[fingers1]

Hi all !

How often do you have a mood swing and what do you do to stop it?

fingers1

[ozzy1313]

Daily

I'm so worn out from them I don't even try to do anything to stop them

[pjcjr77]

I find that only time stops them. Unmedicated, I would say it was daily...now I get them but the amplitude of them is MUCH smaller. For me, the lamictal has put a floor to my downward swings (I can sort of feel it happen actually), where before it was like a trap door opened and the fall was unfettered.

Upwards, I really don't know. Those aren't as immediate and all consuming.

[elevatedsoul]

before i was medicated i experienced them every minute
i didnt know what was going on with me, i just know i wasnt feeling well
now medicine helps me keep stable

[Blue_Bird]

Not often anymore, it used to be like every few weeks sometimes more often.

[cashart10]

If it's okay, I'm going to answer both of your threads in one:

I've only had a few severe manias in my lifetime. I can only describe that feeling as heaven (what I once believed I was actually experiencing). It is amazing. It is also extremely destructive because of the bizarre decisions and delusions and it is incredibly terrifying when it turns to psychosis.

I have experienced hypo manias more frequently (maybe once or twice a year). I only notice them in hindsight and for me, not because of the poor decisions but because of my high energy, unpredictable, unusual behavior, and my often very distorted thinking.

I have small depressions (usually laced with anxiety) a couple times a year. Mild as they may be, they are often debilitating.

I have only had a few major depressions in my lifetime and they are very scary. I often become extremely delusional and always suicidal. I'm not sure how I have survived them, honestly. My major depressions have usually proceeded my manias and have lasted up to a couple of years (especially when I was in high school).

I had the most major episode of my life three years ago and this was followed by the pregnancy and postpartum of my youngest daughter. Because of this, the last few years I have been all over the place. I have had episodes several times a year. I've had many short hypo manias mixed with long depressions and only brief periods of stability. It's been crazy. What do your mood swings look like?

[Notoriousglo]

My moods change frequently all day long, I think because I have that ultra-rapid cycling. I get a rush that swings me up and then throws me into a black hole. I haven't figured out how to stop them and they feel painful. The rush gives me anxiety and the fall gives me worse depression than I already have. I'm on a mood stabilizer, but they still come.

My therapist and I talk about them and I think she is going to help me with this.

My mood changes on a 3 day stretch, maybe 4. I'll have a phantom mood swing on meds, they just come out of no where and then go for a long while.

[Victoria'smom]

For me it takes months. Usually psychosis goes with it for me.

[UnLuckyTriple7s]

It depends, really. Sometimes I'll be doing well for weeks, but during that time I'm usually overworking myself which leads to some irritability. Now in my depressed phased I find myself changing moods daily and it's really frustrating, super tiring.

[Cradlered1971]

Isn't it normal for moods to change often? If I'm doing well and someone comes in with bad news or is crappy to me, or course my mood will change.

BP I (I think?)
Generic trileptal (300mg day) and generic lexapro (10 mg day)

[Atypical_Disaster]

Every few weeks or every few months.

[pepper2009]

I don't pay much attention to how often. I am on a good cocktail so I usually catch them early then I talk to my T and usually add another AP until I even out.

[butterflypower]

Daily. Just started medicine again.

[Pikku Myy]

hmnnnnnnn.... daily, hourly... hahahaaaaa

I draw this helps

[Resident Bipolar]

It varies. The discernable plummets into a deep depression happen as often as every month and sometimes as infrequently as 8 months, as are the propulsions into a blatant mania.

However, I can be mixed state and switch to either hypo or depressive up to a couple of times a day. Those are very difficult swings because they happen extremely suddenly and my heart just drops. Not nice.

[Velouria]

Originally Posted by AlwaysChanging2

I'll have a phantom mood swing on meds, they just come out of no where and then go for a long while.

Those frustrate me the most, when my brain is just like, BOX OF SLAPS and there's nothing I can do to stop it, because there is no good reason for it.

