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Buying Sprees and Gambling
An Excerpt from Bipolar II (Rodale, 2006) by Dr. Ronald R. Fieve
As I explained in Moodswing (Bantam, 1989), when hypomanics are making a fast deal, they feel in control. They love the sensation of power and the thrill of winning. Usually, the money is secondary – something to have in case you need to eat. The real high comes from the thrill of the gambling itself – and most try to beat the system until their last day. But while gambling is a high for the hypomanic, it can lead to far-reaching consequences at work and in the family.
The problem of gambling with Bipolar II has escalated greatly with unlimited access to gambling facilities and day-trading accounts on the Internet. When the hypomania goes too high, the compulsive gambler may look for new ways to win money.
But why should someone get so depressed over money, one might ask; many people have repeatedly made and lost fortunes. But the psychiatrist wonders which came first in a financial disaster: Was it the chemical mood swing to a deep depression, or was it the actual loss of the fortune that prompted such a severe reaction? I maintain that the hypomanic high often prompts a reckless loss of money, and suicide is a consequence of what is now called double depression: the combination of the depression, which would have occurred once the mania subsided, and the depressive reaction to loss.
Many people do not realize that they have a gambling problem until they lose everything. That's why an open discusion with a psychiatrist or other professional may help the person own up to the problem and seek intervention. When Bipolar II patients come to my office presenting with a possible gambling problem, I ask them the following questions. (If you answer "yes" to five or more of these 16 questions, you most likely have an addiction.)