[Travelinglady]

I keep reading about people with bipolar who kill other folks, have a great deal of anger, etc. I was thinking that bipolar is ups and downs in moods--people who are depressed or manic. I am bipolar and it doesn't manifest with lots of anger.

However borderline personality disorder does. And I know the two diagnoses tend to go together. Could these killers or angry people otherwise also have BPD or have been misdiagnosed as having bipolar? (I know that happens sometimes.)

[raspberrytorte]

I have anger problems on occasion. I don't have bpd.

I find it hard to relate to the many many people who post about anger issues.

I get pissed off - yeah, but no more than anyone else and according to my t/pdoc and friends I am always justified in my response (this is important to me)

I get the agitated depression and dysphoric mania and it rarely comes out as "Rage" or even anger at anyone but myself. It is all focused on me. I hurt myself at the thought of hurting someone else.

Im finding there are many people who just cannot control their temper. Maybe there is no mental illness there but they want something to blame.

[HeavyMetalLover]

****TRIGGER ALERT! TRIGGER ALERT!******

I think it differs for everyone. I have a lot of anger issues that my T/pdoc both attribute to the bipolar 1/BPD/PTSD combo platter I have. I also know people with only bipolar disorder who have anger issues and some who don't. I think this is where personal life experiences come into play, largely,IMO. It seems, to me, that my friends with only BP who led a life free of abuse are not angry people. Those of my friends, and myself, that have suffered abuse do have a lot of anger. This often leads me to question if my anger is related to my past abuse more so than BP, but then I always come to the same conclusion. It's more important to heal and take care of myself, so maybe I don't much care why I have so much anger as caring about how to cope. Just my two cents if anyone cares...

[fingers1]

When I was at my worst and really pumped I had an explosive anger problem, I told my boss to fu*k Off and get out of my face !.
I also told a good friend to Fu*k off as I was not happy with her.

This does your relationships no good what so ever.

Please be sure you apologise when you come down.

Fingers1

I have bp2 and borderline traits. I've had bouts of anger here and there in the past, like most people do but it wasn't until a couple months ago that my hypomania went from being very euphoric to dysphoric and turned into a mixed state. I was filled with so much anger and rage for days and even weeks on end. This was a product of bipolar mixed state, not bpd. However, my bpd traits are prevalent in my day to day life so the irritation, anger, and rage did affect how I would handle things with that aslo, if that makes any sense. Sorry, I can't figure out how to word that better.

[BadWolfC]

I definitely have anger issues, but I couldn't tell you why. I've been questioning whether I have Borderline personality disorder as well as Bipolar for a while now because I have a fair amount of the signs/symptoms. I'm waiting on a referral to have a full psych eval done because I've never had one, so hopefully I'll know soon.

[faerie_moon_x]

I never used to have problems with anger and rage. I was actually really easy going. This has all manifested itself within the past 3-4 years.

My anger comes from the constant stream of racing thoughts and my dysphoric mania mixed with agitation. I also have a ton of intrusive thoughts that focus on violence and I really hate them and get scared of them.

Things that can trigger my rage:
1) People asking me to directions to the office I work at. (I have no idea why this makes me so angry.)

2) Repetitive noises

3) Paranoia about people working against me (such as monitoring my bathroom time at work.)

4) People having too high of expectations for me

5) Being tired or not getting enough sleep.

6) Irritation from not being able to think and focus properly.

7) Feeling overwhelmed with too much work

8) Too many stressful triggers happening close together.

[Victoria'smom]

I become homicidal when manic/mixed with intrusive violent thoughts. I usually isolate myself for the protection of others. New t wants me to be hospitalized when I become like that. Luckily I haven't been like that in over a year.

[*Laurie*]

In the past I have had rage issues. Nowadays, I just get pissed off and very irritable inside. I almost never express those feelings outwardly, I just keep them inside (except on PC, thankfully). I've worked and worked to learn to set boundaries and to properly express angry feelings, but I still don't know how.

For example, I am seething at my apt. complex manager right now because she complained to me about my car (parked in the lot) not having current registration. Well, obviously if I had the $$$ I'd register it. But after complaining and suggesting that she has the right to issue me a warning about my car's status, she said, "But don't worry about it...." HUH? Of course I'm worried about it. The woman never thanks me for paying my rent exactly on time every month, or for nicely decorating my outdoor area, or for being the excellent tenant I am, but she decides to police my car because an unregistered vehicle doesn't 'look nice'. Well, it sure doesn't 'look nice' because the parking lot appears not to have been washed down in ages. No, but she picks on my stupid registration. I'm furious, depressed, and anxious, but I was all nice and smiley with her and she has no idea of how angry I feel. And scared.

Now I'm feeling paranoid that she's on this site & will read this. Ugh.

My diagnosis is BP2...but I do get delusional and maybe irrationally paranoid sometimes (I'm not sure about that). I suspect I have some BPD traits, but not full-blown BPD.

[Travelinglady]

I was just wondering. I also was diagnosed with borderline, but after years of therapy I no longer have enough of those traits to keep the diagnosis. I remember the anger and even the rage that went along with it. I definitely could have been a danger to others at that point!

