[Happy Camper]

It seems this time of year always kicks-off a subtle yet drastic change in my thought processes and behavior, namely, I go cuckoo.

For reasons unbeknownst to me, the shorter days up here screw up some physiological process that starts in my body and brings my mind down with it. Today, the tachycardia returned and I've been borderline feverish and sweating all day despite keeping the house cold. I'm anxious, jittery, and pleasantly angry. It's awful.

I've been admitted several times for this in the past few years, always within this time period (although it's usually after the new year) and the doctors can't find anything wrong with me, but surely it can;t be psychological. My body is reacting adversely to the weather and I don't know what to do. I get really susceptible to panic as well.

This isn't SAD, or if there is a such thing as reverse SAD, there's almost no information about it at all.

Does anyone know what's happening?

[Moose72]

I get manic in the fall. Can't explain it either.

[Felgore]

I wish I could help you, give you answers, but I can't even help myself. I can understand what you're saying and some of your problems, though. Winter is always worse for me, too. They say it happens to a lot of people 'winter/holiday blues', but I don't think it's quite the same.

My anxiety's been top notch the last several days. I get angry over every little thing and my mind keeps obsessing over one thing or another. I'm not sleeping well, having only bad dreams and I only feel like crying.

You say you get hot flashes, for me it's chills. No matter how hard I try, I feel so cold. I'll feel feverish and sick, but I never have a temperature--it's always just under normal. But this symptom isn't synonymous with winter time, it happens all year.

[medicalfox]

Originally Posted by Happy Camper

It seems this time of year always kicks-off a subtle yet drastic change in my thought processes and behavior, namely, I go cuckoo.

For reasons unbeknownst to me, the shorter days up here screw up some physiological process that starts in my body and brings my mind down with it. Today, the tachycardia returned and I've been borderline feverish and sweating all day despite keeping the house cold. I'm anxious, jittery, and pleasantly angry. It's awful.

I've been admitted several times for this in the past few years, always within this time period (although it's usually after the new year) and the doctors can't find anything wrong with me, but surely it can;t be psychological. My body is reacting adversely to the weather and I don't know what to do. I get really susceptible to panic as well.

This isn't SAD, or if there is a such thing as reverse SAD, there's almost no information about it at all.

Does anyone know what's happening?

It sounds like really bad anxiety, almost everyone gets tachycardia (irregularly fast heart beat) during any form of anxiety. Sweating can be caused from anxiety too and I sweat when I have anxiety. Is there something particular that causes you to have anxiety around this time? Does Christmas stress you out?

I get manic in the winter too and I've already been hospitalized. I suffered from a mixed episode (I suffer from SAD in the winter), but I seem to be doing better.

Psychological disorders actually can cause physiological symptoms. For example, anxiety can cause IBS symptoms when the person may not have a gastro-intestinal disease.

I agree with medicalfox, what other symptoms do you have? Are you sure this is mania and not anxiety? Both can really screw with you.

[Happy Camper]

YESSSS

I get horrible anxiety like this and those bastard therapists and pdocs say I'm manic when I'm not even a little bit. It's so intense, my mind goes all over the place trying to make sense of it and I say all sorts of things to those who listen.

2 years ago in an act of desperation I wrote 30 pages attempting to explain what I'm going through and that b***h sent me to the hospital where I was evaluated and forced to volunteer for inpatient.

Now, even I believe their lies from time to time.

At least my current pdoc listens and doesn't assume I'm bipolar, unlike that c*** that wouldn't even speak to me unless I was medicated to oblivion.

____

I feel much better now. My anxiety among many other things does not present like it would in normal people, unfortunately for me. I must have a super amygdala

No, I can't say anything in particular is stressing me out right now. Although I've been obsessing over how I turned down an investment that could have easily made 6 figure profit. Other than that, now that I exercise, I feel antsy on days that I don't work out, sort of how some people get without a shower.

__

Even being on this website turns me into a nervous wreck. I better log off for awhile. Bye
sorry for the swearing

Intense anxiety is awful There might not be any specific thing you are "worried" about for it to come on. It could just be the change in the sunlight/weather bringing it on.