I am surprised at the amount of people who say they cycle daily, that is really rare and usually not diagnosed as BP where I am. Are you sure it is BP causing these swings or other diagnosis's like BPD or PTSD?

My cycles last months.

[unlived]

Originally Posted by Supanova

I am surprised at the amount of people who say they cycle daily, that is really rare and usually not diagnosed as BP where I am. Are you sure it is BP causing these swings or other diagnosis's like BPD or PTSD?

My cycles last months.

Yeah my thoughts too. A lot in this thread (and this board) sound like BPD.

[Velouria]

Originally Posted by Supanova

I am surprised at the amount of people who say they cycle daily, that is really rare and usually not diagnosed as BP where I am. Are you sure it is BP causing these swings or other diagnosis's like BPD or PTSD?

My cycles last months.

My guess is the mood swings within the states themselves, since the states themselves are comprised of so many more emotions.

Or that it's simply a case of the board having a higher concentration of rapid cyclers than you would see in a given geographical area, since it's people from all over.

Bipolar is actually often misdiagnosed as Borderline at first, but there are definite differences. If you've ever known someone with only just BPD, you could totally spot the difference. They have mood swings for very specific reasons, not just no reason at all. And then they can very eerily snap right out of them as if nothing happened. (I work with someone who I'm pretty certain is Borderline).

Originally Posted by Velouria

Bipolar is actually often misdiagnosed as Borderline at first, but there are definite differences. If you've ever known someone with only just BPD, you could totally spot the difference. They have mood swings for very specific reasons, not just no reason at all. And then they can very eerily snap right out of them as if nothing happened. (I work with someone who I'm pretty certain is Borderline).

No its just the opposite, BPD is often first misdiagnosed as Bipolar. And usually when people are re-diagnosed as BPD they never drop the bipolar title despite that being the reason for their swings.

[Velouria]

Originally Posted by Supanova

No its just the opposite, BPD is often first misdiagnosed as Bipolar. And usually when people are re-diagnosed as BPD they never drop the bipolar title despite that being the reason for their swings.

Huh, interesting. I always read it as the opposite, since Bipolar can be so hard to diagnose and they share some overlap.

[Skywalking]

I have a hard time understanding how I am feeling and what a mood swing is. I only know I was depressed for months and then had a period of a few days where I was unusually irritable, uncontrollably angry, and thinking in circles over a distressing event. I'm diagnosed with rapid cycling.

[Resident Bipolar]

Originally Posted by Velouria

My guess is the mood swings within the states themselves, since the states themselves are comprised of so many more emotions.

That's definitely the case with me. The huge shifts from one state to another happen as rarely as every six months but within each episode there can be swings of a less apparent magnitude (especially when I am mixed state).

I discussed it with one of my Ts and she did agree that slight shifts within an episode could be possible but it's important to remember that we are all different and our condition affects us all differently. Mental health can, at times, amount to educated guesswork rather than exact science.

Of course there are other factors to consider when looking at the replies to the thread. As it is most uncommon for Bipolar patients to cycle daily, those that fit the idea of the scarcely understood and rarely studied ultra rapid cycling may be more inclined to comment on their cycles than those in the realms of the "norm".

Ultra rapid cycling was a proposed descriptor for Bipolar disorder but it is now generally used just to describe an episode or indeed diagnoses further but it isn't mentioned in DSM, unlike Rapid Cycling.

Then you are to consider the chance of a misdiagnoses or even comorbid Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder (perhaps undiagnosed) which could indeed explain some people experiencing usually frequent mood swings than you'd expect in someone with Bipolar.

I actually may have both Bipolar and BPD according to my psych but we are both pretty sure I only have Bipolar Disorder I, perhaps rapid cycling.

[Pikku Myy]

I was diagnosed now by 4 different podc's as bipolar 1. It is composed of anxiety, panic, MDD, OCD and PSTD..... this past year has been tough with mania and mixed states. I was told it is all part of BP. Bit better now