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ultramar · May 09, 2013, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cocosurviving

Hi Ultramar,
I read the above criteria and have a few questions. I started going through a depressive episode last Oct and it seemed to get better in February (after a med increase Lithium). I was getting out the house more and crying stopped.
In March I started getting depressed again, by April my pdoc started me on Lamictal. I have days were I have energy and motivation. I even put thought into my close and put on make up. I joined s gym. I started back cooking and stopped buying junk food. However a week or two later I started back not practicing good hygiene and don't leave my apt for days at a time. I've canceled appts w/ my T and haven't been to church in 7 weeks. I'm in the process of moving, I was doing really good packing. Now I can't find the motivation to finish the last little bit. I also quick going to the gym. I look forward to laying in the bed and watching tv. I'm more agitated and lose
my cool very easily. I don't know what's going on w/ me. I called my pdoc abt it, I just started 200 MG of Lamictal. She wants to give it a little time. Could this not be depression?

To tell you the truth, even after reading what I posted, I still don't understand mixed episodes really well. But it does say that along with depression you have to also meet criteria for full-blown mania (it was interesting to me, actually, that it seems to say that it has to be mania, not hypomania, which makes it sounds like -technically, anyway- you can't have a mixed episode if you're bipolar II).

So it sounds like you have to be depressed but seriously manic at the same time. You mention agitation, which sounds manic-y, but it sounds like it has to be more than that to 'qualify' as a mixed episode?

I don't know -I think maybe there are symptoms of depression (like agitation, distractibility, etc.) that may seem like a mixed episode thing, when in fact it's all part of depression. Or I could see how depression mixed with anxiety could be mistaken for a mixed episode.

I guess the key is the full blown mania part along with the depression... Depression is complicated, I think there can be many flavors, just maybe not as many meeting criteria as 'mixed' as one might think.