Quote:
Originally Posted by ultramar
I'm in psychodynamic psychotherapy, but not Freudian per se, it would be considered part of the more contemporary field of psychodynamic therapy which is largely divorced from (though not entirely) Freudian theory and is very relational in nature (none of the silent, blank slate deal, by a long shot).
In any case, it sounds like what you're describing might be a kind of compartmentalization of emotion? The elation as a kind of dissociation from and/or staunch (and unconscious) denial of negative affect. I can see, from a certain point of view, how elation (of a sort) could be a defense against overwhelming negative emotion.
I don't know if this is accurate, but as far as BPD, insofar as it's characterized in part by dysregulation of emotion, it would make sense that *both* depression and 'up' states are in dysregulation. In other words, the inability to regulate both negative and positive emotion, such that the positive emotion also becomes too intense to tolerate just as depressive states are too intense to tolerate. This occurs to me now, but I don't know if research bears it out.
Has your therapist mentioned any other reasons behind elated states? It's an interesting topic because surely there are plenty of people who become elated/blissful for whatever reason or no discernible reason, and yet are not bipolar.
People who are elated only for minutes at a time, or say an hour (and then change moods) are usually not diagnosed with bipolar, but this doesn't explain why that person was elated (however short-lived) in the first place. Interesting topic.
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Ultramar,
I have found this also from the web after exploring early loss and borderline/cyclothymia.
Things are becoming quite a bit clearer to me now. I have never really looked into the psychodynamic therapy I have been having but the quote below really applies to me.
The problem I had moving my bipolar diagnosis to borderline was that I had the borderline symptoms but still had a cycle of elated bliss like symptoms which could crash into crippling depressions. Affective instability in borderline is from irritability to depression and anxiety to depression but most commentators say movements from depression to elation and vice versa don't generally occur.
I think I have elements of cyclothymia and borderline. Indeed, the psychotherapists mentions cycles and it is a key part of our work. Question is will I be stable enough after the course of psychotherapy has worked?
I will be able to answer that in a year maybe and I hope some of these posts have been helpful to people with borderline, bipolar or dual diagnosis?
''Most psychodynamic theorists believe that the psychosocial origins of cyclothymia lie in early traumas and unmet needs dating back to the earliest stages of childhood development. Hypomania has been described as a deficiency of self-criticism and an absence of inhibitions. The patient is believed to use
denial to avoid external problems and internal feelings of depression. Hypomania is also believed to be frequently triggered by profound interpersonal loss. The false feeling of euphoria (giddy or intense happiness) that arises in such instances serves as a protection against painful feelings of sadness, and even possibly anger against the lost loved one.''