[postblue]

I've been diagnosed with depression for a few years, have been up and down with how well I manage it, taking medication not taking medication, working not working. All of that business.

Lately I've noticed a sort of "shift" in how I've been feeling. I'm going through a rough patch at the moment, and took the initiative to go and talk to my doctor and agreed to start taking medication (and not to suddenly stop it "just cause") and I will be seeing a psychiatrist in a month and a bit. Anyway, aside from feeling how I usually feel when I am not coping so well, I've also been getting sudden energy bursts I guess I'll call them. I don't get them every day, but it's a sudden shift from feeling miserable and like the most unaccomplished person in the world to then feeling the polar opposite. I will want to go out, I will want to socialise and I will want to take over the world and do things I never thought I could do before. I'll suddenly decide that next year I want to travel to this country, or I want to get a job doing this, I actually WANT to go out and party. Sometimes this feeling can last for a while, sometimes it passes. I will almost feel euphoric during this time.

I feel like some people think that I'm pretending to be depressed, because they have only ever seen me when I'm on this energy burst. They see me out having a good time and then wonder why all of a sudden I don't want to leave the house or be seen by anyone.

I'm not gonna lie, I do enjoy those moments as they help me get out of the house and feel like a normal 20-something year old again, but I do feel like something is odd about this. As I said, it's the complete polar opposite of how I would be feeling before and I can't always pin point a direct trigger to this feeling.

Is anyone else like this, could it be a personality disorder or am I over thinking?

[kaliope]

hi postblue....what you are describing sounds a lot like mania...make sure to describe it to your doctor when you see him next. it can be triggered by antidepressants in bipolar patients...they do feel good, but sometimes they cause us to take risks and lead to poor judgement so you have to be careful of these times. take care.

[Perna]

Yes, I would tell your psychiatrist about the new, sudden bursts so he can evaluate you for bipolar disorder instead of just major depressive disorder (MDD).

[postblue]

Thanks for the replies, I am aware that my judgement isn't going to be spot on during these times and so far (touch wood) haven't done anything incredibly stupid/endangering yet. I will speak to my doctor about this within the next week and let you know what the outcome is, thanks again