[ScientiaOmnisEst]

Not pertaining to me, but to a family member. Apparently this term was used for her diagnosis, but every time I try to look it up out of curiosity, all I get is info on bipolar disorder. And I know the person in question is not bipolar - I've never seen her even close to manic. I thought she was major depressive for he longest time.

So what is a cyclic mood disorder?

[CANDC]

Hi ScientiomnisEst. Cyclic mood disorder is a generic term that most often is used to describe the symptoms of bipolar disorder where the patient can go through various phases of mania and depression.

Here is more info:
http://psychcentral.com/lib/symptoms...ic-depression/

This has a more complete list of symptoms of mania.

[ScientiaOmnisEst]

Interesting. I might as well elaborate that the person in question is my mother, and, like i said, I've never seen her anywhere close to manic. Depressive episodes, absolutely. She calls it the "black hole"; major depressive symptoms: anhedonia, loss of appetite, extreme fatigue (I would sometimes have whole summers to myself because she was sleeping 18 hours a day), physical pain, feelings of constant hopelessness and pointlessness, including suicidal ideation. Used to scare the crap out of me when I was younger, though by now I know she just talks and is unlikely to do anything.

She insists what she has is rare, hereditary, undiagnosable until the person is dead or unless can describe very specific symptoms. The term "cyclic mood disorder" was used by her psychiatrist who affirms this claim that the only way to truly diagnose it is after the person is dead and you remove their brain and examine it physically; and the neurological symptoms won't show up on a brain scan, apparently. I find this hard to believe, but again, apparently her psychiatrist affirmed it.

To be fair, depressive disorders run in that side of my family. My grandfather recognized his own symptoms in my mom when she was just a child; my great-grandfather had severe depression and committed suicide. I don't know how far back it goes, but I do know I have depressive tendencies of my own. So that might count for something.

Still, "bipolar" of any kind doesn't make sense for someone who's never manic. I admit, my mom has had mood swings before, nothing severe though. Though I always found them jarring - someone's perfectly nice one day and hates your guts the next and you have no idea what happened. But it's still not a manic state.

Sorry to ramble. :l

[healingme4me]

Have you been with her to have her doctor explain it to you? Why would the doctor diagnose this, without any symptoms of mania?

[*Laurie*]

I have two thoughts.

First, the 'cyclic' aspect might mean that your mom's depression cycles between a 'normal' (baseline) state and a depressed state.

Second, mania doesn't always look like happy, elated, euphoric, delusions of grandeur, spending a lot of money, and so on. There is an awful type of mania, or hypo-mania, called 'dysphoric mania'. With that type, a person feels very anxious, stressed, and can sometimes be irritable, quick to anger...and sometimes various moods occur at the same time. For example, a person with a rapid-cycling mood disorder can feel depressed, anxious, and euphoric very intensely and almost at the same time.

But the bottom line is that 'cyclic mood disorder' means the person experiences extreme moods in cycles...periods of time, on a regular basis.

[ScientiaOmnisEst]

Originally Posted by LauraBeth

I have two thoughts.

First, the 'cyclic' aspect might mean that your mom's depression cycles between a 'normal' (baseline) state and a depressed state.

Second, mania doesn't always look like happy, elated, euphoric, delusions of grandeur, spending a lot of money, and so on. There is an awful type of mania, or hypo-mania, called 'dysphoric mania'. With that type, a person feels very anxious, stressed, and can sometimes be irritable, quick to anger...and sometimes various moods occur at the same time. For example, a person with a rapid-cycling mood disorder can feel depressed, anxious, and euphoric very intensely and almost at the same time.

But the bottom line is that 'cyclic mood disorder' means the person experiences extreme moods in cycles...periods of time, on a regular basis.

Ah, thanks. This might explain it.

Yep, cycling between baseline and "the black hole" is pretty much how it goes, at least based on external appearances. I've also witnessed mood shifts (not really swings) that can come on suddenly, usually provoked, and last for a few days or a week...it kind of scared me when I was younger, I didn't know what I was going to come home to when I came back from school. Pleasant chit-chat? Angry yelling? Hostile silence? Whichever, I had a 50/50 chance of getting an explanation for it.

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by ScientiaOmnisEst

Ah, thanks. This might explain it.

Yep, cycling between baseline and "the black hole" is pretty much how it goes, at least based on external appearances. I've also witnessed mood shifts (not really swings) that can come on suddenly, usually provoked, and last for a few days or a week...it kind of scared me when I was younger, I didn't know what I was going to come home to when I came back from school. Pleasant chit-chat? Angry yelling? Hostile silence? Whichever, I had a 50/50 chance of getting an explanation for it.

Sounds like my experience with my mom when I was a kid.

[possum220]

If you are still in the searching mode try the term Bipolar 2.

Is is still cyclic but is not the same as Bipolar1. Bipolar 2 does not have the major mood swings from highs to lows that Bipolar 1 does but the swings are there none the less. Instead of going down up and down Alps you are still going up and down smaller mountains. I hope this makes sense.