Moods!

[cac]

How quickly do you go in and out of moods with your bipolar. Most Of the time my moods can change extreams fairly quickly. Ive had time where I go from extreamly depressed and angry to overjoyed, paceing the floor and mumbling 90 mile an hour to the air. in a matter of a hour to three hours. Its strange how rapidly moods change. I had one psychologist, a state one tell me thats not possible for the moods to change that quickly with bipolar disorder. He looked at me and said you just have an attitude problem. This was quite awhile back when the state was doing a review to see if I still qualified for benifits, It was somebody the state hired. Im thinking the guy was just trying to test me by pushing my buttons and seeing what I acted like under stress.

The psychiatrist I went to in the past, not a state psychologist, said I have bipolar disorder mixed with intermitent explosive disorder. I was in the hospital at this time and she saw what my moods were like because I had an outburst there. On top of that this woman is a psychiatrist not a psycholigist like the guy above that the state hired for review. I think a psychiatrist's would know more than he would.

I have an apointment with a new psychiatrist at the end of this month, the last psychiatrist I saw is leaving so I have no choice but to switch.

Im am curious though, how fast can your moods change?

 

[youthwalk]

You sound like you rapid cycle. I did too. But since I've been on Lithium my mood swings have changed. The time between them has gone from a couple hours to 2-3 weeks. I figured it out when I re read my journal and recognized the changes in my mood happened every 2 or 3 weeks. I'd be ok, happy, stable and the it'd prgressively get to irritable and angry. I'd write "I'm angry" and there would be the world of reasons why when the week before, for example, I was rejoicing at how healthy I felt.

 

[Col303]

Hi CAC,

My moods tend to change fairly quickly sometimes. In the morning I can be extremely depressed and angry then by the afternoon be all chatty and happy go lucky. More frequently for me however is that I will go through a couple of days of depression then change over to hypomania for a couple more.

There is something called rapid cycling. It can mean that you will experience a change in mood several times a year. There is also ultra rapid cycling that will cause moods to change several times within a 24 hour period. If you google "rapid cycling" you will come across several really good articles.

I think that sometimes the reason we don't always get a straight answer from mental health professionals is that they are always learning something new about this disorder. It changes from one person to another, reacts differently to medication within each individual. I'm sure that as research continues we will discover more and more.

With all that said, you are the only one who knows exactly how you are feeling. Have you ever tried a mood chart or mood diary. It helps you see just how often your mood changes and also gives the doctor a better picture of what is going on with your moods. You can find one at either www.Bipolar.about.com or www.psychiatry24x7.com.

Hope this helps. Please feel free to drop me a line anytime.

colleen

 

[Alive again]

I also can change moods rapidly as well as feel them building. The most rapid change seems to occur when I explode into anger and then dump immediately into depression as I am so appalled at what I have just done. I have bp 2, so moods tend to change quicker is my understanding. And I have been told that anger can be a mood symptom in bp, but I am also aware of intermittent explosive disorder. But I do not meet the dmsv criteria for that. I don't hit others or destroy property, but oh my tongue sure does plenty of damage

I agree with col303, ther is much they are learning about this disease and many others. I have also had mood cycling explained to me using a house as an example. Bp is like houses, they are all houses, but the rooms inside, the floor plans are all different and the decor is individulized, so the floor plans and decor are like the cycling-it is all individualized and different for each person. Not sure I madwe that clear, but I tried.

I pray the new doc will be one you can work with and get the answers you need to help you understand this disease and help you find stability. May God bless you with peace and joy admist your life, may your life be blessed with what God has done for you!

 

[Col303]

I have also had mood cycling explained to me using a house as an example. Bp is like houses, they are all houses, but the rooms inside, the floor plans are all different and the decor is individulized, so the floor plans and decor are like the cycling-it is all individualized and different for each person. Not sure I madwe that clear, but I tried.

What a great way to explain it!!! Thanks, I just may have to use that one.

 

[cac]

One thing to about the state psychologist is he didn't have my records from the psychiatrist I go to, so he didn't know anything about my history or other testing, he told me that. In order for him to do a proper review they should have had me sign a release so he could get a copy of my records but we are dealing with the state here. He told me on the way out the door dont worry about anything, you did good. The meeting with him was like an interigation, at leaste thats what it felt like. I still think he was just trying to see what I would act like under stress and trust me I was about ready to snap.

 

[meh]

I'm a rapid cycler, too. I could switch from suicidal to euphoric in a matter of minutes. And that went on alllll day long, every day. It's so exhausting.

Now that I'm pretty much stable on my meds, I hardly ever have mood swings. Praise God.

 

[Mskedi]

I've rarely had mood changes that rapid. Usually it'd be a couple extremely happy days followed by weeks of lows. Now I stay in a middle ground most of the time, but whenever I get a high, I'm guaranteed at least twice as long in lows. I wish it were the other way around.

 

[cac]

One thing to about the state psychologist is he didn't have my records from the psychiatrist I go to, so he didn't know anything about my history or other testing, he told me that. In order for him to do a proper review they should have had me sign a release so he could get a copy of my records but we are dealing with the state here. He told me on the way out the door dont worry about anything, you did good. The meeting with him was like an interigation, at leaste thats what it felt like. I still think he was just trying to see what I would act like under stress and trust me I was about ready to snap.

Another thing I have going on in my head is I have an arachnoid cyst around my temperal lobe of the brain and I also have cerebral fluid buildup on my brain. One portion of my brain around the temperal lobe never developed. I dont know if this contributes to my mental illness or not but it sounds like a good possibilitie that it might. I also have some learning disabilities. Im only at a 6th grade level average in school.

 

[PorcelainHeart]

I seem to be in a sad mood one week, and happy mood the next, sometimes I go from happy to sad all day. I really hate the bad spell days, where I'm so depressed I cut myself and cry. I'm all new to this and it's hard.