Hi Ultrimar,

First post for me, so hi! I also have long periods of "normalcy" between mood episodes. In fact, I haven't been manic since 2010...and the depressions are also discrete, though I will say my mood runs a little low even during "normal" periods.

I have a great psychiatrist who helps me tease apart whether or not a mood is situational (e.g. sadness due to grief, anger due to life circumstances, etc.), and doesn't automatically assume a mood change is due to the bipolar disorder (well, schizoaffective disorder--bipolar type in my case). It's a relief that my psychiatrist is like that because as a result, I don't have a lot of unnecessary med changes.

I, too, am confused about rapid cycling. From what I've read, rapid cycling is officially defined as four or more mood episodes (mania or depression) in a year. However many who are rapid or ultra-rapid cycling seem to have that many mood episodes in a day. I'm not discounting the experiences of those who describe such cycles--it just seems like the medical literature doesn't describe that type of cycling (or its treatment) very well.

Best,
Hope