[Silver_Eagle]

Hello everyone,

I've been on PC for several years since I came here when I was identified as having PTSD.

I have a question and I am really asking to help a friend out, Her husband was diagnosed with BPD and takes prescribed medication. Until recently, she thought he did not have manic behaviours but in talking with her, I think he might.

He becomes fixated on certain things that are not achievable and is unable to process things reasonably. An example, he lost his job during Covid annd money is tight, yet he is fixated on having 20 - 30 large trees removed from their property to "improve the view". He justifies the cost by saying that it will increase the value of the property when they sell it, which they are bit planning on.

My question is: I have always thought of manic behaviour as frantic, high energy, talking a lot, kind of behaviour. Could this fixation on certain things that are not feasible or reasonable also be manic?

I'm looking forward to your responses

Thanks,

Luke

[Nammu]

If he is medicated the outright maniac symptoms are probably suppressed but yes hyper focus is a mania symptom.

I’d caution you against using the BPD as that is used for borderline personality disorder BP is the general abbreviation.

[Fuzzybear]

Hugs. I was also thinking that BPD is generally used for borderline personality disorder, while BP is the approved abbreviation for bipolar. I think hyper focus is a mania symptom.

[Victoria'smom]

I get hyper focus and spend lots of money on my projects.

[Matty5000]

I have definitely experienced hyper focus and obsession. In my personal experience this symptom has resurfaced at times. Medication for me seems to control certain symptoms, but less so with others.

[Soupe du jour]

It can be hard enough for a spouse or parent to sometimes judge manic episodes (or not). A friend of a person with a spouse would have a harder time yet, as well as people on a forum who don't know the husband of a friend.

I will say that it is nice that you seem to care about your friend and her husband. However, if your friend doesn't agree with you about her husband's mental state, there's surely nothing else you can do and it is likely you are wrong.

Yes, BPD is the abbreviation for Borderline Personality Disorder, not Bipolar Disorder. Even some people with Bipolar Disorder misuse the abbreviation, but it often causes confusion.

This is all I will write in this thread as it is not one that generally stays unmoved to elsewhere on the site.

[Silver_Eagle]

Originally Posted by Nammu

If he is medicated the outright maniac symptoms are probably suppressed but yes hyper focus is a mania symptom.

I’d caution you against using the BPD as that is used for borderline personality disorder BP is the general abbreviation.

Thanks Nammu - this is all new territory to me.

[Silver_Eagle]

Originally Posted by Miguel'smom

I get hyper focus and spend lots of money on my projects.

Thanks, this makes sense. He will be focussed on something, talking to people about, buying tools or equipment, and then moving on before actually doing anything.

[Silver_Eagle]

Originally Posted by Matty5000

I have definitely experienced hyper focus and obsession. In my personal experience this symptom has resurfaced at times. Medication for me seems to control certain symptoms, but less so with others.

Thanks, Matty. This all makes sense.

[Silver_Eagle]

Originally Posted by Soupe du jour

It can be hard enough for a spouse or parent to sometimes judge manic episodes (or not). A friend of a person with a spouse would have a harder time yet, as well as people on a forum who don't know the husband of a friend.

I will say that it is nice that you seem to care about your friend and her husband. However, if your friend doesn't agree with you about her husband's mental state, there's surely nothing else you can do and it is likely you are wrong.

Yes, BPD is the abbreviation for Borderline Personality Disorder, not Bipolar Disorder. Even some people with Bipolar Disorder misuse the abbreviation, but it often causes confusion.

This is all I will write in this thread as it is not one that generally stays unmoved to elsewhere on the site.

She doesn't disagree with me. We have all been friends since college and we are trying to better understand things. The information that people have responded with is very helpful.

[Silver_Eagle]

Originally Posted by Soupe du jour

It can be hard enough for a spouse or parent to sometimes judge manic episodes (or not). A friend of a person with a spouse would have a harder time yet, as well as people on a forum who don't know the husband of a friend.

I will say that it is nice that you seem to care about your friend and her husband. However, if your friend doesn't agree with you about her husband's mental state, there's surely nothing else you can do and it is likely you are wrong.

Yes, BPD is the abbreviation for Borderline Personality Disorder, not Bipolar Disorder. Even some people with Bipolar Disorder misuse the abbreviation, but it often causes confusion.

This is all I will write in this thread as it is not one that generally stays unmoved to elsewhere on the site.

She doesn't disagree with me. We have all been friends since college and we are trying to better understand things. The information that people have responded with is very helpful.

[FluffyDinosaur]

It can be a manic symptom, but in the absence of other symptoms I would be hesitant to draw that conclusion. All people have some irrational behaviors, but if they happen to have a psychiatric diagnosis there's the risk of then ascribing every little thing to that illness. Going only by your opening post, I would say that it could have a lot of different causes, and I don't know enough about the situation to draw any conclusions.

[CANDC]

@Silver_Eagle in my experience, mania can easily lead to a psychotic break. The person can talk about grandiose plans of changing the world but does not follow through with actions. They can talk incessantly and be up all night. In my opinion, mania is the worst phase of bipolar in terms of managing or helping another friend or a person. I have talked until I am blue in the face and not made any progress. The only good thing about mania that I have seen is the person can be so detached from reality that they get hospitalized involuntarily. Professional help seems to me to be the only way out of mania. Another problem is people in mania can put on a good show and can get released too early and wind up in the same situation again.

Here is another more in depth explanation. Mania | Psychology Today @CANDC