[lost2bipolar]

When someone bipolar drinks during a BP episode, be it depressed, manic or hypomanic, do people tell you that you look and act differently than other people that drink?

Also, has drinking ever triggered a manic/hypomanic/depressed episode? When this happens, have you ever had it with just a small amount of alcohol? Like a glass of wine or two?

When alcohol triggers an episode, does the alcohol make it more intense compared to having an episode without the alcohol?

I hope I'm being clear, if not, please ask me what needs to be clarified.

[Keegan2015]

I can only speak for myself, but drinking while manic has resulted in exacerbating impulsive / risk taking behavior (drinking more than I normally would, getting in physical fights, antagonizing people around me). When manic I drank mainly to "mellow out" or quell the racing thoughts / high level of alertness and agitation.

When depressed I drank more heavily and more frequently than I did while manic mainly to numb myself and ignore self loathing or suicidal thoughts.

Alcohol has never triggered an episode for me as far as I can tell (but I think it's widely acknowledged that It CAN).

[NoIdeaWhatToDo]

For me, I drink sometimes to soften the anxiety and depression. Sometimes when I drink when I'm hypo, I have a hard time telling when I've had enough. If I drink too much, I'll behave outside of what I would otherwise consider normal or comfortable for me, but I think others just think I'm drunk. It's rare that I do that in a non-social situation, like a get-together or party, so it's been pretty socially accepted. I have lost a friendship over it once - I got argumentative and couldn't let it go when, if not for the alcohol, I might have otherwise. That said, I was arguing because he was baiting me and trying to get a rise out of me. It really bothered me, both that he would behave that way to me and that I couldn't control my reaction to it. I did have other friends mention it to me after the fact, because the interaction surprised them. I let that friendship go after that, because I realized the primary behavior shown by him was something that really angers me, and I find it hurtful. Had I not been drinking, I would probably still be tolerating that. I didn't do anything dramatic about it, I just stopped trying to get together. We still see each other on rare occasions with mutual friends, but not often, and I try not to engage too much, though we're still friendly/civil to each other.

When I was younger (in college), I drank heavily - binging - on a regular basis. It was a very social experience, but I was also really depressed. I used it to escape my depressed feelings at those times, too, but it always ended up worsening the depression because I would remember my behavior (for the most part) and be really embarrassed by it. I have always been pretty socially uncomfortable, so alcohol has been a great social lubricant for me to help me feel more at ease. Conversely, I engaged in promiscuous behavior in college and into my 20s when I was both hypo and drinking. That never made me feel good. I don't think it's triggered episodes for me, but it has certainly made my symptoms worse on both sides.

As to the amount, a glass or two of wine normally doesn't make my symptoms awful, but a third glass certainly could.

[gina_re]

If I'm drinking, then I'm in party mode. That's out of the norm for me, so now I know that's when I'm hypomanic. But I don't think it's out of the range of typical hypomanic behaviors (i.e., pressured speech, excessive energy, spending sprees, etc.).