Can someone enlighten me on what a mixed episode feels like? How does it look to people who are with someone who is having one? What is the best practice for what to do to "defeat" a mixed episode? How long does one last?

My Dx is Bipolar 2, ultra rapid cycling. One therapist told me she'd never seen anyone else who cycles as fast as I do, or should I say, did, before I started good treatment and meds 20 years ago. For an example of what I look like/feel like when I rapid cycle, in the movie Mr. Jones, there's the little Asian teenager in her psych appointment. That's how I am or was.

[fairydustgirl]

for me...HUGE anxiety, looping negative racing thoughts, agitation, I say the EFF word like crazy (and I'm don't usually say curse words) and just highly irritable about everything. Also depression and I had suicidal ideas the one time that put me in the hospital.
The thing that stops all this for me is depakote and seroquel...the last time I had an episode those two meds were like putting ABS brakes on it. I think it stopped in 2 or 3 days (very heavily sedated too) but I did end up depressed for several more weeks before I was able to come back up to stable.

[~Christina]

Pure hell on earth! Every horrible emotion going on at once, hell pure hell.

[HALLIEBETH87]

How can I describe it?!

Feeling amped up and on edge and then crying and wanting to die but not sure what you're feeling at the same time. It's hell!

[letsgogh]

Like your mind is full of wasps and your body with cement.
Looping negative racing thoughts, high anxiety, paranoia, agitation, suicidal thoughts, depression. Feelings so contradictory you're not sure what you think or feel anymore. Mine always come with an acute sense of confusion and powerlessness.

[jacky8807]

Originally Posted by ~Christina

Pure hell on earth! Every horrible emotion going on at once, hell pure hell.

Seriously! Pure hell. It's not a light mood. It's hitting you at 100 mph. There's no mistaking it

[raspberrytorte]

General feeling of badness.

I'm not sure if I've ever had a mixed episode, but in what I've been told was a mixed episode there was a lot of raging and pacing.

[Coconutzo]

the emotional feels of depression with the physical state of mania

"I'm a horrible monster who cares about nothing and wants to self destruct... Good thing(),my thoughts are racing and I never sleep and I feel all powerful and I have all of the energy to carry out the garbage plans my brain is spewing"

[Theseus]

Originally Posted by ~Christina

Pure hell on earth! Every horrible emotion going on at once, hell pure hell.

Tell it! Tell it!!! It's absolutely horrible. Horrible, I tell ya!

Anger and rage, hatred, sadness, hopelessness, despair. I think the worst combo is rage and depression.

[xRavenx]

Like what most are saying here, it really is hell on Earth. Although sometimes I just get "mixed symptoms," a full-blown mixed manic episode is the worst thing I ever experienced. For me, I get extremely high anxiety, racing thoughts, cannot sleep, hearing things late at night, hypervigilence/looking over my shoulder constantly, some paranoia, agitation, depression, hopelessness, being stuck in a maze you feel you can never get out of, never getting a moment of peace. On meds, I'll get these episodes anywhere from a few weeks to 1.5 months. Without meds, I had one that lasted for a few months straight.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

For me I get dysphoria pretty bad and am just plain mad at the world. Usually it takes an increase of my stabilizer to level out within a week I'd say. It's a crappy feeling and I start drama so most of the time I lock myself in my room.

[mindwrench]

Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone for posting, I experience this when manic, and I get spooked and go from happy and productive to paranoid and having anxiety attacks. I can be doing ok, ratchet jaw talkiing someones ear off, and something happens to trigger my fear and I instantly am in hell. While I can trigger into the dark side quickly, I have a very hard time going back to happy and productive. I sometimes have to ride out the rest of the episode till I flip back to come down from the fear.

[OctobersBlackRose]

For me.it is Hell, it's like you have the energy of mania, while at the sametime being in the darkness of depression. This happened to me.twice where I had a dysphoric mania/mixed episode, and both times attempted suicide. One episode of which I lost 11 days of memory. Then there the anger and rage, irritability, hopelessness, racing thoughts, I don't really get paranoid in these episodes too much but it is still there (I'm more.paranoid in either depressive episodes or outside of episodes). But it's like you have the deep dark thoughts, suicidal ideation, and the energy to actually act on it, well for me that's how it is, coupled with not sleeping for.days on end, it is a comical mix out of Hell. Scary really...

[fishin fool]

I always thought my mixed episodes were short lived but as I read everyone's
explanation I am starting to see that they may have lasted longer than I thought.
Losing time from my memory is one I have experienced quite a few times.
Also someone said hyper vigilance and hearing things at night.
That is also something I can truly relate to.

[scatterbrained04]

I experienced this right before I was diagnosed and was the reason I sought help.

I was severely depressed, and my mind would race with thoughts/images of death and suicide, as well as negative things about myself. I couldn't sit still. I'd pace and wonder around. I couldn't sleep. I was impulsive. I couldn't focus on anything for long. My anxiety was off the charts. Eventually I started to feel like nothing was real. I'd see things out of the corner of my eye and feel like bugs were crawling on me. It was the worst and longest 2 months of my life.

[BipolaRNurse]

Sitting on my bathroom floor at 2 AM, scrubbing the tiles with bleach and an old toothbrush, and bawling my head off in rage and despair.

[~Christina]

Originally Posted by BipolaRNurse

Sitting on my bathroom floor at 2 AM, scrubbing the tiles with bleach and an old toothbrush, and bawling my head off in rage and despair.

Yes that ^^^^^^^^^^^ 100 %

[faerie_moon_x]

For me I have a lot of energy but no motivation. It feels like my bones are trying to claw out of my skin. I have no concentration. I'm irritable and angry, but also very emotional and cry easily. Everything is hopeless and horrible. Often this is when my husband will speak up and say I'm in rage mode.

[whoamihere]

Originally Posted by scatterbrained04

I experienced this right before I was diagnosed and was the reason I sought help.

I was severely depressed, and my mind would race with thoughts/images of death and suicide, as well as negative things about myself. I couldn't sit still. I'd pace and wonder around. I couldn't sleep. I was impulsive. I couldn't focus on anything for long. My anxiety was off the charts. Eventually I started to feel like nothing was real. I'd see things out of the corner of my eye and feel like bugs were crawling on me. It was the worst and longest 2 months of my life.

Yes ^^^ This

[Theseus]

Originally Posted by mindwrench

I sometimes have to ride out the rest of the episode till I flip back to come down from the fear.

I've learned to ride out the storm too. Experience has taught me that it does pass, albeit sometimes slowly. The best thing to do is leave me alone and let me go into my shell. I'll come out of it that much quicker if you don't prod or poke at me.

Dear Friends, thank you ALL, SO MUCH for sharing your hearts, and the terrible expereinces you've gone through. Some parts of your stories/reports sound somewhat similar to each other. But if I'm reading these things correctly, every person expereienced mixed episodes at least somewhat differently? Unless than can be milder than what you are describing, I can tell I've never had a mixed episode. Some parts of what people have written sound like me, but not nearly so intense. Theseus, I totally relate to rage and depression. These are what I has A LOT, before I got meds and good psychiatric and therapy professional help.