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sarahsweets · Jan 20, 2020, 06:59 AM

Quote:

A manic episode is a period of elevated, enthusiastic, or irritable mood lasting at least 1 week. It will include at least three of these symptoms:

a high mood
high levels of physical and mental activity and energy
increased positivity and self-confidence
increased irritability and aggression
reduced need for sleep without tiring
racing speech and thoughts
overreaction to stimuli
increased libido, or sex drive
impulsiveness or poor judgment, which may lead to reckless behavior
delusions and hallucinations, which may include a sense of self-importance
Hypomanic episode
A hypomanic episode is similar to a manic episode but less severe and without the delusions or hallucinations that can occur in a manic episode).

It is different from a person's non-depressed mood. There is a clear change in activity and attitude and visible behavior that is out of character.

Rapid-cycling depressive episode
A major depressive episode can follow or precede a manic episode. To be considered a major depressive episode, the symptoms must last about 2 weeks or more.

During this time, five or more of the following symptoms are present:

extreme sadness or unexplained crying spells
changes in appetite and sleep patterns
irritability, anger, worry, agitation, or anxiety
pessimism or indifference
exhaustion or loss of energy
unexplained aches and pains
feeling guilty, worthless, or hopeless
excessive concern about failures and inadequacies
reduced libido, or sex drive
inability to concentrate, leading to indecisiveness
inability to enjoy former interests, social withdrawal
misuse of alcohol intake or other substances
recurring thoughts of death or suicide
Mixed state or mixed mania
Some people may experience what is known as a "mixed state" when symptoms of a manic and depressive state are both present at the same time.

He explained that, during mixed mania, a person may experience all of the following over the course of a few minutes:

rapid, pressured speech
impulsive, out-of-control thoughts of suicide, self-destruction or aggression
hopelessness
irritability
uncontrollable shifts between racing thoughts and a feeling of "being in blackness"
What do bipolar mood shifts feel like?
For those who are trying to help their loved ones cope with bipolar disorder, it is important to try and understand what the cycles feel like.

On the outside, they may simply look like extreme highs and lows. The person who experiences these changes, however, may also be having irrational thoughts and sensations.

Rachel Kallem Whitman, who received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder at the age of 17 years, described for MNT her experience of mania:

"My mania comes with feelings of grandiosity, invincibility, and delusions. In addition to my mania making me feel electric, seductive, and brilliant, during episodes I also feel like I'm touched by God and consider Princess Diana to be my guardian angel, which is interesting because I'm a devout atheist."

Bipolar disorder rapid cycling: Causes, who has it, and mood changes

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Originally Posted by FluffyDinosaur

Over the past few years I've seen roughly a two-month pattern to my moods. It tends to be 2-3 weeks of normal mood followed by 1-2 weeks of hypomania, then crashing into depression for about 1 month. There is some variation; sometimes I get a mixed episode thrown in, sometimes I tend more towards hypomania, and maybe there's some seasonal variation, but overall the pattern is pretty stable. My sleep cycles along with my mood (or is it the other way around?), and there's pretty much a constant undercurrent of anxiety mixed in, although that's worse during depression.

I'm wondering whether this is similar to other folks' experience of rapid cycling. My PDoc knows about all of the above but he's never explicitly used the term rapid cycling with me (my official dx is bipolar 2 without any specifiers). IIRC the DSM-V says that rapid cycling means more than four mood episodes a year, which I think does apply to me, but sometimes the episodes are so close together that it can be hard to tell them apart.

Should rapid cycling change anything treatment-wise? I'm currently off meds, but I am in regular therapy and unless some sort of miracle happens I'll be starting lithium soon.