Mixed vs Rapid Cycling...same??

There have been some great replies here and a lot of useful information.

I have to agree with Nammu, that very very short mood changes are likely the product a personality disorder, specifically -usually- BPD, and not Bipolar Disorder.

BP requires a persistent mood, lasting at least one week (I can't remember exactly how long, but that, or more). There are, and I think they are few and far between, pdocs who believe in ultra rapid cycling, but I cannot concur.

Mood changes within hours and within a given day, I think, are often triggered by one's environment, even if it's not recognized by the sufferer as such. This is an indication of BPD, but even more so, if those triggers are related to how one relates to other people/relationships with others.

This might not be a popular opinion, but it's what I believe. The DSM indicates this, and even if you're skeptical of the DSM, to me it just makes sense. Pdocs need to take the time with patients to determine their patterns of relating to others and if 'mood swings' correspond to this kind of relating (fear of abandonment, etc.). Patients, also, need to have the insight (often through therapy) to see these patterns for what they are and try to eliminate them. I'm not criticizing anyone for lack of insight, but I think that it can potentially take many years to figure out how one is relating to others, and how one's mood changes according to how one relates to others.

This topic is so incredibly helpful, thank you for discussing it. I have been trying to "figure out" for myself WTH I am experiencing. I suspect I've been misdiagnosed for a long time, partly due to my previous desire to hide and pretend everything was fine, but then also due to not having a "language" that I could talk about this stuff with professionals.

These definitions have clarified for me that, in the discussion of bipolar 2, I have constant ping ponging mixed episodes that are UBER (ultra ultra wouldn't even cover it! ) rapid. Daily, during the day, sometimes for longer periods.

However...it has recently become clear that I may be dealing with Dissociative Identity Disorder (co-morbid or not, remains to be discovered)...which, for me, explains so much more about why/how I "switch" from different moods so quickly and distinctly.

Becoming "aware" of this DID probability seems to have almost "kicked up" the ping ponging...so it is all quite confusing. My new psych is changing up my meds a little, I have a new trauma therapist who will help me with the dissociation, and I have several concurrent major medical issues requiring medication and hospital sedation and procedures...so there is a hot mess up in here.

But I am very grateful to get some understanding of the variances....number one, to see it is OK that I don't fit neatly into a box. And number two...to give me some words I can start putting to what until now has felt like a jumbled mess in a dryer one day and an articulate strong leader in the next. Agh!

Thanks for being here...

FearLess47

I have bipolar 1 disorder with psychosis and have, in the past, been rapid cycling. Rapid cycling meant 4-5 episodes a year. It was brutal. I also had DID but am integrated now for about 5 years. There is a huge difference between a bipolar episode and a DID "switch". One is organic. Medication is the only way to stop a manic psychotic episode. Talk therapy won't do it. Trauma work won't do it. Soothing techniques won't accomplish it. It's only your psychiatrist's magic prescription pad and sometimes, unfortunately, a hospital admission that resolves the episode. Mood swings caused by trauma or DID can be soothed. Your trauma therapist can help you figure out what techniques work for you. I have an amazing psychiatrist, but soothing trauma reactions isn't always his strength, although he's learning. Dealing with my brutal mania is. My psychologist is the trauma expert.