Here for someone

Bipolar · An escalating high

Their mood is high and things are escalating

Focus on what has changed, keep the conversation manageable and bring in professional help when it is needed.

The short answerStay calm, use any plan you agreed when they were well, and contact their mental-health team or the urgent route if the changes are becoming hard to manage safely.
Immediate danger? Call 999 or go to A&E if someone's life is at risk or you cannot keep anyone safe. For urgent mental-health help that is not an emergency, use the urgent-help page.
Sources: NHS and Bipolar UK
NHS urgent-help guidance and Bipolar UK support and crisis signposting.

Notice the pattern, not just one behaviour

The NHS lists possible signs of a high mood as having lots of energy, needing less sleep, talking quickly, feeling overconfident, being impulsive or spending unusually large amounts of money. Someone may also become irritable or experience hallucinations or unusual beliefs.

One change on its own does not tell you what is happening. Compare it with the person's usual pattern and any warning signs they have identified themselves.

Sources: NHS, Mind and Bipolar UK
NHS bipolar information, Mind's supporter guidance and Bipolar UK signs and symptoms.

What you can do now

  1. Use short, calm sentences. Deal with one practical point at a time.
  2. Name what you have noticed. Describe sleep, spending, risk-taking or changes in speech without trying to win an argument about a diagnosis.
  3. Use the agreed plan. If they previously asked you to contact someone or help with money during a high, follow that agreement.
  4. Contact the right service. Try their care coordinator, crisis contact or mental-health team if they have one. Otherwise use their GP or the urgent route.
Sources: Mind and Bipolar UK
Mind recommends discussing warning signs and support during a well period. Bipolar UK recommends adapting support to the person's changing needs and helping with agreed practical tasks.

Money and commitments

Mind and Bipolar UK frame money safeguards as something to agree with the person, ideally while they are well. Options on Bipolar UK's public guidance include lowering card or overdraft limits, moving savings to an account that requires notice, and removing shopping apps.

If no plan exists, avoid taking control of accounts, cards or property on your own. Ask their care team for help and use independent debt or legal advice where needed.

Sources: Bipolar UK and Mind
Bipolar UK: bipolar and money and Mind: make a plan for difficult times.

If they seem paranoid or are hearing or seeing things

Use the psychosis conversation guidance: acknowledge the fear, do not argue about the belief and do not pretend that you share it.

What to say in the moment
How to talk without escalating thingsProfessional supportPlan ahead together

Here for Someone is an independent information project. It is not a helpline or medical service. This page organises public guidance from the organisations linked beside the relevant information; it has not been clinically reviewed by Here for Someone.

Sources checked: 26 August 2026

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