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Are Bipolar and Anxiety Connected?

Dec 13, 2017
  • Medical Information
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The Bipolar-Anxiety Connection

Although bipolar disorder and anxiety disorder are separate conditions, they have a lot in common, which can complicate treatment.

The link between the two is impossible to ignore – studies have found that around 50 percent of people with bipolar disorder also suffer from some form of anxiety disorder, and those patients may need to take a different approach to lifestyle and disease management.

The Link Between Bipolar and Anxiety Disorders

To understand how bipolar disorder and anxiety are related, it’s important first to understand how each is defined. Many people experience multiple cognitive or emotional disorders without realizing they are suffering from distinct illnesses, which results in an inaccurate diagnosis.

Anxiety disorder is characterized by overwhelming fear, constant worry, and feelings of panic. But it also manifests in physical ways, like:

  • Problems sleeping
  • Heart palpitations
  • Sweaty, clammy palms.
  • Light-headedness
  • Gastrointestinal distress

Bipolar disorder is characterized by manic highs and depressive lows, and either end of that emotional spectrum can easily produce anxiety.

For instance, panic attacks and physical discomforts can come with manic episodes, and deep worry, fear and distraction is common in depressive phases. However, many people with bipolar disorder also have an anxiety disorder (not just sporadic anxious episodes), where anxieties plague the mind constantly, for months or years, regardless of the manic, depressive or normal state of mind.

Research has found that patients of both disorders have low levels of serotonin (a neurotransmitter thought to play an important role in mood balance), and certain antipsychotic medications have been found to relieve symptoms of both disorders.

What the Research Says

When you have both an anxiety disorder and bipolar disorder, your quality of life suffers, and you are at a higher risk for substance abuse, this according to one report reported in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

There is also an increased risk of suicide with bipolar anxiety, as noted by researchers from Zurich University Psychiatric Hospital, Switzerland in 2005.

Some anxiety symptoms, including problems with sleep, can trigger manic episodes. In fact, sleep loss in people with bipolar disorder triggers moodiness, depressed and anxious moods, trouble concentrating and making decisions, and puts them at higher risk for suicidal thoughts.

One 2015 meta-analysis of 52 studies reported in the journal EBioMedicine suggests a high rate of concurrent anxiety disorders for bipolar disorder. The lifetime prevalence of an anxiety disorder for someone with bipolar disorder is 42.7 percent.

The co-occurrence of an anxiety disorder with bipolar disorder can worsen symptoms and disease course for both disorders, so it is important both are treated. However, according to researchers from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY USA, sometimes treatment can be a challenge because anxiety medications may adversely affect the course of bipolar disorder and trigger manic episodes.

It is, therefore, important to identify anxiety disorders in people with bipolar disorder early on because anxiety can worsen the symptoms of bipolar disorder and negatively affect the quality of life. Doctors will work with patients to find treatments that balance out any adverse effects some medications may have.

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How Anxiety Exacerbates Bipolar Symptoms

Unfortunately, an anxiety disorder can seriously impact life with bipolar disorder, and without treatment, bipolar symptoms can spiral dangerously out of control.

Many bipolar patients who suffer from anxiety disorder are prone to self-destructive behaviors and even deeper emotional issues, such as:

  • Substance abuse
  • Suicide attempts
  • Impulsive, daredevil behavior
  • More pronounced mood swings
  • Shorter intervals between mood swings

In some cases, anxiety symptoms act as triggers for bipolar symptoms, making manic or depressive phases much more challenging to handle.

For instance, insomnia – a very common symptom of anxiety disorders – can bring on a manic episode in a bipolar patient, which will almost certainly compound the intensity of discomfort.

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Next page: how to treat bipolar and anxiety together.

Angela Finlay
Angela is a freelance writer and blogger committed to learning, understanding and communicating about the matters that affect daily life. From fitness and lifestyle, pregnancy and medical ailments, she has covered a range of health topics throughout her web writing career, contributing to major websites for over three years. See all of Angela's articles
More Articles by Angela
Lana Barhum
Lana Barhum is a freelance medical and health writer from Northeast Ohio. She has written for a variety of online health publications, including the Pain News Network, Alliance Health, and more. Lana uses her experiences to share expert advice on various chronic illness and medical topics. See all of Lana's articles
More Articles by Lana
Resources
  • NCBI (Anxiety Disorders among Patients with Co-occurring Bipolar and Substance Use Disorders)
  • HHS.gov (What are the Five Major Types of Anxiety Disorders?)
  • NCBI (A Lifetime Prevalance of Comorbidity between Bipolar Affective Disorder and Anxiety Disorder: A Meta-Analysis of 52 Interview-Based Studies of Psychiatric Population)
  • NCBI (Comorbid Anxiety in Bipolar Disorder Alters Treatment and Prognosis)
  • Wiley Online Library (Specific Anxiety Disorders and Subsequent Risk for Bipolar Disorder: A Nationwide Study)
  • NCBI (Obsessive-Compulsive Syndromes and Disorders: Significance of Comorbidity with Bipolar and Anxiety Syndromes)
  • PsychEducation.org (Antidepressants in Bipolar Disorder: The Controversies)
  • NCBI (The International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) Task Force Report on Antidepressant Use in Bipolar Disorders)
  • NCBI (Atypical Antipsychotics in Primary Generalized Anxiety Disorder or Comorbid with Mood Disorders)
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