A) 2 to 3 months.
B) I think they occur simultaneously. When I'm in a mixed state, I have difficulty realizing that I'm manic 'cause I'm so focused on how depressed and irritable I feel. It wasn't until I read some of my mental status exams from the medical records I requested from two different pdocs that I realized that what feels like irritable depression to me looks like mania to other people.