Psychological Pain and Traumatic Experiences in Bipolar Disorder

Aim: The present study attempted to explore the traumatic experiences of patients with bipolar disorder (BD), uncover the prevalence frequency of psychological pain and associated suicidal ideation among them, and investigate the relationships between these variables. Materials and Methods: Sixty BD type I patients and 60 healthy controls were included in the study. We collected the data using The Sociodemographic Information Form, The Traumatic Experience Checklist (TEC), The Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSSI), The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), The Psychache Scale (PS), The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and The Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). Results: The findings showed that the patient group scored significantly higher on the scales than the control group (p < 0.05). Their PS total score was significantly predicted by the TEC composite scores of emotional neglect (β = -4.289, p = 0.001), emotional abuse (β = -3.798, p = 0.002), physical abuse (β = -4,000, p = 0.001), sexual abuse (β = -4.175, p = 0.002), sexual harassment (β = -2.941, p = 0.017), and trauma (β = 4.063, p = 0.001) score. And the patients’ TEC total score significantly predicted their BSSI score (β = 0.191, p = 0.013). Conclusion: Overall, compared to the healthy controls, the BD patients had more traumatic experiences, felt greater psychological pain even in the remission period, and experienced more severe suicidal ideation. In addition, while the number of trauma significantly predicted the severity of suicidal ideation, its type and severity significantly predicted psychological pain. Ultimately, the processes and causes of mental suffering among BD patients, a risk group for suicide, should always be under the spotlight even during the remission period.