[Rennerenner]

Is "baseline" different than a "normal mood"? Or do they just call a normal mood "baseline" in people with bipolar?

I rarely feel "normal" even when I'm not hypo or depressed. I find that my "normal" feels pretty unstable actually. I've read that most people feel somewhat happy or at the very least content when in a normal mood, however I never do. I feel short bursts of hypomania or depression that quickly go away and never turn into episodes in between longer periods of what feels like a more unstable version of "normal."

Anyone else feel like this? I also rapid cycle from what I've been told, so maybe that's part of it.

[Tiger_Lily]

I think baseline mood refers to having no symptoms of depressive, manic or mixed episodes. Whether or not it would include anxiety symptoms would be up to you.

[Rennerenner]

:-/ I rarely feel zero symptoms, but I have periods that wouldn't be categorized as episodes as well. So I guess that's what's confusing me.

[hamster-bamster]

On the scale in Moodtracker, baseline is between gradations of depressed and manic. Anxiety is a different dimension. So at least for the purposes of Moodtracker, you are right: if you are not in an episode, you are baseline. Then you can add anxiety and irritability, as being sort of orthogonal to the main scale.

[BlackPup]

Took me a while on good meds before I knew what normal was.

[roladedah]

Euthymic refers to a more or less happy and content mood that is consistent overtime and tends to change mostly with life as usual versus the brain being screwy.

Baseline could refer to a few different things. It could refer to the point at which an assessment was done and how it compares to the present. Baseline can change, so assessments are done (often informally) periodically. In this case baseline isn't necessarily euthymic, but the consistent patterns that occur over time.

Some use baseline as a synonym for euthymic, or a euthymic mood at baseline being a goal.

The concept of baseline is found in all mood disorders as well as life as usual sorts of things, though I think it tends to pop up more in conversations about Bipolar Disorder than other diagnoses.