stay with the ones that “need my help” or where I can play the role of the heroine. I’ve been seeing someone and we moved in together as what we both agree to have been “too fast” yet there aren’t any problems other than my fear of losing my independence or the idea of “forever” feeling suffocating. He is as communacative, supportive, empathetic and loving as I could ask for. I’m just… Not used to nice. And.. I made fast and close friends with chaos long ago. So now I get to either run (like I always have)… Or break my cycle and find out what it means to stay (even though staying and committment in situations where I don’t have anything to “fix” in the other person leaves me only to look at and heal myself).
My parents have watched my cycle of falling hard and fast over and over again and moving in too quickly. And sometimes I get tired of being asked if I’m “too happy?” Referencing.. Am I getting hypo-manic? Or.. Here we go again.. “You loved your partner so much and now you’re not sure…”
I’ll listen about you and comfort you all day but when it’s my turn to be vulnerable, I only want to let you in so far.
I don’t know if it’s my Bipolar or a combination of things but I’ve always had a gypsy heart and sometimes I’m just scared of what it means to really… Stay.
I just went through this with my second husband. I was madly in love with him. He didn’t tell me he had bipolar disorder. He disappeared one day.. just moved out. I found out I was the fourth woman he had abandoned. His relationships each last exactly 2.5 yrs. That’s the time trigger. He said “if I can’t make it with you I can’t make it with anyone.” It’s sad but I’ve divorced him and moved on. I begged him to come back.. to “stay”.. he just couldn’t do it. He will always be the love of my life. He will move on and go through another woman.. repeat the cycle again and again. He also said he wanted freedom and adventure and I put him in a box. I couldn’t understand how his mind worked.
I wanted to add he also needed to be needed. He told me he was only happy in a situation where he felt he was “helping” someone. So maybe it is the bipolar disorder.
I spent over 10 years as an undiagnosed person with Bipolar disorder (I’m 26). It has definitely influenced my relationships. There is a pattern in my dating/romantic relationships. When I was hypomanic/manic I rushed into everything, such as exclusive dating labels or sex. Hypersexuality played an integral role and lead to more hookups than I would like to admit. Relationships tended to be hot and heavy initially, and then they would fizzle out when I leveled out and started assessing my relationships more logically.
I have been successfully diagnosed and medicated for a year, so my experience with relationships as a medicated person with BPD is limited to one guy. I was open with being bipolar with him from the beginning which definitely helped. We have been living together since December and so far so good. However, my symptoms are now quite mild. The only symptom that was really evident to him was the excessive sleepiness. But I have not presented with my manic symptoms yet, and I don’t know how prominent they will be on this medication. I am worried about this. I can definitely see where being irritable and irrational can cause issues. But I think he’ll be happy when I go on a cleaning spree. We shall see how it goes…