Mood changes in bipolar disorder: An interpretive phenomenological analysis of the space-time experience

Abstract Background Bipolar disorder is generally studied under the biological paradigm and hence the experiential structure in patients is less investigated. Currents study aims to explore mood changes in patients with bipolar disorder through the building blocks of their experiential structure: the lived space and the lived time. Methods This study was conducted using qualitative research methods. Data were collected and analyzed under the interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) framework. 13 Iranian individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder I and II were selected in 2020 through purposive sampling. We conducted an online semi-structural interview via WhatsApp and Skype. Results Two superordinate themes were identified: (1) Dance of the light and changes in circumscription; and (2) Waves of eternity and lack of the time. Themes related to each of them were identified and reported in the phases of depression and mania. The first super-ordinate theme included these themes: Compactness and denseness: reduced perception of space and freedom, deliberate reduction of light and space, effect of lived space on perceived mental safety and coping strategies against the lived space in depression (in depression) and Increased space and a desire for more, unity with space: pleasure and appreciation and increased and finer perception of light in space (in mania). Slowness of time, anxiety, reduced activity and freedom, dissociation of time and becoming unreal and discontinuity of time: focus on the past (in depression) and time paradox and increased activity and pleasure and discontinuity of time: focus on present and future (in mania) were the themes identified in the second super-ordinate theme. Conclusions The lived space and time in patients change through different phases of the bipolar disorder. These changes which reflect shifts in their experiential structures can represent a different viewpoint on mood changes in bipolar disorder. Future studies can benefit from this phenomenological approach in developing novel psychological interventions.