[Disorder7]

When I'm baseline, or depressed I don't have anger issues. But when I become mixed, I feel a lot of irritability, I get very antsy, for a few days. I find myself getting reckless. I laugh at things I should cry about, and cry over happy things. It's hard to sleep and thoughts start racing.
If this continues for several days or weeks, eventually I just sort of explode. I become very, very, violent. I'll admit it, at that point I become dangerous. And if I find a way to lash out, I become euphoric. It's a huge rush to feel all of the anger and power rushing through my veins.

For the person who suggested that some people just have anger issues but they want to blame it on bipolar, you are wrong. So very, very, wrong.....

[Trippin2.0]

I've been angry longer than I've been ill.

Idk if tempers just run in my family (although I seem to have the most dangerous one) or if my acronyms exacerbate them.

Probably a bit of both, now that I think about it.

When one of my former pdocs found out I had my first black out rage when I was 9, he was considering a dx of IED, but I didn't see him long enough to have that confirmed.

I think its hard to say, nobody presents the same and we all have individual contributing factors to take into consideration.

All I know is, whether its me, my bp, bpd or whatever, I need to chill the eff out, walk away and repeat "I'm way too pretty for jail" until it sinks in.


Plus, my daughter made it clear she finds it hard to deal with the rages, and I've vowed to work on it. So far I have not broken anything since November and have not been in any fear of a jail cell since she was 5.

(fight between a neighbor and myself, my daughter was not involved in anyway, just in case anyone is wondering)


Not sure whether that's just because nobody has dared to push me that far, or because I'm better at this shyt now.

I would like to think its the latter tho.

What I mean by my comment, is not everyone who is angry or ragefull is automatically bipolar, as society likes to label it.

Some people DO just have a bad temper and there is not always a mental health reason.

I am coming across more and more people who have had intermittent rage issues that get diagnosed and drugged with APs when anger management is a more effective option.

[pjcjr77]

Originally Posted by LauraBeth

In the past I have had rage issues. Nowadays, I just get pissed off and very irritable inside. I almost never express those feelings outwardly, I just keep them inside (except on PC, thankfully). I've worked and worked to learn to set boundaries and to properly express angry feelings, but I still don't know how.

For example, I am seething at my apt. complex manager right now because she complained to me about my car (parked in the lot) not having current registration. Well, obviously if I had the $$$ I'd register it. But after complaining and suggesting that she has the right to issue me a warning about my car's status, she said, "But don't worry about it...." HUH? Of course I'm worried about it. The woman never thanks me for paying my rent exactly on time every month, or for nicely decorating my outdoor area, or for being the excellent tenant I am, but she decides to police my car because an unregistered vehicle doesn't 'look nice'. Well, it sure doesn't 'look nice' because the parking lot appears not to have been washed down in ages. No, but she picks on my stupid registration. I'm furious, depressed, and anxious, but I was all nice and smiley with her and she has no idea of how angry I feel. And scared.

Now I'm feeling paranoid that she's on this site & will read this. Ugh.

My diagnosis is BP2...but I do get delusional and maybe irrationally paranoid sometimes (I'm not sure about that). I suspect I have some BPD traits, but not full-blown BPD.

I've wondered about this issue as anger issues are supposed to be trait of bipolar.

I don't think I ever realized that I do have this issue, but luckily I have very good control at not expressing them outwardly (this is a huge gift).

Since its very rarely expressed outwardly, I've only ever thought of it as being irritated.

Sent from my XT1093 using Tapatalk

I don't have BPD (at least not to my knowledge); my only official diagnosis is bipolar and I'm occasionally prone to rage although it only happens when I have a lot going on in my life. Even when I rage, unless I'm cornered by somebody and feel threatened, I am always able to control my anger enough to not hurt anybody. About the worst things that I do if I'm angry is break things and/or rant or if somebody wrongs me in a major way, I develop intense thoughts of hurting them, ruining their careers or turning their friends/partners against them, but I never act on these thoughts.

In truth, I'm more of a cold, calculating, and cunning person rather than one who lets anger or other intense emotions dictate his decisions.

[neverending]

I am pretty sure my grandfather was bipolar. He definitely had depressive episodes and I used to hear him tell stories about his rages. My mother said my grandmother had to do all the discipline of her children because my grandfather knew enough to know he didn't dare touch them. He did not have BPD traits.

I have both bipolar and BPD so I can't say where my rages come from although that was one thing I could look back on to help me accept the bipolar diagnosis. With a lot of therapy I have been learning to manage that rage but when I am running mixed as I am now with the aggitation I am experiencing I really have to apply my skills to keep my temper in control.

[faerie_moon_x]

Originally Posted by Supanova

What I mean by my comment, is not everyone who is angry or ragefull is automatically bipolar, as society likes to label it.

Some people DO just have a bad temper and there is not always a mental health reason.

I am coming across more and more people who have had intermittent rage issues that get diagnosed and drugged with APs when anger management is a more effective option.

I agree that it's annoying that when the media has a story about angry people and it's automatically assumed there is bipolar. It could be something else.

