Q. How often do mental health professionals mistake victims of financial abuse as a symptom of bipolar mania excessive spending?

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Answered by Secondmedic Expert

It is not uncommon for mental health professionals to mistakenly identify victims of financial abuse as having bipolar mania due to excessive spending. This can happen when an individual's finances have been taken over by another person, and the mental health professional does not recognize this as a form of financial abuse. In some cases, therapists may even go so far as to diagnose someone with bipolar mania without exploring other possible causes of the behaviors like financial abuse.

This kind of mistake has become increasingly common in recent years due to a rise in awareness around the issue of financial abuse, and how it can often be overlooked or missed altogether by mental health professionals. Financial abuse involves controlling or manipulating one partner’s access to money, resources, decision-making power over their own finances/assets/investment decisions etc. Victims may experience feelings of guilt or shame that lead them into compulsive excessive spending due to these manipulations and controls placed upon them by their abusers.

In addition to recognizing signs of potential manipulation and control within a relationship (which should prompt further questioning), it is also important for mental health professionals to be aware that certain medications used for treating manic episodes can have similar effects from those same behaviors brought on through manipulation from an abusive partner such as extreme impulsivity in spending habits. Mental Health Professionals must therefore recognize the complexity behind these scenarios before jumping too quickly into making assumptions about what caused any particular behavior being displayed by their patients—especially if those behaviors relate primarily towards money management issues.