[shebutterfly]

What triggers hypomania/mania/depression? Is it a random biological thing, or do environmental factors trigger it? Obviously I'd rather be hypomanic than depressed, but I know that's not entirely a good thing. Are there steps I can take (along with meds) to avoid the ups and downs, or is completely random?

[BlackPup]

Different people have different triggers, some biological and some environmental. Some people are affected by seasons, lifestyle, stress, relationships...
Some things that make me high are reduced sleep, increased activity, excitement and stimulation, (just to prove what a geek I am - data analysis!!! ), some computer games...
Some things that make me low are: increased sleep, stress, relationship problems, isolation - not being around or talking to people, decreased activity, staying inside, (getting sick -always makes me depressed)...
While I do really love my hypos, they can turn nasty and cause anxiety, irritability and really disorded thoughts, also they have a really bad habit of causing a rebound depression which absolutely floors me...

[blueoctober]

Hi shebutterfly I agree with Blackpup it really depends from person to person, but here is my guaranteed list of triggers:

1. stress (can be something good i.e. a trip, new relationship) can trigger hypomania or depression.
2. Not enough time to myself can trigger hypomania or depression.
3. Every October I have had a major depression and it coincides with the change of season, shorter days and then the time change. I have booked off a week vacation from work in October and I'm purchasing a SAD lamp from my T-doc to counteract this and I hope it works!

My moods can definitely just be chemical and nothing triggered it.

[sugahorse1]

I think we are all different and keeping a mood chart, and also being honest to ourselves and looking what it is that could have triggered us, will allow us to create a list of personal triggers.
Then if the keep repeating themselves, I think you can safely admit that they need to be avoided.
It will take a bit of time to get to know your own triggers.
Soem things may not be triggers while your meds are keeping you stable, but if you start being triggered again, please consider that a med change may be necessary.

I agree with what posters have said above - everyone is different and so triggers are different from person to person. Personally, I have been triggered into mania ONLY by medication, but have been triggered into depression by both medication and environmental factors.

[sugahorse1]

Im always in depression (Well, mainly!) so everything causes it!
Mania - I think good news can push me over the top, having had a LOT of sleep and therefore being energised... I'm not really sure what it is, but sometimes I just bounce over the top

[Shakti]

It can be either or both. I used to be triggered only biochemically, but over time I have found that increasingly even little situational things can trigger it.

[shichi]

I concur with everyone else that there's a myriad number of triggers to mood episodes - environmental, lifestyle, etc.

Personally I've noticed I tend to run a certain pattern where I get depressed in summer [yes, my moods are ***-backwards]. Stress can also trigger episodes for me, as well as lack of sleep.

[Pamela Choi]

I agree with what others are saying. However it's sometimes hard to reconize when you are in a hypomanic state of mind. The euphoria feels great but the downside is one can be very self distructive which will trigger depression and regret.
Just understand you triggers, I know it can be hard.
TC
Pam

Hey shebutterfly. This is a good question and I kind of had to look back and think it through. For me, it's mostly chemical. But triggers --especially rejection, secondly getting chewed out or harshly criticized (even when the person doing it probably doesn't see it that way)-- can SERIOUSLY and instantly throw me down into a pit of self-loathing and hopelessness (leading to actual depression) where I beat myself up *far* worse than anyone else ever could. Those episodes go on for quite awhile, but don't *tend* to last as long as a chemical switch. The rejection thing has hit really hard this spring/summer with looking for work and not even getting any callbacks at all, even on those I'm totally qualified for. The soooo many that I'm not, are just another layer of despair (with a not-at-all unusual bipolar pattern of high variety/short duration jobs, yeah). Those with more resiliance can tell me, "it's the economy, everyone's dealing with it" till they're blue in the face and it doesn't alter it at all, because, let's face it, it's just another version of "buck up", and we all know how "effective" that is! And in tandem with this, the whole struggle with relentless rejection from the psych front has made me feel like pulp crushed on a sidewalk. Even dog poo stands taller. All that is to say that this series of triggers is giving chemical switches a run for their money on duration. On top of this, I'm not even sure it isn't chemical as well. It's really hard to parse out in such a situation.

Chemical switches *really* confused me before I was diagnosed. Now they're not so mysterious, but still very frustrating, as those are so erratic and not triggered per se (except by those pesky chemicals of course, which, outside of the help of meds, I have no control over).

Light variation and lack of sleep can do it too, but since those are a circadian thing, I think of those as a biological/chemical interaction, so not so much situational.

Sugahorse makes a good point with the mood charting. For me, it's best at showing the effects of not-great lifestyle elements, though it's useful for the others as well.