physically depressed but mentally up???

i feel that when i have my "episodes" a lot of times i feel the physical symptoms of depression, but my head feels more anxious and wired... I am guessing this would be classified as bipolar mixed? Anyone else experience this?

interesting question. this kind of thing really interferes with my sleep. I am physically tired but my brain won't let me sleep for very long at a time so idk. This probably wasn't very helpful...

I can also relate. Rapid cycling and mixed seems to be mostly my experience of bipolar in the past year. Physically I will feel exhausted, even be in pain as if I'm running a fever and have no energy, but at the same time I feel restless (even if I can't even walk around aimlessly) and my head is overworking and of course it resists sleep as if it was poison. I can't understand this mixed depression(?) either; the only way I can explain it, is that your head reacts to the depression by trying to rush into hypomania but because your body can't follow you become agitated and wired (and possibly quite irritable at times?) But what to do about it....I don't have any suggestions apart from trying to get your body moving at least to a minimum and have a sort of schedule with set activities during the day and a wind down ritual before bed. Even if it doesn't make a difference to how you sleep (or don't sleep) at first, I think it is a step to trying to harmonise what your body and your head are doing... (And of course see the doctor if it carries on - especially if you don't sleep..)

I hope this helps a bit, I'm sort of new to this too!

I can get the same way, though usually it is due to being overwhelmed by what is going on in my head that my body just pauses & stops trying to keep up. I'm usually VERY much fargone at that point. I call it "manic catatonia" lmao. The best fix I've found for this is to be active, but do something distracting that keeps your mind from becoming wired: That way your body doesn't fall victim to depressive sensations & your mind isn't running away with you. : )

I agree; that experience sounds like a mixed phenomenon. It's quite common. I read an article once that challenged the idea of "pure" depression, claiming that all depressions (including those experienced by mostly unipolars) are partly mixed!

I can completely relate to being physically exhausted but mentally wide awake. When I'm in that state, I feel like my head is that annoying person at every slumber party who just won't shut up and let everyone else sleep.

http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/Waves.htm

That might explain mixed states a little better. It's not the article I mentioned earlier, but it's very good IMO.