While they are not necessarily related, there is a strong correlation between addiction, substance use disorders, and bipolar disorder.4
Often, the symptoms of bipolar disorder can greatly resemble the symptoms of addiction or active substance abuse. Bipolar disorder can also lead to addiction through prescription drug misuse and dependency or illicit drug abuse as a way to self-manage symptoms or side effects of medications.
However, drug addiction and alcohol addiction can lead to the development of bipolar disorder, especially in those with other significant risk factors. For those with a substance use disorder experiencing bipolar-like symptoms, a bipolar test may be given.