[mossanimal]

So I suddenly came out of a very debilitating (for me) depression.... lots of sleeping, not working, suicidal thoughts, etc. It broke suddenly yesterday. All of a sudden, around 10 am or so, I had energy and my heart rate was up and I felt good. For an hour or so I thought I was going to the other side.. but that subsided (I wonder if the lamictal kicks in here). My wife noticed immediately. I'm now back to my constant joking, alliteration, scurrying about, etc. I suddenly had ideas to improve my business and I started the ball rolling.

Do other people have this sudden break?

Happy for you

I tend to have a slow recovery, no sudden break. Like, my depression will fade away over the course of 1 day.

[mossanimal]

Well to be honest.. I was feeling a little better the evening before. And woke up feeling 'better'.. but still down. The interesting thing was that sudden surge of energy.

[mossanimal]

Also.. I forgot that I posted something related to this yesterday.. regarding how I missed my Lamictal that morning which I've never done. It could be that the surge I experienced was taking the lamictal at a later time in the day. But I never get that surge when I take it at a normal time (5-6 am).

[Theresa1991]

I get this when I go hypo. It's like someone suddenly plugs me in. Makes "zzzzing" and soemthing clicks in and there I go. All of a sudden.

[mossanimal]

Originally Posted by Theresa1991

I get this when I go hypo. It's like someone suddenly plugs me in. Makes "zzzzing" and soemthing clicks in and there I go. All of a sudden.

Yeah... that is what it's like.. and I thought I was going hypo. But then it subsided so I wonder if the lamictal did it's thing. I'm still relatively new to the medication and haven't developed a good baseline for what to expect. It certainly didn't help with my depression this mid-winter. Although maybe it helped to shorten it's duration??

[Coconutzo]

I definitely get this. It happens at least once a year to me. The first time it did, I immediately called my doctor because I was so terrified. The snap can be so unsettling. To go from being swarmed in sui thoughts to feeling invincible instantly is a wacky shift. But it's also ok!!
Enjoy the relief. Check in with your partner and your doctor to make sure you don't fly into mania. But mostly, phew! The depression has lifted and you can enjoy your life. Rejoice!

[BipolaRNurse]

The same thing happened to me last spring. I'd been mildly depressed for most of the winter, and then one morning I woke up and felt like I'd been catapulted out of the depression. I did go into hypomania for a couple of weeks, and then things evened out and I've been stable ever since.

I'm using a light box now, which seems to be preventing depression for the most part. I do wonder what this spring will have in store for me though.

[along4theride]

I'm glad you are coming out of the depression. I think I may be an undiscovered rapid cycler, because my highs are high, my lows very low, and they catapult and plunge pretty quickly.

[bfralex]

Originally Posted by mossanimal

So I suddenly came out of a very debilitating (for me) depression.... lots of sleeping, not working, suicidal thoughts, etc. It broke suddenly yesterday. All of a sudden, around 10 am or so, I had energy and my heart rate was up and I felt good. For an hour or so I thought I was going to the other side.. but that subsided (I wonder if the lamictal kicks in here). My wife noticed immediately. I'm now back to my constant joking, alliteration, scurrying about, etc. I suddenly had ideas to improve my business and I started the ball rolling.

Do other people have this sudden break?

I definitely do, and don't understand it. It's almost as if something just resets all of the sudden. It's like the recent new years for me. I mean, if you look at it, January 1st is pretty much like any other day and usually, in previous years, it was. I didn't really care for new years. But for some reason, this year, I had this feeling that a giant weight had been lifted and naturally had just let go of everything that troubled me from the last year. (2016 was a horrible year for me). i don't know how or why, but I'm just going with it and still doing ok so far. And by the way, this has happened in the past to be before but not to this degree. Before I'd kinda feel better for a few days, like a I broke out of a funk all of the sudden but it wasn't completely. I could function and was suddenly better and more stable but definitely came in and out of it every few days.

[mossanimal]

Originally Posted by BipolaRNurse

The same thing happened to me last spring. I'd been mildly depressed for most of the winter, and then one morning I woke up and felt like I'd been catapulted out of the depression. I did go into hypomania for a couple of weeks, and then things evened out and I've been stable ever since.

I'm using a light box now, which seems to be preventing depression for the most part. I do wonder what this spring will have in store for me though.

Oh yes... Spring will be very interesting. It was last spring that indirectly led me to the hospital later in the summer. I've been trying lights.. but I haven't been very disciplined with it. I really wonder about this last depression because the onset was leading up to the Solstice... shortest day of the year. A good friend of mine is in a suicidal depression that also started around Solstice.

Save

[mossanimal]

Originally Posted by bfralex

I definitely do, and don't understand it. It's almost as if something just resets all of the sudden. It's like the recent new years for me. I mean, if you look at it, January 1st is pretty much like any other day and usually, in previous years, it was. I didn't really care for new years. But for some reason, this year, I had this feeling that a giant weight had been lifted and naturally had just let go of everything that troubled me from the last year. (2016 was a horrible year for me). i don't know how or why, but I'm just going with it and still doing ok so far. And by the way, this has happened in the past to be before but not to this degree. Before I'd kinda feel better for a few days, like a I broke out of a funk all of the sudden but it wasn't completely. I could function and was suddenly better and more stable but definitely came in and out of it every few days.

Interesting how bipolar people seem to be so much more sensitive to circadian rhythms. I'm glad I keep a mood chart now to be able to look back at stuff like this. This past depression was one of the worst I've had in a long time. I don't remember exactly if I've typically been depressed in the winter... but I was living in California for a long time before moving to Northern Wisconsin where the days are so short year around. There is no doubt my condition has worsened all around since moving up here. I mean... my life in California (moved there from Ohio), looking back, seems to be mostly hypomanic. So much stimulation for somebody like me..

[Ocean Swimmer]

No immediate breakthroughs for me.
I'm thinking about getting more sun.