A person with bipolar disorder experiences distinct thought patterns that vary significantly depending on whether they are in a manic or depressive phase.

Thought Patterns During Manic Episodes

• Thoughts often race rapidly, jumping quickly from one idea to another, which can feel uncontrollable and scattered.
• Individuals may experience grandiose thinking, feeling exceptionally talented, invincible, or capable, which can lead to risky or impulsive behaviors like overspending or reckless driving.
• There is often overconfidence and inflated self-esteem, accompanied by decreased need for sleep and heightened energy.
• These thought patterns can include pressured speech and flight of ideas, making it difficult to focus or maintain a coherent train of thought

Thought Patterns During Depressive Episodes

• Thinking becomes dominated by negative cognitive distortions such as black-and-white (all-or-nothing) thinking, catastrophizing, disqualifying positives, and emotional reasoning.
• Individuals may experience low mental energy, difficulty concentrating, decision-making problems, and memory issues.
• Thoughts of worthlessness, hopelessness, guilt, and suicidal ideation are common.
• Cognitive distortions can include mind reading (assuming what others think), overgeneralization (believing one negative event applies universally), and personalization (blaming oneself for unrelated negative events).
• These negative thought patterns often deepen feelings of isolation and despair, making it hard for the person to seek help or engage socially

Additional Cognitive Features

• Bipolar disorder can cause rumination—dwelling on upsetting thoughts—and distorted perceptions of reality, including paranoia or delusions.
• During manic phases, individuals may make irrational connections or see meaning where others do not.
• During depressive phases, negative self-talk and distorted self-perception are prominent

Understanding these thought patterns helps in fostering empathy and guiding effective support and treatment, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, which aims to identify and reframe these cognitive distortions for better emotional regulation

. In summary, a person with bipolar disorder thinks in ways that fluctuate between rapid, expansive, and often unrealistic thoughts during mania, and slow, negative, and distorted thoughts during depression, with cognitive distortions playing a key role in both phases.