The legal testimony in the Lindsay Clancy case by her forensic psychologist highlighted a diagnosis many people donāt fully understand: bipolar disorder with postpartum onset and psychotic features.
Unfortunately, we often fail to educate women on the mental health risk of endocrine shifts.
Whether it is postpartum or perimenopause, extreme hormonal drops can trigger mood disorders. In fact, research shows a 112% increase in the first onset of bipolar disorder during perimenopause. In fact, my own bipolar diagnosis was triggered during perimenopause.
If you are experiencing severe psychiatric shifts during a major hormonal transition, please know that it is a medical event. Things to look out for include:
š©Extreme mood or energy shifts
š©Intrusive thoughts
š©Severe insomnia
š©Severe confusion or brain fog
š©Paranoia and other psychotic symtpoms
Share this with a woman you know to spread awareness.
Source: Cardiff University / Nature Mental Health, 2024 study on 128,000+ women.
Emily Mendez
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Emily Mendez is a former therapist, WebMD author, and mental health writer living with bipolar disorder.
On this page, you'll find honest stories and research-backed strategies to help you navigate life with bipolar š
Still waiting on a few of these.
People talk a lot about the hard parts of life with bipolar. We donāt talk enough about moments like this: the simple, pure joy of spending time making memories (and over-packing a tiny Target basket) with someone you love. This is part of the story, too. š„¹ā¤ļø
I have bipolar disorder, but I think my cat is the one who needs a mood stabilizer š¾
Thereās no denying that bipolar disorder brings unique challenges to a relationship. But just having bipolar disorder doesnāt mean that a relationship is doomed to fail.
So what actually makes a relationship fail? Well, when I was a therapist, I noticed that couples werenāt struggling because of the diagnosis. It was because of avoiding the conversation about the diagnosis, avoiding treatment, and shutting each other out when things get tough.
Love with bipolar disorder is completely possible. It just takes honesty, clear boundaries, and two people committed to fighting the symptoms together, not against each other. š¤
08/10/2026
TW: AI, su***de, and violence
Lately, Iāve been really concerned.
I keep seeing people on Reddit talking about using AI chatbots as their therapists, especially people with serious mental health conditions. As a former therapist and someone who lives with bipolar disorder, this worries me deeply.
This article from Futurism explains why: an AI ātherapistā recently went completely haywire. It told a user it was in love with themā¦ and then encouraged them to commit violence. This is not harmless.
AI can offer conversation, but it canāt offer care. It doesnāt understand nuance, safety, trauma, or boundaries. And it canāt keep you safe when youāre in crisis.
If youāre using AI tools, please let them support, not replace, your real-life care team. You deserve actual support from humans who are trained. They can help you stay safe.
Your life matters too much to gamble with it.
(Link in bio if you want to read the article).
Watching the Lindsay Clancy trial, I noticed that her former psyhciatrist Dr. Jennifer Tufts, testified that Lindsay was not psychotic the day before.
During my own episode of psychosis, one ER discharged me, not noting any psychosis or even psychiatric symptoms at all. Less than two hours later, another ER admitted me on an involuntary 72-hour hold.
Psychosis can hide behind everyday behavior. Looking fine on the outside doesnāt mean someone isnāt in deep crisis on the inside.
08/08/2026
Are people with bipolar disorder actually more creative? The science says yes, but with an important catch.
A large study that tracked more than 1 million people found that people diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder are significantly more likely to hold creative and artistic professions.
Why is this so? During mild mood elevations (hypomania), the brain experiences heightened cognitive flexibility, increased divergent thinking, and faster word association. This allows the brain to connect seemingly unrelated ideas in novel ways.
The same study found a genetic link. Close relatives of people with bipolar often share these high-creativity traits, even without experiencing mood episodes. This suggests that bipolar and creativity have some sort of genetic connection.
Hereās the clinical reality: Severe depression, mania, and psychosis actually impair the creative process. Real, sustainable creativity usually thrives when a personās mood is stable.
If you live with bipolar, do you feel like it plays a role in your creativity? Or do you create best when stable?
Ref: Kyaga et al. (2013), Journal of Psychiatric Research
Calling markets ābipolarā isnāt clever. Itās stigmatizing. We can do better than that!
ChatGPT is great for a lot of things. Giving advice on bipolar treatment is not one of them.
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