Understanding the Root Causes of Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a psychological condition in which the mind swings between two extremes. On one side is mania- a strong drive to accomplish grand, daring goals, to take on enormous challenges and fulfill seemingly impossible ambitions. On the other side lies depression– deep sadness marked by feelings of stagnation, being trapped, and complete lack of motivation.

In today’s world, where nearly every emotional state gets diagnosed by some professional authority, the focus often zooms in on the symptoms rather than the root causes. Both adults and children are sent home with a lifelong label and often a prescription for medication, which may become a permanent part of their daily routine.

In reality, a diagnosis doesn’t help an individual truly deal with their inner struggle or provide tools for healing. In fact, it can lock them into an identity that worsens the emotional spiral, leading to new symptoms, deeper self-doubt, and emotional pain.

We must recognize that the symptom is not the problem, but only the external expression of a deeper, internal imbalance. Treating the symptom may provide a surface-level response, but the real breakthrough happens when we explore the root of the issue.

Often, we focus on the outcome rather than the circumstances that created it. We try to change what we see without investigating what’s behind it. For this reason, many solutions- especially superficial ones, fail to last. They address what is visible, instead of what is fueling the behavior.

The Brain’s Wiring and the Origins of Manic Depression

Our brain processes every external event through internal filters. Each experience gets unconsciously linked to previous ones, forming a complex network that shapes our thoughts, reactions, and behaviors, even before events take place.

This works fine, as long as we feel that our responses align with our will. The problem begins when we realize that we’re acting against our own desires by wanting to respond one way, but compulsively reacting in another.

Where does this disconnect begin?

In healthy childhood development, children are given space to feel seen and valued for who they are. This forms the foundation of a strong personal identity. When a child learns that being pleasing or compliant is the only way to gain approval or acknowledgment, they internalize that lesson, and carry it into adulthood.

This creates an unconscious pattern of people-pleasing, where the person habitually suppresses their own wants in order to serve others. Over time, this results in a painful loss of identity, chronic emotional exhaustion, and eventually depression.

This type of internal self-erasure, by constantly ignoring your own needs for the sake of others, leads to a deep inner void, which is the seedbed of depression.

The Bipolar Cycle: From Suppression to Explosion

When a person convinces themselves that only by pleasing others will they be seen or loved, they suppress their own desires which build up. Eventually, a strong urge to reclaim the self breaks through, known as mania. It’s a desperate, often overwhelming drive to create, to act, to do something bold and meaningful.

However, because it wasn’t nurtured gradually or rooted in inner clarity, this manic impulse becomes hard to execute, and is often self-sabotaging. The person may overpromise or chase unrealistic goals they cannot realistically achieve. Soon enough, the cycle swings back into depression due to feelings of defeat, exhaustion, and emptiness, and the pattern repeats.

A New Path: From Awareness to Balance

Most individuals with bipolar tendencies spend more time in the depressive phase, because the compulsion to earn approval through others’ expectations overrides the desire to express their true self. This is the key insight: the desire to please others has become stronger than the desire to live authentically.

Once a person realizes that their sense of worth must come from within, rather than being granted by others, the depression begins to loosen its grip. The mania, which was originally triggered by the suppressed desire for authenticity, also begins to settle. What remains is a more balanced self, living according to realistic, meaningful desires- to be who I am, in a healthy, integrated way.

The Real Work: Healing the Root, Not Just the Surface

Without addressing the mental patterns and inner beliefs that drive emotional suffering, we will remain stuck in treating only the symptoms, usually with medication or temporary fixes.

When we turn inward and understand the psychological systems running our minds, we can begin a path of true, sustainable healing.

Inbal Elhayani, M.A., is a certified therapist specializing in NLP, mindfulness, and guided imagery. She writes and lectures extensively in the field of emotional health and personal transformation.