I have found CBT to be brilliant for my anxiety. Not the 6 sessions of CBT people in the US get, specific longer term CBT for anxiety. Also there are SSRI's that a great for anxiety. Zoloft works best for me, but its different for everyone.

I also like tension tamer tea, I have been on a lot of meds in my time and that stuff works just as well if not better than some of them.

Its really great you see this for what it is and not blindly following the pdocs saying you are manic, I bet you arnt the only one unfortunately. I hope they dont drug you up and actually listen to you instead of sticking the manic label on.

I really feel for you being locked up for something so simple to treat, if only the docs got it right!

[Happy Camper]

Thanks for the responses. I've already seen significant improvements with just small changes in my daily habits. I no longer let people pressure me into eating to the point of discomfort and don't consume food or nearly as much processed food, and I set aside about 2 hours a week for exercise. No more going to sleep at 3am either.

I'm planning on going grain-free soon, and will get full-body sun exposure when the weather permits it. I only wish my backyard still had privacy from the neighbors

It's really a shame how poor health can creep up slowly on a person and that it usually isn't obvious to them how miserable they are. Hearing that you should eat healthy and exercise unfortunately makes no difference to most people either.

___

Doctor to my 12 year old self:

No, you just have a psychological problem, these pills are affective in treating what ails you, (though they might affect your cognitive development in ways we don't yet have data for and might make you even more suicidal), oh by the way, diet and exercise might help, too.

(cuts self for months before anyone notices, gets scalded by mother as attention seeking and threatens to have me dragged away and stripped naked and watched every second of the day. Also accused of doing drugs ).

Doctor to 18 year old self:

This will just level you out, these mood swings aren't normal at all.

(gives me risperidone when I obviously presented with insomnia and acute stress to the point of almost total dissociation, doesn't tell me what it is, what it's used to treat, and didn't inform me on ANY of the risks or side effects).

Weeks later I have budding breasts (as if male puberty wasn't enough, I now had to go through female puberty). Level me out?! I went batshit insane on that poison and nearly killed myself.

Ahhh, psychiatry, how I absolutely despise you.

Wow what an ordeal.

Diet and exercise is so much more important than many people think. The preservatives, the colourings, the processing of this food does more harm than we know yet. The huge improvements I have seen with my own eyes from apparently adhd or autistic children to "normal" children just from changing the diet is remarkable. Many people have different reactions to different foods or food groups, sometimes it can come out psychologically. But the doctors never mention that it "might" be an intolerance, no, its always - "you're mentally ill, you have a brain disease, have some meds" How many could have been spared the trauma of going through mental health treatment if the cause was found out in the first place?

Sorry for going off on a tangent there, I just get so frustrated that people like you have to suffer because nobody thought to drum in diet and exercise before.

Of course good diet and exercise may not completely remove your problems, but it certainly can help. But if you can get to the point that therapy is helping you're well on your way to recovery. Please dont write psychology off along with psychiatry. Even if you do you're own thing with self help books etc you're working towards healing.

[Happy Camper]

I just wanted to mention that breathing correctly helps tremendously as well. I'm sure most people here have been told to breath deeply before, but what does that actually mean?

I always thought it just meant slowly taking in more air in one breath than normal, and only when you feel you need to calm down or relax. Last night while pondering why every single breath I take seems to create tension and precipitates stress (leading to 24/7 chronic low level anxiety) it occurred to me that I've been a shallow chest breather all my life. This poor breathing affects me so much that one doctor thought I had a pheochromocytoma (adrenal tumor) because my resting heart rate varies so much between exhaling and inhaling. All the other doctors just wrote it off as anxiety or white coat syndrome.

In a nutshell, you basically want your diaphragm to do most of the work for breathing, so allow your stomach to move, and don't suck it in! Exhaling with the diaphragm is important too. I feel much better and I only slept a few hours last night when usually poor sleep makes me worse. The only downside to breathing differently is that you'll be more aware of your breathing until you adapt to it.

And with that I think this thread can die now unless anyone wants to reply.