Bipolar and Anxiety: What is There to Be Worried about?

Let's tie together worry and bipolar symptoms. Manic symptoms can include (but these are not all the symptoms):

1. Irritability,
2. Goal-directed behavior (socially, work, school, or sexually),
3. Feeling pressured to speak,
4. Distractability

When someone is irritable, he or she can worry about being "edgy", about how being grumpy may be impacting others (even though it feels as if little can be done about it).

When someone is goal-directed, they worry about others getting in their way. Some people want to marry that someone special even though there is no mutual interest. Children may want to go play, and they worry that mom and dad will stop them so they lie (either lying by commission or omission , don't tell mom or dad where they are going, he doesn't stop by the house, or she doesn't call mom or dad. This person believes that he must finish that household project even though others are trying to sleep.

When someone feels pressured to talk, he can worry that someone is going to interrupt him, especially with something less important (cf. to the symptom of having an inflated self-esteem or having grandiosity). She can worry that it all won't get said.

If a person is highly distractable, trying to remember that last great idea worries him or her.

Depressive symptoms, the down side of bipolar disorder, include symptoms (these are not all the symptoms of depression) such as:

1. Feeling guilty or worthless,
2. Having difficulty concentrating
3. Feeling exhausted or tired
4. Feeling agitated or restless

When people are feeling guilty, they have regrets. They are anxious about what they have done or haven't done. They worry about who they are or about who they are not. They suffer from the pain of anxiety.

Those who cannot concentrate, focus, or make decisions struggle with anxiety, too. They could think clearly before, but, now, they can't. They worry about why that is, what is stopping their brain from working. They feel anxious, thinking they may never snap out of it.

Those who feel exhausted and tired, feel anxiety because they tend to worry about what has happened to all the energy they may have had before. Will they ever feel like themselves again?

Of course, when I feel restless or physically agitated, I usually feel anxious.

Of course, this isn't a comprehensive list. There are lots of things people can worry or feel anxiety about. On the other hand, people do not need to feel anxious. There is hope. It doesn't always feel like it, but there is.

Anxiety and Bipolar Disorder: What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety can be difficult to define. Sometimes, when people talk about anxiety, they use words like stressed, distressed, overwhelmed, worried, nervous, or fearful. Obviously, there are differences between these emotions. In other ways, they can be slight variations of a single emotion.

There are several components to anxiety, depending on how you look at this emotion. For example, psychological studies have found that anxiety and excitement are similar in the way the body responds. While the physical sensations are similar, the labels (anxiety or excitement) are different. To some extent, labeling or re-labeling physical responses may help those who feel unnecessary anxiety. In order to illustrate this, think about (or remember) what it was like to date a new person. Some of us were anxious and some of us were excited. It depended on how one was predicting (see the future orientation) how the date would go. If we were confident or a risk taker, we may have been excited about how well a date may go. If we were worried, lacked confidence, or were unsure how a date may go, we may have been anxious. We were getting ready, making sure our clothes looked appropriate, our hair looked a certain way, and that we were buffed and shined (showered, shaved, brushed our teeth, etc.), but we were hoping that the date would go well. Who knows, we may not like this person after we got to know him or her. Worse yet, he or she may not like us.

It is important to realize that anxiety is an important emotion. Certain amounts of it help us to prepare for certain events, like a date with a new person, a job interview, a presentation, a speech, or an examination. If we didn’t have enough of this emotion, we may not care very much, we may feel unmotivated. We won’t prepare. I once had a roommate who was so “laid back”, it seemed that he had little motivation. As I recall, he had some trouble with his supervisor because it seemed like he didn’t care about doing a good job.

If we have too much anxiety, we may feel immobilized, want to run away, or even feel edgy or belligerent. In this case, we may be in a fight-flight-freeze response, which is usually related to a perceived threat. A perceived threat is not necessarily a real threat. If someone is angry or disappointed with us, we may think this is a threat. Even if someone yells at us, we may not truly be threatened. Being yelled at is uncomfortable, unpleasant, and we may feel insulted or disrespected. Yelling is more aggressive than calmly expressing feelings while it is less aggressive than making a fist. (Of course, this assumes that the person yelling is not saying things like “I’ll hurt you” or “I’m going to kill you” and intends, which can be difficult to determine, on following through on those comments.)

We can see where anxiety can lead to problems, like fighting and arguing. It can also lead us to “run away” or avoid are problems. Some people actually leave by divorcing, running away from their parents, partner, or job. Many others turn to drugs or alcohol to manage this emotion.

In order to make progress, it is important to note how often we run into actual threats. How often does this really occur? It can occur in car accidents or near misses. It can occur in war settings, like those in Iraq. It can occur in the woods if we are faced with a mountain lion. It can happen if we are involved with the wrong crowd, with those who carry weapons and brandish them. However, how often do we actually face real threats? For most of us, on a day-to-day basis, we don’t face life threatening situations, situations that “threaten” our life or well-being.

There is more to say about anxiety, what it is, what it looks like, how it impacts us, but those ideas will have to wait for another day.

Others may be asking about how anxiety relates to bipolar, which is the current theme. While anxiety is broader than bipolar disorder, which means many people struggle with varying degrees of anxiety, many of those with bipolar disorder have large amounts of anxiety. But for now, those questions will have to wait.

Bipolar Disorder and Anxiety: Introduction and Physiological Responses

Often those with bipolar disorder feel anxious. For some, they retreat into their own world, afraid of being hurt by another (being yelled at, laughed at, insulted, and taken advantage of). Others are afraid of how they might act out on others so they isolate themselves. It leads some to yell, to argue, to get into fights. Sometimes, people turn to drugs and/or alcohol because of that anxiety.

Anxiety doesn’t feel good at all. It is a tough emotion. Our stomach can get a sinking feeling or can feel like it has butterflies in it. Worse yet, we can feel nauseous, like we want to throw up, or we can get diarrhea. Our palms can get sweaty, or they can get cold and clammy. Some of us get a tingling feeling in our hands, feet, or face. We can feel warm or hot all over our body. Our heart rate can increase. Our chest can get tight, or it can just hurt, making us think that we are having a heart attack. We can get palpitations or irregular heartbeats. Our hands can shake. Our legs or knees can feel weak, like we are going to fall. We can feel shaky or like we could faint. We can feel like we are partially paralyzed. Our mouth can get dry, like it has cotton balls stuck in it. We can get a lump in our throat. We can hyperventilate. Sometimes, we feel dizzy or lightheaded. At other times, we can feel like life is unreal, like we are in a dream. We can feel detached from our current situation, as if we are floating away. We can be unable to think clearly. Our vision can get blurry.