Understanding Thought Patterns and Living with Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder has also been known as manic depression, which is a mental health condition exhibited through extreme mood swings. A person suffering from bipolar disorder typically exhibits behaviors related to extreme sadness or high levels of energy.

Bipolar behavior can be noticed through various symptoms or characteristics. This behavior is reflective of how a person suffering from bipolar disorder thinks. These things can make living with bipolar disorder difficult.

There is not just one level of bipolar disorder. Most people fall into one of four categories of bipolar disorder. Bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymic disorder, and unspecified are the major categories of bipolar disorder. One of the common denominators in all four categories is the way a person with bipolar disorder thinks.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:2, ESV

Personality Plays a Role in Living with Bipolar Disorder

When it comes to thought patterns and bipolar disorder, it must be taken into consideration that personality will play a role. Five personalities are associated with bipolar disorder. These are neuroticism, openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness.

Because most people with bipolar disorder tend to experience negative emotions, the biggest personality trait that can reflect the thought patterns of bipolar disorder is neuroticism. This personality trait reacts to stressors with negative emotions like fear, sadness, or shame.

How Moods Affect Thoughts

It’s not so much what the person thinks but rather the moods that influence how they think. With bipolar disorder, the person typically has problems separating how they feel and how they think. When emotions are thrown into the mix, this can cause irrational thought processes to influence decision-making. Typically, a person with bipolar disorder will reflect this in their behavior concerning the thought process they have during an episode.

The realization of knowing that a mood is a state of mind can help others understand the thought process of a person with bipolar disorder. Bipolar behavior is reflected in the thought rather than the mood itself. Listening to a person suffering from bipolar disorder is the best way to understand how their thoughts affect their daily lives.

The Most Prevalent Thought Patterns

Many types of thought patterns can be experienced by someone suffering from bipolar disorder. The thought patterns are typically associated with the individual’s personality and mental health. This means that not all bipolar individuals have the same thought patterns. They will, however, have close similarities to the ones that are closely associated with bipolar behavior.

Here are 10 of the common thought patterns of people with bipolar disorder:

• Racing thoughts is one of the top thought patterns most people with bipolar disorder experience. These thoughts are frantic and change from one to another quickly.
• Circumstantial thinking is when the brain cannot filter out important information and is seen as unnecessary details added to a conversation.
• Flight of ideas involves racing thoughts that inhibit any type of focus on a conversation and moving from one thought to the next.
• Pressured speech is a behavior that is noted by continuous talk without regard for the conversation or others.
• Loose associations happen when the thoughts are minimally related to the speech, and there’s a rhyming way of speaking.
• Thought blocking happens when the person falls off into silence without finishing the thought.
• Cyclical thinking is another way of describing repetitive thoughts. The person focuses on one area of distress, and all the thoughts keep going back to that situation.
• Negative self-talk is simply reflective of the person not having positive thoughts of themselves. This thinking pattern can lead to self-harm harm suicide, or death.
• Lack of speaking comes from the overcrowded thoughts that the person has, leaving them unable to form coherent thoughts or speak coherent sentences.
• Psychosis presents with ideas of grandeur, paranoia, or even hallucinations.

Change the Thought Pattern

As with any mental health issue, identifying, understanding, and seeking to change are ways to manage life if you’re living with bipolar disorder. In conjunction with counseling and medication, there are several ways changing a lifestyle can produce a healthy thought pattern. When there is a healthy thought process, the bipolar behavior does not seem so sporadic.

When a person notices their thought pattern, they can reframe those thoughts more positively. This could involve “speaking to the thought” in a way that helps the person refocus on something else.

Simply stating that there is no reason to be thinking about the situation can help deter the negative thought pattern. Journaling is another way an individual can reframe responses and feelings concerning what’s going on around them.

Managing Thought Patterns

As with anything involving getting help to be healthy, an individual must have a support system that understands them and is willing to assist them in healing. Knowing that a change needs to be made is the first step in managing bipolar behavior and the thought processes linked to it.

The best place to start is with a Christian counselor in your area who can help you navigate managing the thought processes of living with bipolar disorder. Contact our office today and speak to a representative. They can help you schedule an appointment with a counselor near you.