What is the difference between mixed episodes and really fast cycling?

I'm really lost with this...one day I'm depressed and in bed for 15 hours and suicidal...the next I'm way up again rearranging my whole basement and making art out of tool shelf things...next day I'm pacing around for hours and driving back and forth across town 3 times listening to music to calm myself and waste time...Now I'm sad again but not suicidal (yet).

I've thought about it just being normal emotions. But there isn't anything happening to cause them. I just wake up and I'm either "hot or cold". I hate not knowing what I'm gonna be like the next day.

I really have a hard time believing that cycling that fast is the same as bipolar disorder. That may sound insensitive, but I don't mean it that way. I just don't understand it all.

Really fast (Ultradian) cycling, is rapid mood shifts like the ones you've described.

A mixed episode is experiencing symptoms from both poles (depression & mania) simultaneously.

Its not common to go experience what you describe, but it can and does happen.

I cycled a few times a day for 3 months after I quit my meds. It.drove.me.nuts!

So I know how you feel, its exhausting, frustrating, annoying... ugh, I don't miss it at all.

If you haven't always cycled this rapidly, you may want to look into any changes you've made to your meds, or any changes in your life that may have sparked it.

Talk to your pdoc, s/he may be able to help.

Really sorry its so rough

Lobster, what you've described sure can be bipolar. I experience the same thing as you've described and I'm definitely bipolar 2.

Thank you for this, this is the story of my life sometimes, totally relate!

http://forums.psychcentral.com/bipol...down-both.html

You might be interested in this thread.

btw, Lobster - are you on any medication?

No...I turned it down last visit when they offered me it.

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I'm bipolar, not on meds, and lately my moodswings have been in overdrive! Some days I switch moods so fast it's like someone is inside my head turning the switch off and on never leaving it in one place for very long. People around me are like, "what happened? You were happy just 5 minutes ago!" Kind of like taking a Long road trip in stop & go traffic. Every time I start to Go, I'm Stopped by depression. I don't even have time to " adapt" to one mood before it changes to another. I hate it!

That sounds horrible.

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Oh it is, believe me! I'm always fatigued from trying to keep up with it!

How often does that happen to you?

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It's kind of rare for it to get highly out of proportion , but I do get Extremely irritable & *****y quite often. Most of the time I'll calm down after throwing a "*****-fit", but there are times when it goes to epic proportions.

Sorry that happens to you...I can kind of relate I guess, but not really.

Can you do anything to calm yourself when that happens?

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On the "milder" ones, sometimes. I'm still trying to master the art of self-soothing. Self control is an even harder issue to discipline. But on the extreme end, it would be easier to control the path of a tornado! Meds Might help, if I could find one that actually WORKS. But so far, no such luck.

Yeah,I wish it was that easy...it's weird to think about things being that extreme at such short intervals. Have you ever had delusions or anything of the sort during those times?

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I'm not sure if it would fall under the definition of delusions, but I do get thought, suspicions, & ideas in my head that are real to me, but everyone else thinks I'm overreacting about or that it's irrational thinking. Makes perfect sense to me at the time, but no one else sees it. I tend to think They are the ones being gullible and that I'M the one who sees the truth. Is that delusional?

I'm not sure, I just ask because some days I'm super super confident and the next is like the opposite. Where in longer manias that last a couple weeks I can go above and beyond being just confident.

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I know what you mean. One day I solve ALL the worlds problems, the next I can't even figure out I want to fix for dinner, and have a panic attack over it.

Haha exactly! Gosh it's nice to know someone knows what your talking about sometimes.

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Yeah, having someone who understands is Awesome! Makes us feel a little less alone in the world! And that in itself can be a tremendous help! That's why I love PC! I feel like I have My Own world that I can live in where I'm understood by everyone!

Hmm... some medication might be really helpful for you.

I sometimes feel like I'm cycling several times a day. My official diagnosis is type II. I've been medicated for 10+ years now but am still struggling to find the right meds. I can totally relate. It sucks.