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

• Have you been diagnosed with bipolar disorder?

• Are you hypersensitive to noise, bright light, odors and light touch?

If you answered yes to both questions, your hypersensitivity may be driving your depression and bouts of mania and you appear bipolar, a psychiatric mood disorder. 

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 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. 

For more information, see Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight (HarperCollins, 2002). www.sharonheller.net