[Sincosma]

Hi everyone, I’m brand new and have come here mostly because I’m currently dealing with the most intense cycling I’ve ever experienced. I was diagnosed with BP1 almost 8 years ago and am by no means new to this illness. I am generally pretty stable and am well medicated. But for the past month I’ve been mostly severely depressed but I’ve also been getting spikes of hypo and sometimes even close to full-blown mania. I can’t seem to keep up with myself right now. I’m a full time employee and a full time student so I’m having to work into overdrive to keep my life from spiraling into a mess.

What advice do y’all have, if any, for dealing with mixed cycles like this? I’m at a bit of a loss right now.

[Skeezyks]

Hello Sincosma: I see this is your first thread here on PC. So... welcome to PsychCentral. Since you're both a full-time employee & a full-time student, two additional forums, here on PC, that may be of interest would be the work & careers forum & the school & study issues forum. Here are links to these forums:

https://forums.psychcentral.com/work-and-careers/

https://forums.psychcentral.com/scho...-study-issues/

And then here are links to 5 articles, from PsychCentral's archives, that offer tips for living with bipolar disorder:

In-Depth: Living with Bipolar Disorder

10 Small Steps You Can Take Today to Improve Bipolar Disorder

The Biggest Lesson I've Learned in Managing My Bipolar Disorder

https://psychcentral.com/lib/buildin...dium=popular17

https://psychcentral.com/lib/self-he...dium=popular17

I hope you find PC to be of benefit.

[Blueberrybook]

I wish I knew. I've been mixed since late March 2018. Up, down, up, down, it's like a rollercoaster or something. Often, I will have both moods in sync; sometimes not. Right now, it's like I woke up at 3 AM and couldn't sleep, still don't miss the sleep, but my mood is depressed. My thoughts are racing. My self-esteem is in the gutter. I forget things all the time. I didn't have much appetite this morning but then noticed I had taken my morning meds twice. I don't remember doing it, but I was straightening the pill boxes. I noticed both the W and following T empty. Don't think I did that yesterday, but God, knows, maybe I took Tues. and Wed. yesterday, morning and/or night in addition to yesterday's meds. Probably today though as I am not missing the lack of sleep. This about sums up my life. Feel I weigh too much. I need to watch X show I recorded on DVR. I want to be left alone. I'm sick of a silent house. I want to cook more. Then, dinner comes, I don't want to cook.

I've set reminders on my phone and iPad for a lot of things I normally don't, such as time to wake my daughter, time to pick my daughter up from school, 45 minutes to go check on washing machine & move clothes to dryer, 1 hr. to check dryer. Start dinner. Start rice as side dish for dinner, etc. I mean, it is that bad.

I am ready for the cycle to end. I triple check about everything before I leave any place public for wallet, cell phone, keys. It might seem OCD, but I have driven off, leaving my debit card at a drive-thru ATM.

Pretty much mixed sucks. Wish I had better advice. I am planning on asking the pdoc about this next week. Just how do I get out of mixed without crashing & burning at one end or the other? Is there another med combo to try? Is it my life is crazy unstable & stressful, not much is likely to help beyond therapy?

[Travelinglady]

Welcome to Psych Central, Sincosma! Maybe your doctor can adjust your medications. I wish I had other advice. I feel for you, as I am bipolar, too.