People with bipolar disorder are all-too-familiar with cycles – the moving from one mood to another – but not everyone knows that for some, moods can cycle ultra-ultra-rapidly. When a mood cycles last less than a day this is known as ultradian cycling. Ultradian cycling bipolar disorder is a very tough variant of bipolar disorder to treat and to live with.
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I mentioned on Facebook recently that I’m rapid cycling. If I ever wondered if the bipolar diagnosis was accurate, the bipolar cycling moods have certainly convinced me that it is. If you’re curious, this is ultradian cycling — i.e. cycling where moods last only hours. That can also be classified as a mixed mood because the cycles are so short.
All of this is to say that I’m not well right now. It’s fine. I’ve seen my psychiatrist, we have a plan and I’m working the plan. But the plan takes time, as all plans do.
So while the plan portends usefulness, I am stuck on the rollercoaster from hell. And in this particularly hellish place I wrote this piece. It is not cheery, it would trigger some and if you’re having a bad day these are not the 300 words for you. Proceed with caution
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Garden variety bipolar disorder consists of moods that typically last weeks to months if not treated. People with bipolar experience a mood and settle in for a long ride. However, people with rapid cycling bipolar disorder experience moods that typically only last weeks. People with ultra-rapid cycling bipolar disorder have moods that only last days to weeks and people who have ultradian bipolar disorder may have moods that last from hours to days.
[It worth noting that when severe moods last only for a few hours this may be considered a mixed mood episode rather than a cycler, per se.]
So, if your mood cycles quickly and spontaneously, how do you live with it?
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Sometimes I get so wrapped up in research, I forget some people are looking for some introductory information like the different between the types of bipolar disorder. Thanks to commenter on my GooglePlus feed, I was reminded of this fact and I decided to answer her question here so I could give her more detail.
Unfortunately, within bipolar terminology resides more bipolar terminology. But don’t be scared, I have information on most terms on my site and I shall try to walk gently into that good encyclopedia.
But let’s try to get rid of the terminology confusion: What is the difference between bipolar type I and bipolar type II?
Read MoreThis week’s three new things include:
I try not to give medical advice here because I am not a doctor. But so many people ask me about this I felt I had to address getting off antidepressants without withdrawal. So many people with bipolar disorder (depression and others) need information about getting off psych meds and they are not getting it from their doctors.
This is the first in a three-part series:
As I mentioned, mixed moods are technically considered part of the manic phase of bipolar disorder and thus, by definition, are only a part of bipolar disorder type 1. However, those of us with bipolar type 2 can tell you we mix it up with the best of them.
So, in part II of this series on mixed moods in bipolar disorder, I look at mixed moods in bipolar type II.
Mixed Moods in Bipolar Type IINow that we’ve wandered into Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-free territory, definitions on mixed states get a bit looser.
Mixed mood states may be, in fact, the most common way of experiencing bipolar type II. I find most people have a hard time distinctly separating “depression” from “hypomania” from “normal” moods. There is just too much crossover.
Additionally, considering mixed moods to be part of the manic phase of bipolar disorder becomes useless when looking at bipolar II. As an article in Psychiatric Times suggests, there are really two types of mixed moods in bipolar disorder:
Those two mood types better reflect my own experience and I think the clinical experience of other patients and doctors.
Read MoreThese are my hypomania signs seen throughout an average hypomanic day, and honestly, the symptoms vary by individual, time and medication, but I suspect many bipolars are similar. The secret to self-diagnosing hypomania are paying attention to these little differences seen throughout the day.
The first thing I usually notice in hypomania is a sleep disruption. I’ll go to bed and become so awash in fantasy I cannot sleep. And this fantasy comes with it’s own soundtrack. A collection of sounds that become the tone of my mind. I lay naked in bed trying to calm my mind down. But my brain and my mind will have none of it. Even if terribly tranqued, my hypomanic consciousness will spend its time with sloppy fantasies instead of snappy ones. Or sleepy ones.
My brain’s neurons light up in syncopation to the throbbing beats of Nine Inch Nails or some such.
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