Bipolar Disorder Support Group
Bipolar disorder is not just a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders marked by periods of abnormally high energy and euphoria, often accompanied by bouts of clinical depression. This is the place to talk about your experience with bipolar disorder, learn from others' experiences, and find support.
Hi guys.
* I'm going to be trying to get back into counseling and I know this isn't a replacement for treatment but I'm really struggling with feeling confused by my symptoms and just wanted to see if others relate/can help me understand what I'm going through.
For the last few weeks I've been going through basically a major depressive episode, lack of interest/pleasure, fatigue, difficultly concentrating, lack of appetite, struggle to not self harm ect. Feeling emotionally distant on and off or depressed mood.
My sleep has been a disaster which is only a problem for me as it relates to bipolar disorder symptoms. While I have mostly been facing depressive symptoms, on and off I have had these "spurts" of hypomanic symptoms, especially at night, racing thoughts, distractability, decreased need for sleep, more energy.
For example, last night I couldn't go to sleep until 2am because my mind was racing and I felt wide awake, slept for approximately 3 hours and woke up around 530 from a nightmare but then was still too "wound up" to go back to sleep. I do feel slightly tired but still much more energy than I should have. This is the 2-3 time this has happened over the last couple weeks and the last time it did I called out of work.
I know usually to be distinct episodes it has to be 4 days (and more symptoms) for hypomania so this can't be that. These spurts are only several hours to a day. So is it a mixed episode? Anybody gone through something similar? I did drink coffee (less than a full medium from Dunkin, and before noon, yesterday.)
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Did we miss Wednesday? 'Cause I Know it's Thursday today!Maybe something wonderful will happen today. Maybe you'll learn something new today! Maybe you'll just see something awesome.Either way, I wish you a Good day!
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I have to say, I've been fairly stable for the past 9 years, except for anxiety issues. For any who don't know me, before 2017, I was a Mess. Seriously undermedicated crazy person.And, since I've been stable for so long, I had come to believe I was "cured". That bipolar just miraculously ended for me....Until last month, when some things started happening that used to happen. And now I'm...
I think there is something called ultra rapid cycling but I think actually as you say that is more in days.
For what it's worth, hypomania is very tiring and I wonder if you are having the hypomania, it's wearing you out and that drops you into depression / torpor.
My personal theory is that for most people bipolar means that there is too much/ too little of something in your brain or some metabolic pathway is running hot and the episode more or less burns the brain out and so you drop into depression while whatever it is builds up again.
I really think that the only way that this can be diagnosed is by seeing an MD ... if possible a psychiatrist
Meds brought me out of this state within a week the two times that I have been in it
That's really the only help that I can think of.... I don't think a councilor would be really helpful until you are brought out of the state and feeling somewhat stable again
The reason I write this is that although it's considered a mental disorder it's really routed in physicality ... Brain chemistry
Big hug.... xo