Background:Difficulties with decision making and risk taking in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) have been associated with mood episodes. However, there is limited information about these experiences during euthymia, the mood state where people with BD spent the majority of their time.Aims:To examine how individuals with BD consider risk in everyday decisions during their euthymic phase.Method:We conducted a qualitative study that used semi-structured audio recorded interviews. Eight euthymic participants with confirmed BD were interviewed, and we used interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyse the data.Results:We identified four themes. The first theme, ‘Who I really am’, involves the relationship between individual identity and risks taken. The second theme, ‘Taking back control of my life’, explored the relationship between risks taken as participants strove to keep control of their lives. The third theme, ‘Fear of the “what ifs”’, represents how the fear of negative consequences from taking risks impacts risk decisions. Finally, the fourth theme, ‘The role of family and friends’, highlights the important role that a supporting network can play in their lives in the context of taking risks.Conclusions:The study highlights aspects that can impact on an individual with BD’s consideration of risk during euthymia. Identity, control, fear and support all play a role when a person considers risk in their decision-making process, and they should be taken into consideration when exploring risk with individuals with BD in clinical settings, and inform the design of future interventions.

中文翻译：

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对双相情感障碍患者如何在日常决策中考虑冒险的定性探索

背景：双相情感障碍 (BD) 患者的决策困难和冒险行为与情绪发作有关。然而，关于这些在 euthymia 期间的经历的信息有限，BD 患者大部分时间都处于这种情绪状态。目的：研究 BD 患者在其正常阶段如何考虑日常决策中的风险。使用半结构化录音采访的研究。采访了八名确诊 BD 的正常情绪参与者，我们使用解释性现象学分析来分析数据。结果：我们确定了四个主题。第一个主题“我到底是谁”，涉及个人身份与所承担风险之间的关系。第二个主题，“夺回对我生活的控制权”，探讨了参与者努力控制自己的生活所承担的风险之间的关系。第三个主题“对“假设”的恐惧”代表了对承担风险的负面后果的恐惧如何影响风险决策。最后，第四个主题“家人和朋友的作用”强调了支持网络在他们承担风险的情况下可以在他们的生活中发挥的重要作用。结论：该研究强调了可能对 BD 考虑的个人产生影响的方面在 euthymia 期间的风险。当一个人在决策过程中考虑风险时，身份、控制、恐惧和支持都会发挥作用，在临床环境中与 BD 患者探讨风险时应将其考虑在内，并为未来干预措施的设计提供信息。