Bipolar Disorder and Relationships

By Elizabeth Millard, Aug 6, 2026

Mood episodes are often the clearest source of relationship strain in bipolar disorder. For the person experiencing the symptoms and those close to them, the impact is not always constant. Instead, it tends to intensify during mania, hypomania, or depression, then ease during more stable periods. This episodic pattern can be confusing for loved ones, especially when someone is doing well between episodes and then seems very different during a mood shift, explains Alex Dimitriu, MD, a psychiatrist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine in California.

Click HERE for the full article.