These memory problems can pose considerable challenges for bipolar patients. One recent study presented the case of a 48-year-old computer programmer who had severe memory problems as one of his bipolar symptoms. His job was at stake because he had difficulty mentally accessing information memorized prior to the onset of his bipolar disorder. He told doctors that he was sure he knew the information, but couldn’t figure out how to get to it. He would eventually remember the information, but it could take hours before it would come to him. Memory problems in bipolar disorder typically have been considered a side effect of the manic highs and depressive lows of the condition:
Mania. Some studies have shown that memory and cognition problems are at their worst during manic episodes. Patients operating at high speeds due to mania have a hard time encoding new information into their memories and also show difficulty accessing memories.Depression. Other research has revealed that depressive phases also can create problems with memory. “When your mind is preoccupied with negative thoughts about yourself, your world, your future, you aren’t as able to concentrate and [be] in the moment,” says Michael Thase, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in Philadelphia. “If your mind is occupied at one level, there’s less capacity to pay attention and encode and store information.”
More recent research has found that bipolar patients who are between mood swings also have memory problems and other cognitive deficits. That has lead some doctors to question whether mood swings are the real reason patients endure memory loss issues. Other possible explanations include:
Differences in brain chemistry and function related to bipolar disorder. “It may be that depression causes memory troubles both in a mental way — by occupying your mind — and also in a neurobiological way by inhibiting the connectivity between nerve cells,” Dr. Thase says.Side effects of medications prescribed for bipolar symptoms. “You also can have memory problems with several of the more commonly prescribed medications, lithium being the most notorious,” Thase says.
Coping With Memory Loss On a practical level, bipolar patients with memory problems can help themselves remember using some simple methods:
Carry a pocket notebook with you and jot down things you want to remember.If you have a smartphone, use it to make to-do lists and take notes.Repeat things you need to remember several times in your mind; this gives your brain a better chance to properly encode the information.
Bipolar patients dealing with memory loss should discuss the medications they are taking with their doctor, Thase says, to see if lithium or another bipolar medication is the culprit. “If it’s a side effect [of] one of your medications, you might want to try lowering the dose or substituting that medication,” he says. However, people on bipolar medication should take such steps with a degree of caution and always under their doctor’s supervision. “You don’t want to trade better memory for worse illness,” Thase says.
