[franz kafka]

For those of you who've achieved stability or have had a stable stretch of time before... did you still have off days where you had either depressive or manic or psychotic symptoms?

I'd like to say I've been stable for a month and a half, but over the past two days I had some hypo energy and depressive-delusional thoughts. Today I feel mostly fine. Is that normal for BP? Should I just expect "bad days"?

[Unrigged64072835]

I think small mood swings are normal. Even with stability, not all days are smooth.

[Row Jimmy]

BP never goes away - it is insidious. I've had good runs and some pretty tough stretches in the last six or so months. I'm on a bit of a downswing now. I think the key to it is awareness and self-treatment.

[Cocosurviving]

My experience has been the same as mentioned. I've been stable for a while but will have really bad days from time to time. They may last a few days then I push threw. Days when my racing thoughts start, when the intrusive thoughts overwhelm me, when I start thinking abt the past and I have crying spells. At times I also get really upset at the smallest things....I get in my feelings quick and get into it with family bc they tend to want to voice there opinion abt something at the wrong time....."I liked your hair better yesterday". I want to be a lone during this period

[BipolaRNurse]

Everybody has good days and bad, even when stable. For example, I've been solidly stable over the past nine months, even through losing my husband and the aftermath. I have days when I cry a lot and others when I'm upbeat and happy. It's normal. Not everything is about the bipolar, thank goodness!

[mindwrench]

The thing I have come to realize over the years. Each day when I wake up, I am careful and slow to interact with my world until I know who I am that morning. That may not be who I am by the end of the day either. When I had a life, I had to know what I was turning lose on it by living it on a day to day basis, and pulling myself out of the game if I went off the rails.

[Tucson]

Under stress I can have mood swings. The depression can be significant. But a few days later I am functioning better. I can have mood swings during better days, but they only last a few hours.

Tucson

[wildflowerchild25]

I've been stable for six months, and recently I've been getting down days more often. But I think it has to do with the fact that I have not been consistent with my medication. But even so, I agree with bpnurse - everyone has bad days. Not everything has to be BP related.

[Wanderlust90]

I've been feeling stable for a few months now, but yes definatly some much shorter & much less intense mood changes still occur but I think that's just human nature & we may simply be more aware of these changes as a result of our dx.

[Gabyunbound]

I've been stable for about a year and a half now except for a 1-month bout of depression. During this time, I've had good and bad days, periods of time overwhelmed by anxiety, even very occasional thoughts about not wanting to be around. Sometimes I'm irritable, sometimes sad, sometimes content, occasionally happy, often anxious. But I think all of this is normal. Not every mood has something to do with BP. I try to think of it as imagining someone without an MI at all: they (everyone) has different moods, some lasting days, from downright misery to elation and I think all of this can be perfectly 'normal' (meaning not being due to an MI).

When I don't sleep much for a couple of nights in a row I can get mild hypomania symptoms, but they're mild and don't last long. I can get worried at first, but once it's gone away soon after it's started, I know it wasn't an episode: I call it a 'blip' -a bit scary at first, but nothing to worry about. I think, from experience, that worrying can make things worse, so it's best to cut oneself some slack and accept that we can experience a wide range of emotions (even if they really really suck sometimes) but that they're not worrisome in a BP sense. And sometimes, like most people, we're triggered by things going on around us or even our own thoughts that also affect our mood.

Originally Posted by Gabyunbound

I can get worried at first, but once it's gone away soon after it's started, I know it wasn't an episode: I call it a 'blip' -a bit scary at first, but nothing to worry about. I think, from experience, that worrying can make things worse, so it's best to cut oneself some slack and accept that we can experience a wide range of emotions (even if they really really suck sometimes) but that they're not worrisome in a BP sense. And sometimes, like most people, we're triggered by things going on around us or even our own thoughts that also affect our mood.

I also call them blips! Or wobbles. Remember "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down!"? I'll echo that hypervigilence can make things worse.

Sure, we can fall down (or up!), but a lot of the time, we're just Weebles taking a wobble.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

I'm currently stable but during confrontation I still go off like a mad woman on a wild mood swing. I'll give you the shirt off my back but cross me and I see red, stable or not. I've said some horrible **** to my family, friends, the pope lol. Jk. I think it's just something about me that I'm going to have to work on with T, no meds will fix it. As far as mania or depression, I get my off days where I just sleep and have no interest in life. I just sleep it off and it only lasts the day. But if it's something going on for a few days or a week then it's time to see doc.