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Some research maintains that older adults can have serious consequences from bipolar disorder.

However, happiness usually dips in midlife and rises in the sixties and after.

Time allows bipolar individuals to recognize their cycles and triggers, and find treatment that works.

It is entirely possible for older adults with bipolar disorder to live a happy life.

A psychiatrist once told me when I was hospitalized for severe bipolar depression, “Bipolar disorder often gets better when you’re older.” I was about 40 years old when he told me this, and to this day, I curse myself for not asking him what he meant by “older:” 60s? 70s? Dead?

I decided to research the issue myself, but I couldn’t find an answer I trusted. As one study noted, “Little is known concerning the effects of aging on the manifestations of bipolar disorder.” Psychol Med, 2009 Apr 1;39(8):1247–1252. Another researcher concluded, “There is a paucity of evidence-based guidelines specific to OABD” (older age bipolar disorder, meaning over the age of 50). Curr Opin Psychiatry, 2023 Jul 17;36(5):397–404.

There are, however, some agreed-upon effects that come with advancing years: mania and hypomania tend to decrease, and depression becomes more predominant. Medication side effects can also be more difficult to manage in older adults. But the more studies I read, the more confused and irritated I got.

While admitting that definitive evidence doesn’t yet exist, some researchers have nonetheless maintained that older bipolar patients may face a host of horribles:........

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