Mixed Episode

How do you feel when you are in a mixed episode?

I feel angry, irritable, and agitated all the time. I feel like I could crawl out of my own skin and run away if that was a possibility. I'm extremely hyper, yet have no energy to do anything. My thoughts race and I cannot stop talking. My brain is like a browser with 30 windows open at once. I start a ton of new projects and spend money foolishly. One day I will play online all day at work not being able to concentrate and the next I'll have a weeks worth of work done in a day. I don't feel like lamictal and abilify are making it any better.

Does this sound like a mixed episode to you? I just feel like crying but in the next instant I'm excitable and it goes up and down daily or weekly. (or sometimes within the same day). I feel worthless and hopeless about the future and most of the time not much excites me - even things that used to. I basically just want to be left alone all the time. On the other hand - I can't stop talking and interrupting people. Everyone says I talk so fast that they can barely understand me most of the time. I'm ALWAYS distracted, especially at work - if someone laughs or opens a can of soda - I lose focus and get really angry. I tend to crack my knuckles a lot and move around alot. I feel restless all the time. My sleeping patterns are terrible also.

Also, I'm ALWAYS paranoid over anything. Someone compliments me (they are really making fun of me), people breaking into my house etc. I normally have grandiose thoughts as well.

I'm just curious what you all experience as I'm meeting with my PDOC next week and I want to discuss this with her. Whats the difference between dysphoric mania and a mixed episode?

Even when I feel "stable" - I still have most of these symptoms.. what is normal anyway?

Thanks for reading! <3

I've always wondered what the difference between dysphoric mania and a mixed episode is too. Anyone have answers?

The only thing I can think of is that dysphoric mania is more like ALL bad stuff, like rage, and irritability, and aggravation combined with speediness and impulsivity and so on.

And then a mixed episode is slightly different in that it includes euphoria and "good" things too at times and can flip between dysphoric mania and euphoric mania at random times, or even have symptoms from both combined at once "good" and "bad".

Does that make sense?

Makes sense to me, thank you for responding

I have dysphoric mixed states. The dysphoric part means that I'm in a horrible mood and the mixed part, well, I'm currently describing that as the ugly mania playing tug of war with me as the rope with the ugly depression, both of which are here at the same time. The dysphoric mania tends to be the one on top, I think it is just "louder" but I feel both down (depressed) and up (but as defined as irritable, agitated, angry, rapid thinking, parnaoid, psychotic symptoms this time, etc).

It's really not pretty and I wouldn't wish this on the worst person on earth.

I'm pretty sure dysphoric mania is one version of a mixed episode, another being agitated depression. It just depends on which symptoms are the most prominent, the mania or the depression. So sorry you are going through this. Mixed episodes are hell. When I have them I am VERY agitated and irritable. Things just go way too slow for me and my thoughts race. My mood is VERY low too. I have a lot of restless energy but cannot focus to actually channel the energy into anything productive. I also become paranoid and anxious about things. These states have proven to be very dangerous for me as I can get actively suicidal and filled with rage. Be careful. I hope things go well with your doctor.

When I feel mixed, I am hopeless, depressed but going a mile a minute.
When just depressed, I have no energy can't get out of bed.
When mixed, I get out of bed and have the energy to think of suicide.

When dysphoric, it just feels like angry, irritable mania.Lots of energy but raging energy.

it's interesting how we all feel the same things just call them different things. I call mine, good mania and bad mania and mixed states. I rarely just get full blown manic or depressed, but when I do, it catches me totally off guard. Never see it coming.

Sinking,
I have had full mania that was good mania. And now I am coming out of a totally depressed state.

Sometimes I am not mixed. This last mania was mixed.

As I understand it, Classic Mania is the euphoric one, where you're awesome and sleep is for the dead.

Dysphoric Mania is all that boundless energy but its an angry hateful type of energy

Mixed episode is both Manic and Depressed features SIMULTANEOUSLY.
So you can either have the mindset of a suicidal person with the energy of a maniac or some such combo.

For me I can best describe with the analogy of a car:

The transmission is in neutral, one foot is on the break, the other foot has the gas to the floor. Lots of revving up, but no going anywhere.

I hate it. I can put on the face of being normal, but inside I'm anything but. I'm irritable and cranky and will snap off at the smallest normal everyday frustrations and become what like to call fumbles.

I don't suffer mixed states, but can tell you I was given Ability right out of hospital...and it shot me into hypomanic orbit. Good Luck!