Is It Bipolar Disorder or Sensory Processing Disorder (Spd)?

Have you been diagnosed with bipolar disorder II, a psychiatric condition characterized by hypomania (less severe than mania) and depression without psychosis. If so, are you hypersensitive to noise, bright light, odors and light touch?

Many people who suffer Bipolar II have sensory issues. Some may suffer both conditions; others may get their sensory issues misdiagnosed as depression and mania and benefit little, if at all from psychiatric drugs or therapy.

Sensory Defensiveness

If you are acutely hypersensitive to sensation, a condition called sensory defensiveness, sensory overload can cause impulsive, frantic, aggressive, and even violent behavior and make you appear manic. When you cannot escape the overload, you shut down and appear depressed. At the severe level especially, you vacillate from meltdown (mania) to shutdown (depression).

Or you may have bipolar disorder II that is exacerbated by sensory issues. For instance, auditory processing problems are common in bipolar disorder, as is oversensitivity to smell, taste, texture, types of touch, and movement.

Bipolar II is characterized by hypomania (less severe than mania) and depression without psychosis. Many people who suffer Bipolar II have sensory issues. Some may suffer both conditions; others may get their sensory issues misdiagnosed as depression and mania and benefit little if at all from psychiatric drugs or therapy.

When depressed, the senses are dulled. To snap out of it, languids need extreme sensation and may flip into sensation seeking which appears as hypomania. In fact, psychologist Marvin Zuckerman found that virtually all with bipolar disorder are sensation seekers.

But sensation seeking can also co-exist with sensory over-stimulation, a curious but common conundrum in those with sensory processing disorder that constantly befuddles the OTs who work with this dysfunction. Here’s what might happen. Overstimulation makes you highly agitated and you become manic. To reduce overstimulation, you tone down sensation but at the same time feel antsy and want more, not less sensation.