Manic Spending Puts Bipolar Patients at Risk for Financial Woes

Harder times ahead for everyone
In October, the World Health Organization warned that the global financial crisis is likely to cause increased mental health problems and even suicides as people struggle to cope with poverty and unemployment. In the United States, it appears that the economy isn't going to improve anytime soon. "The recession we are currently in will get worse before it gets better," says Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. "We’re in for a long slog and if 2008 wasn't the year you made adjustments, then 2009 will be."

To relieve stress, some bipolar patients find themselves spending money they don't have. Christi Engle of Tyler, Texas, racked up more than $5,000 in credit card debt buying stuff that she didn’t want or need at Wal-Mart.

"When I’m spending, I feel good. I get bubbly, the paranoia doesn't matter, and I get out of my depressive mood," she says. During those episodes, Engle says she can convince herself that the overall economy, and her personal finances, are fine. Currently, Engle is not working. Her husband has two jobs and now controls the family's purse strings.

In the current credit crunch, going beyond one's limits can have serious consequences. Credit card companies are taking preventive measures and focusing in on customers who teeter on the brink.

"Right now, there is a real domino effect for those with negative credit, and it goes beyond purely financial relationships," says McBride. Failure to pay bills on time can lead credit card companies to lower limits, or raise the interest rate to a punitive level like 25% on an outstanding balance. Ultimately, these actions can hurt a credit score, which can add stress by affecting insurance premiums, potential job searches, or apartment rentals.

Frederick K. Goodwin, MD, a research professor at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and a former director of the National Institute of Mental Health, says the current anxieties about the economy are exacerbated in bipolar patients. Sleep loss is the most common trigger of manic or depressive episodes, and it begets absenteeism, which becomes an even bigger issue when companies are shedding jobs. During depressive states, patients' memories and cognitive abilities are also affected, which doesn't help prove employment value during mass layoffs.

The impulse to spend "never goes away"
Andy Behrman, the author of Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania, says that at the height of his bipolar disorder, he would drop $25,000 at Barneys New York, the upscale retailer, and take taxis to the airport in the middle of the night to buy a full-fare seat on the next international flight. He would spend constantly, eventually running up a $2 million tab and serving time in prison for art forgery. Today, Behrman has paid off all of his debts and is a writer and mental health advocate in Los Angeles. He says he’s got his spending impulse under control—at least more than before—but it never disappears; in fact, the need for money to burn acts as a career motivator.

"Bipolar people are the only ones helping the economy, because to us, there is no recession," Behrman says with a laugh. "There is a home decoration store near me that has a sign reading 'Save the Economy—Shop!' Every time I go by there, I have to buy something."