I obsess on most everything. When it plays into my addictions, I'm stuck. It took me 15 years to quit a 20 year smoking habit. Sex...I have gots to have it. Spending money on stupid things....done it. I can get so locked in whatever, the hours fly by. This has made me late for appointments or skipping work at times. And if I'm at work, I get hung up on the smallest of details that it looks like I didn't get anything done.

But other things like jealousy, cleaning, drinking, making things perfect, perfect wording, exactness, to name a few....just about everything I do, I seem to take it a step to far. To quit things I have to tear myself away from it. Is that bipolar or some other quirky thing that I have got going on? Anyone else?

It's like these 2 paragraphs, they may just be a few sentences, but I've edited them about 30 times already and they still aren't perfect! It's frustrating when you haven't had an English class in 25 years and an iPad that changes everything you type.

[gayleggg]

It sounds more like a little OCD to me, but I have no qualifications to be diagnosing anyone.

[UpDownMiddleGround]

Originally Posted by AlwaysChanging2

I obsess on most everything. When it plays into my addictions, I'm stuck. Took me 15 years to quit a 20 year smoking habit. Sex...I got to have it. Spending money on stupid things....done it. I can get so locked in whatever, hours fly by. This has made me late for appointments or skipping work at times. And if I'm at work, I get hung up on the smallest of details and it looks like I got nothing done.

But other things like jealousy, cleaning, drinking, making things perfect, perfect wording, exactness, to name a few....just about everything I do. To quit things I have to tear myself away from it. Is that bipolar or some other quirky thing that I have got going on? Anyone else?

It's like these 2 paragraphs, it may just be a few sentences, but I've edited them about 20 times already and they still aren't perfect! It's frustrating when you haven't had an English glass in 25 years.

I'm not sure if it is linked or not because it is not in the list of criteria. My T mentioned the obsessive traits very early on in my treatment with her and long before she mentioned that she suspected BP dx. When I think about how it feels for me, it feels sort of like the projects that I start (while manic) and don't finish because my mood shifts. If there is a part to be found, I will shop all day, going from store to store to store. The idea of what I need for my project takes precedence over anything else. I can sometimes pick it out but it does't make it stop. But, sometimes I can pick out that I chatty but it doesn't make it stop either. At work, I will have great ideas and work on them, but I know if I don't finish I won't come back. So i work really long hours on those days. If i don't finish, I usually continue to think about it for days because my assignment has changed and I no longer have time to finish. Maybe it is associated, maybe it is something else, maybe its "BP I, with obsessive traits."

[Saraleigh522]

I believe mine to be part of my ADD, but haven't seen a doc about bipolar yet (I go Wednesday) so idk

[Pikku Myy]

I would say yes.

[Tucson]

I think frequently it does. BWDIK

[MotherMarcus]

sometimes BP and ADD share some of the same characteristics . I have a tendency to hyper-focus and don't get stuff done. My brain scrambles in eight different directions .

My diagnosis is add, but meds won't work for me because it fires up the bipolar aspect.

[HighOnHotSauce]

I'm glad you started this thread. very similar stuff goes on with me. I have Bipolar Type 1 and obsess about many things and when you mentioned it crossing paths with addiction issues, that really hit home. I discussed it with my Psych nurse and she had me keep a journal as you can have BiPolar and OCD at the same time.This is because I do have what seemed like compulsive behaviors as well. I don't seem to fit the diagnosis of OCD as, although, I meet a number of the criteria, essentially their impact on my life is not at the point that it fits. Then again it's probably out shined by the symptoms of my BP and Trauma stuff. I do wonder if these types of thoughts are common in bipolar but maybe in type 1 more than type 2. Just a random thought.

Originally Posted by HighOnHotSauce

I'm glad you started this thread. very similar stuff goes on with me. I have Bipolar Type 1 and obsess about many things and when you mentioned it crossing paths with addiction issues, that really hit home. I discussed it with my Psych nurse and she had me keep a journal as you can have BiPolar and OCD at the same time.This is because I do have what seemed like compulsive behaviors as well. I don't seem to fit the diagnosis of OCD, as although, I have a number of the criteria, essentially their impact on my life is not at the point that it fits. Then again it's probably out shined by the symptoms of my BP and Trauma stuff. I do wonder if these types of thoughts are common in bipolar but maybe in type 1 more than type 2. Just a random thought.

Yes. Compulsive behaviors are like gambling, drinking, drugging, gaming, smoking....of which I all have. The quirks of like knocking knuckles on every object they told me it was anxiety related.

Of course with bipolar you have hypersexuality, uncontrolled spending sprees, grandiosity...but I'm talking about the smaller other obsessions.

[HighOnHotSauce]

It's like the line of thinking is always there and when it gets the energy and acceleration from the Mania, it gets completely out of control, but it's always there just the same. In my case, when all of those behaviors I have when Manic, sex with strangers, massive spending, drinking, drugs, getting consumed by "big ideas" and working on them like mad, I can give way to delusional thinking that is completely irrational and not reality based. The're often paranoid delusions but again, they are obsessional, fixed ideas.