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Wait, I've never heard of hallucinations from bipolar disorder and these sounded super heavy duty? Was this something more?

But I am really glad they got help, even responsible enough to get help.




Uncontrolled mania brought on by sustained stress or lack of sleep can most definitely lead to psychotic episodes that include hallucinations. Not fun.

Source: diagnosed in 1987 as a type II.


Well he also said he basically didn't sleep for 10 days. I think that would contribute a lot.


Again I'm confused because I've not heard of bipolar disorder allowing people to go weeks without sleep.

Just a wild guess but this sounds like something more and bipolar was an effect not the cause.


There's different severities of bipolar disorder and manic episodes can worsen to the point of hallucinations and psychosis when left untreated. I've read quite a few books on bipolar and lack of sleep for many days and hallucinations are more common than many people realize. Myself included until I read books on the subject.


Interesting, thanks for the enlightenment.


No problem, if you're interested in reading about this I highly recommend the book An Unquiet Mind. It's a true story about a psychologist who finds out later in life she is bipolar. It's interesting and goes in depth into her manic episodes. I strongly recommend it.


A websearch for [NHS Choices bipolar psychosis] returns this page: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Psychosis/Pages/Introduction.as...

Which also links to this page: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Bipolar-disorder/Pages/Introduc...


Hallucinations from mania are probably caused by sleep deprivation. Even if you're not consciously tired, your mind and body are.


No. Mania by definition includes psychosis (otherwise it's hypomania). Psychosis is roughly defined as "loss of contact with reality", and delusions and hallucinations are the main symptoms. Sleep deprivation can certainly trigger mania though.


Hypomania -> sleep deprivation -> mania -> psychosis


Sleep deprivation can trigger hypomania or mania. The one you get really depends on the person (type 1 or type 2 bipolar disorder).




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