I was diagnosed before my anger issues, which is good. But I was diagnosed after my worst psychotic break was over by at least 2 or 3 years, which is bad. The problem in there isn't enough understanding of MI in the general population to begin with and people don't know how to approach someone who may be in need to help.

[tipper1492]

A psychologist, or other professional, might help you. If out of your price range range, you might do what it do, search all the whys on Google. In general I do not think they classify bipolar people violent, but each person has personal opinions.

[wiretwister]

****** Trigger ******* Trigger ********* Trigger *********

when I was younger I could have been a mass murderer ... drove dangerously fast took exstream chances , carried guns all the time ,,, even carried one to my first pdoc exam ...

not 100% sure if bp maybe just a bad kid ... was not angry at something or someone ... but was steeped in religion and was probably due to that .. the righteous wrath of the lord ... a true fundamentalist ...

[BipolaRNurse]

I was BORN pissed off, or so my parents told me. I do remember having a hot temper as early as age four or five. I don't have BPD and I don't know for sure if I was bipolar when I was little---they didn't diagnose children with BP way back then---but my temper was a big issue throughout my life until a few years ago. Now the anger has been mostly medicated away...that, and I just don't get worked up as easily at my age. I've grown up a lot since I was diagnosed.

[Row Jimmy]

I have anger and rage issues but I'm getting better over time. I've probably been undiagnosed BP for 25 years but the rage has been more prevalent within the last 10 years. I also suffer from paranoia, poor decision making, and grandiose thinking. I've been lucky - all of my victims have been inanimate objects like my gutters or my trash barrels. I took a hockey stick to my garage wall a few years ago and the holes are still there. I've also punched my refrigerator and done a bunch of other stupid things in my car relating to road rage......oddly funny now but looking back, nothing I'm all that proud of.

I had a dual diagnosis of BP and BPD but my p-doc sort of stepped away from BPD a few weeks ago but he hasn't ruled anything in or out. He prefers to just treat the symptom with meds and a program.

IMO, if only related to BP, the anger is sort of connected to the fact that the mind just goes into overdrive and can't slow down. I have a milder form of BP and I know that when I was hypomanic, I would fry out and get angry at anything for no apparent reason. The brain can't handle the extra stress so the natural defense mechanism is to lash out. This is my opinion, anyway.

Relative to your theory, perhaps people with rage issues just get in over their heads and never get their bleep together. Then they do something stupid because the rage consumes them over time. BP does get worse if it goes untreated.

[nowIgetit]

I have bipolar II and I definitely get anger/rage. I do not have other traits of borderline personality disorder. When I have an episode, I tend to go into a mild depression at first, then if I don't deal with that properly it gets worse and then turns to mixed where I am fighting back tears constantly and exhausted, but also want to punch everyone in the face over normal daily life occurrences and have random panic attacks and anxiety. I also, as someone mentioned above, do have a history of mental and emotional abuse by family and my ex husband. I don't know that I could say with certainty that's what triggers the rage in others with bipolar, but it does make sense to me that it could be a factor.

[nowIgetit]

^^I am pretty sure my mom and my grandmother both had/have bipolar and it definitely got worse with age, part of what made me seek treatment when I did. my mom has the rage and my grandmother eventually became a hoarder and a recluse, literally had a path from her armchair to the kitchen sink to the bathroom to her bed, also never left her house.

Originally Posted by Row Jimmy

I have anger and rage issues but I'm getting better over time. I've probably been undiagnosed BP for 25 years but the rage has been more prevalent within the last 10 years. I also suffer from paranoia, poor decision making, and grandiose thinking. I've been lucky - all of my victims have been inanimate objects like my gutters or my trash barrels. I took a hockey stick to my garage wall a few years ago and the holes are still there. I've also punched my refrigerator and done a bunch of other stupid things in my car relating to road rage......oddly funny now but looking back, nothing I'm all that proud of.

I had a dual diagnosis of BP and BPD but my p-doc sort of stepped away from BPD a few weeks ago but he hasn't ruled anything in or out. He prefers to just treat the symptom with meds and a program.

IMO, if only related to BP, the anger is sort of connected to the fact that the mind just goes into overdrive and can't slow down. I have a milder form of BP and I know that when I was hypomanic, I would fry out and get angry at anything for no apparent reason. The brain can't handle the extra stress so the natural defense mechanism is to lash out. This is my opinion, anyway.

Relative to your theory, perhaps people with rage issues just get in over their heads and never get their bleep together. Then they do something stupid because the rage consumes them over time. BP does get worse if it goes untreated.

[Row Jimmy]

Originally Posted by nowIgetit

^^I am pretty sure my mom and my grandmother both had/have bipolar and it definitely got worse with age, part of what made me seek treatment when I did. my mom has the rage and my grandmother eventually became a hoarder and a recluse, literally had a path from her armchair to the kitchen sink to the bathroom to her bed, also never left her house.

My mom is also bipolar - probably 80 up, 20 down with a bunch of rage and pointless confrontation sprinkled in. She just never went to get help because she grew up in a generation in which mental illness was a weakness and could possibly get you committed against your will. I probably received a lot of it from her and I went for 25 years without being diagnosed. Mine was also getting worse with age until my wife basically forced me to get help.