BipolarCentral
Your One Stop Source For Information On Bipolar Disorder

Loved One With Bipolar Disorder?
Discover How to Cope and Deal with
Your loved One's Bipolar Disorder

Do You Have Bipolar Disorder?
Learn the Secrets to Cope and Deal
With Your Bipolar Disorder

Child With Bipolar Disorder?
Learn How to REALLY Help
And Support Your Child

Dating Someone With Bipolar?
Secrets to a Successful
Relationship Revealed

Marrying Someone With Bipolar?
Learn How to Support Your Spouse
and Avoid Common Mistakes

Need Money Because of Bipolar Disorder?
Learn How to Be Successful Even if
You are Dealing with Bipolar Disorder

Drug Addiction and Bipolar Disorder
Secrets to Beating Drug Addiction
When Dealing with Bipolar Disorder

Need Affordable Health Insurance?
Information You Can't Live Without
If You are Dealing with Bipolar Disorder

In Debt Because of Bipolar Disorder?
Get out of debt fast!

Improve Your Emotional Health
Reduce Your Stress Levels and
Increase Your Brain Power

Bipolar Disorder and Suicide: Statistics and Symptoms

Bipolar Disorder and suicide should not even be considered as co-illnesses, but according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), ten percent of those who have Bipolar Disorder will kill themselves. Considering that over one million people in this country, age eighteen and older, have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, that is quite a number of people. And the number of people misdiagnosed or yet undiagnosed with Bipolar Disorder is even higher.

People with Bipolar Disorder are about twice as likely to commit suicide than those suffering simply from major depression. Those with bipolar tend to become suicidal during bipolar depressive episodes, and/or rapid cycling Bipolar Disorder. Even those individuals during a hypomanic or even full bipolar manic cycle can fall subject to suicidal ideologies. Those with Bipolar Disorder especially susceptible to suicidal thoughts are those suffering the psychotic symptoms of delusions and hallucinations of a bipolar episode.

Suicide statistics in 2005, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) show that ten percent of all deaths were due to suicide (self-inflicted injury or death). These were not specified to be due to mental illness, but it still statistically backs up the above statistic that ten percent of those with Bipolar Disorder will kill themselves.

Some people with Bipolar Disorder do become suicidal. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), more than ninety percent of people who kill themselves have a diagnosable mental disorder, usually a depressive disorder, such as Bipolar Disorder. This can be predictable when you consider how low the negative thoughts can be when a person is in the depths of a bipolar depressive episode.

Suicidal symptoms to watch for include:

• The person begins talking about death, feeling suicidal, or wanting to die.
• The person starts having feelings of hopelessness or helplessness.
• The person has feelings like nothing will ever change, that things will always be as bad as they seem right now.
• The person has feelings like nothing they do would make a difference, that no one would even notice if they weren’t here any more.
• The person feels like they’re just a burden on their family and friends, and no one really cares about them anyway.
• The person starts putting their affairs in order (for example, they start organizing their finances, paying off debts, giving away possessions, or other things to prepare for their death).
• The person exhibits risky behavior, as if they don’t care what happens to them—they obviously put themself in harm’s way, or in dangerous situations, with no care of the consequences, or where there is a chance of being killed.
• The person begins abusing alcohol or drugs.

If you see someone begin to do the above, talk to them, keep them safe, get them to seek help. If they will not talk to you, maybe they will call the Suicide Hot Line, at: 1-800-SUICIDE.

About the Author

Michele Soloway has dealt with bipolar disorder from a very young age. Her grandmother, mother, herself, and her teenage son all have the disorder. She also lost her sister to suicide because of bipolar disorder. Michele has a blog for bipolar survivors at http://bipolarsurvivor.blogspot.com, and is also a contributing writer to www.bipolarcentral.com.

Back to Article List

This Week's Bipolar News

Overeating and substance abuse are similar disorders
Los Angeles Times
People with bipolar disorder have higher-than-average rates of obesity and substance abuse. But McIntyre found that the obesity rate in bipolar patients was ...

Club stoush bowls out member
The Advertiser
A MAN suffering from bipolar disorder and depression has been barred from membership at a Sydney bowling club after a clash over club bylaws.

Mom abandons 18-year-old under Nebraska safe-haven law
Richmond Times-Dispatch
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Police say a woman has abandoned her 18-year-old daughter at a hospital, saying she can't control the girl, in what may be the latest use of Nebraska's unique safe-haven law. The woman told officials at BryanLGH Medical Center West that her daughter, who was adopted, is bipolar and has a learning disability, Assistant Police Chief Jim Peschong said today.

Click here for all Bipolar News.

Featured Article:

Romancing Your Spouse

"Romancing your spouse?" Ok, I can already hear you yelling at me! I know, it's a strange concept, but hear me out. Some of the longest-running marriages have lasted because of this very concept.

You may be thinking that this has nothing to do with Bipolar Disorder, but it does. Even the best of marriages has some strain on it - the pressures of day-to-day living, at the very least. However, Bipolar Disorder puts additional pressure on your marriage because of the issues you have to face in dealing with the disorder, whether you are the survivor or the supporter.

No matter how long you've been married, the suggestions in this article can put some "spark" into your marriage. And if you've only been married a short time, putting these suggestions into place now can help ensure a long, happy, healthy marriage (of course, you will still have to do some hard work yourself to make that happen as well!).

Click here to read the entire aritcle

Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

Copyright 2004-2008, BipolarCentral.com