You Have Bipolar; Are You Also an HSP?

I'm curious. Are most people with bipolar disorder also highly sensitive? In other words, are you affected by things like light changes, temperature changes, sound (too much or too little), do you tend to be empathetic very easily? And so on.

I think I am.

Laurie, you may be interested in this article if you haven't already seen it.
https://www.bphope.com/help-for-the-...sitive-person/

I was going to say I'm also an SOB, then I saw it's your thread and friends respect friends.

I'm sensitive to UV rays. I wear amber shades most of the time. Even inside the house.
They are a blessing to watch TV and type in this here keyboard.
Heat does get to me once in a while. Specially in temperatures over 90 degrees. Maybe that's normal.
Sound; I have become a little hard of hearing with age. The shooting and the concerts have taken their toll.
What you do today will repercute in the future. I kown now. A day late and a dollar short.

The empathy I leave it all to the women. I was born and raised in a world where men don't cry. Or express any feelings. It was a sign of weakness. And I can't cry to this day. A curse really.
Well, how did I do in the HSP (dunno what it means) test?. Pass or flunk.
Cheers.

Not usually.

Not me. Interesting question though.

Sometimes

Very sensitive to a whole range of things.
My dad used to belong to a brass band. According to my parents as a baby I would cry if dad played a sad song. I still cry at most commercials purely because of the music.
I can’t handle movies greater than PG.
However, I’m not that empathic anymore. 25yrs of working in healthcare beat that out of me.

I can't help my curiosity...why did working in healthcare beat it out of you?

No. I'm really sound sensitive but that's it.

I burnt out at the 6 year mark and then kept pushing myself. I found it exhausting managing the chronically ill who persisted in making their illnesses worse by choice.
It takes a special kind of person to fix someone, send them home, only to have them return again in a week. I’m just not that special.
It’s ironic because as a mentally ill patient I’m always making dumb choices.

Not Really

When I'm in a mix mood episode I become extra sensitive to light and sound and for years very low pressure weather caused migraines, otherwise no. Sometimes I cry at sad adverts but other times nothing. Just nerotypical reactions.

Thank you, each of you, for your replies. This thread is so interesting - and very helpful for me. I'm thinking over some points I need to bring up with my pdoc. I do believe that she's attributing certain aspects of my basic personality to bipolar disorder symptoms and medicating me for those "symptoms" - when in fact, those aspects are not symptoms, but are the fabric from which I'm cut.

In short: I believe I am being overmedicated. I definitely need to be on meds - but not so many as my pdoc wants me to be on.

Yes, I am extremely sensitive (in a bad way) and empathetic (in what I believe is a good way).

I’m very sensitive in an artsy-fartsy poet kind of way, as well as suffering from rejection sensitivity dysphoria (if there is such a thing - the jury’s still out). And I easily take on the emotions of others. I weep with them and rejoice with them in the most tangible way.

An enlightening article. Thank you, vertigo, for the link.
The strange thing is...I was becoming aware, as I was reading the article, that it's when I'm tending toward depression/anxiety that I become hypersensitive. When edging toward mania I am much more resilient. I wonder if that's more common to BD.

Short answer, yes.

BPII and HSP here.

Interesting observations, Laurie!

Great question.

I think I'm just the opposite of you. When I'm depressed, I can't feel anything and can't respond to any stimulus; it's like being surrounded with a blanket or fog, and nothing can penetrate it. Everything slows down, and thinking/reasoning are sluggish.

When I'm manic, any sensory input makes me feel like screaming, whether it's lights, sound, things moving quickly, temperature, the sensation of clothing on my skin. My "mania" is anything but euphoric but rather raw, frantic, and destructive. Growing up, my family would be stunned into silence watching this. My father once said to me, "When you're like this, I don't even know who you are."

Sometimes I am, too. I'm also sensitive in general. Not just to environmental factors, but things I hear and see, too. I always have been, though I've had times in my life when I seemingly had a "tougher skin", it was more appearance than reality. That "tougher skin" did allow me to achieve more than I do nowadays, but nowadays I've also developed a softness (in a positive sense) that I didn't have before.

Thank you all! From what I'm reading on this thread, on vertigo's link, and some other sources, it does seem that hyper-sensitivity and BD are linked. Either episodes set off the hyper-sensitivity, or the sensitivity triggers episodes.

I relate, but in a sub-threshold way. For me, increased sensitivity is one of the things that indicates heading upward. Had a real aha moment one day when the feel of my clothing and the faint clinking of 2 small beads on a hat were unbearable. Had a hyper meltdown just a couple hours later. Most of my sensitivity revolves around sound -- like big trucks rumbling by or .. sirens! I cannot bear the sound of a passing ambulance w/o covering my ears. Leaf blowers, children etc. Goes right through me to the core. You may be amused to know that I live by an airport, highway and trains. Doesn't bother me a bit (except when there are fighter planes --those are unbearable). The highway especially I think of as white noise.

There are many fabrics I couldn't stand to wear, whether it is because of feel or sound.

Emotionally, I can get choked up at the drop of a hat. If you're crying, I will be too. Even if you're a fictional character on the screen.

I say subthreshold because I had a T that we wondered and she had me read a book on it. I could relate quite a bit, but not to the same level over so many things.

I'm very sensitive to light and sound. I'm also empathetic. And I'm an HSP.

I've had to stop watching most TV shows because my emotions get really wrapped into them.

I'm one too. I am sensitive to the sun. Sometimes it hurts; like lemon in a cut. Crying children and loud pick-up trucks unnerve me. Heat and humidity drag the life out of me. Being in a room with my entire family is overwhelming. They all have angles and egos and strong opinions. I fade into the background and space into another world. And how could I forget fireworks at this time of year! So loud. Also patchouli and certain perfumes are invasive. Tight clothing ugh. I prefer cool breezes, gray skies and long sleeve cotton t shirts.

I am very much a HSP. Always have been, even as a child. Who doesn't like birthday parties? This kid. I still hate the sound of popping balloons because they startle me, and I hate being startled worse than almost anything. I can't wear strappy sandals because they rub holes in my tender feet, and I can't stand scratchy tags on clothing. Thudding bass from a stereo system, screaming children, and repetitious sounds make me crazy. Yeah, I'm highly sensitive all right, and NOBODY around here gets it.

I meant to say "nobody around my home understands it". You guys get it.