Psychotic Symptoms in Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar psychosis looks a lot like the symptoms of schizophrenia, causing misdiagnosis many times for patients with manic depression. Most bipolars will or have had a psychotic episode in their lives. Psychosis is usually temporary, but in some casas persists throughout the course of the illness. Bipolars can live their lives with psychotic episodes which is the case of Bipolar I disorder.

Clang is a symptom of psychosis. Linking words together based on similar sounds rather than meaning is a symptom of psychosis which is termed Clang association. This symptom occur in psychotic episodes in the manic phase of bipolar disorder, but can also occur in a depressive episode. The sentences or phrases used are rhyming, or punning.

There are other types of language changes that may be present with bipolar symptoms in addition to clang associations. Jumping from one idea to another seemingly without logical transition.Making up words that have no meaning to anyone but the speaker. Rarely repeating others’ words or phrases.

When a bipolar is becoming psychotic, you will notice that the language gets more rapid and less sensible and understandable as their mood becomes more elevated and the psychosis worsens. They may not be aware that they are not making sense. Untreated the y may become totally incoherent. Treatment for his bipolar symptoms is needed instead of trying to rationalize with them as their language is starting to fall apart.

Clang may be accompanied by other symptoms of psychosis, commonly there are hallucinations, paranoia , delusions, disordered thinking or speaking, being excessively responsive to stimulation Difficulty determining what is real and what is not, problems completing ordinary tasks, memory, concentration and clear thinking

Pressure of speech is a term used by doctors for speech that is rapid and a continuous flow that may be difficult or impossible to interrupt by the listener. It can be loud, emphatic, uninhibited, and continue even though no one is listening.

These speech abnomalities are often a result of Flight of ideas a term for the racing thoughts of bipolar patients. Flight of ideas is when nearly continuous flow of accelerated speech with abrupt changes from topic to topic that are usually based on understandable associations, distracting stimuli, or plays on words. When severe, speech may be disorganized and incoherent at the extreme it can seem to be unintelligible. These psychosis need to be treated with medications called antipsychotics. Confinment in a hospital is often necessary until the psychotic features lessen or are relieved.

Love to Hate Money

Love to hate money. One of the most common symptoms of bipolar disorder is impulsive and irrational spending. The amazing joy of the drive to spend money shows in a bipolars life in many ways

It may be wild shopping sprees. . It may be absurd investments when our bipolar grandiosity is telling us we can do no wrong. Manic grandiosity can tell us to lavish presents and gifts or cold hard cash at random to anyone.

Feeling lucky in love, the use of prostitutes, phone sex,internet dating is possible when you have the money. Gambling, for example on horse racing, Las Vegas trips, even hundreds of scratch off lottery tickets all become an outlet for the drive to spend.


How to curb the excessive squandering of money eludes most of us but there are ways to control some damage that it causes. Some ways in which you can keep yourself under control are trying to avoid internet use. Both online shopping and gambling, and sex related activities online chat rooms.

Give cash, credit cards and ATM cards to someone trustworthy for safekeeping if possible. Leave large amouts of cash credit cards locked away where they are not easily accessable. If you find it tottaly out of control cut up credit cards, debit cards until the episode lifts.

Find a way to divide finances keep small amounts of money in places where if the drive becomes too unbearable there is a little money to ease it. Sometimes spending 2.00 for a cup of coffee is enough to satisfy the drive.

 In extreme cases it may be necessary to arrange for money management through an organization where a certain amount is allotted for a week or a setup plan. A bipolar treatment contract with your doctor and a caregiver which centers around bipolar excessive spending. 

When a manic episode with excessive spending ends, our normal reasoning may return, but this return to reality often is followed by a serious depression. Waking up the morning after a manic episode and seeing the aftermath packages some not even taken out of bags. The credit card statements begin to come through, calls from the banks about overdrafts that are not remembered. All of this is a part of bipolar life. So you learn to love to hate money. With insight you can do get out of debt and start on the road of financial recovery again. The roller coaster ride never ends for some of us but that is part of learning to live bipolar.