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Bipolar Distinguishing bipolar from cptsd..

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I'm having difficulties working out if my mood states are changing due to internal changes (e.g. brain chemistry) or due to external triggers.. I feel I'm triggered more when I'm in a depressed state, when I'm in a happy content state triggers can be observed and let go of however in a depressed state the rapid hole has a stronger pull.

My previous psych suggested I may have Bipolar and then concluded on Complex Trauma, however the bipolar question mark was never clearly addressed.

I've been logging my daily moods with a diary for months now and my mood does seem to fluctuate a lot and have a sort of pattern..

I guess my question is do those with confirmed bipolar and PTSD know where their trigger is coming from.. Internal or external? Thanks
 
I was diagnosed with bipolar, but then de-diagnosed... aparently, the instability we have as kids and growing up, mixed with alcohol/drugs/retraumatization/life's circunstances, can mimic bipolar.

Honestly, I don't care that much about labels anymore. I just live with what I got, and try to get better.

It's perfectly natural to fluctuate moods too, day by day or hour by hour. What my psychiatrist said is that in bipolar that is amplified. What we feel as a fluctuation, folks with bipolar feel as day and night, almost to the letter. Then, some think mania and hypomania are the hallmarks of bipolar, not as much fluctuating depression that comes and goes, as it is my situation.

And cptsd mood swings are very similar.
I had a very hard time distinguishing between hyperarousal or hypomania.
 
Do you experience manic or hypomanic mood states?

I had this same discussion with my therapist. I know that my moods are all due to external triggers, hence no bipolar...plus I don’t go manic or hypomanic. I just go from happy to sad to happy...

Most people who are bipolar have moods that last weeks or months. If you are truly bipolar and your mood is shifting throughout the day, you’d be ultra rapid cycling, which seems to be a bit more uncommon.

I’m on a mood stabilizer now, which really helps my shifting moods. I’m faaaaar less reactive to my environment.
 
My moods fluctuate a lot.. I can be depressed with negative focus on my life circumstances and then two hours later content socialising but dissociated (present but not really engaged).. Then in the evening I may appear more upbeat.. I wouldn't ever say I appear Manic, hypomania possibly.. I do have brief periods of perceptual creativity and generation of theories out of seemingly nowhere (however generally only last a 2 hours or so before I become exhausted).. I sometimes even awake energetic and playful then crash by afternoon..

It's frustrating as I never feel I can get any grip on life and these changes are pretty much a part of my daily timeline.. It's like I go through a cycle of 3/4 days depressed and then 3 days or so content but throughout it all I have unstable mood fluctuations...

Do either of you experience any of this? Especially before mood stabilisers? I've been on Zoloft for over a year now, I've upped to 150mg to help with the severe episodes of depression however I can't really say I've ever felt an SSRI do much if anything for me.. I'm beginning to consider asking for a mood stabiliser such as Lamicital as recovery is very difficult when periods of suicidal ideation and dark hopelessness can appear weekly/bi weekly.

If I were to have Bipolar in addition to Complex Trauma I can relate to Bipolar type 2, ultra rapid cycling this is from the information gathered from online.. I'm not really bothered about the correct label, it's just that it would mean I should consider changing my meds
 
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The best person to speak to is definitely your doctor. Because just like Ptsd isn’t just about being traumatised, bipolar isn’t just about mood swings.

Changing mood? Is normal. When I was diagnosed Bipolar 2, things that got me from ‘mood swings’ territory to ‘this is pathology’, were the reduced sleep (hypomania? Won’t exhaust you like a ‘good mood’ will - to the contrary, you usually see increased activity on very little sleep), and most of all, the dysfunction that went along with my hypomanic phases.

In a good mood? You would ordinarily expect to see more social contact, more creativity, more, more, more. You’d also expect to experience less distress at triggers than you experience when you’re already depressed to begin with. It might feel really strange - but being in a good mood sometimes? Is actually something to aspire to!

Hypomania on the other hand? Is not. It’s dysfunctional, and that’s what makes it bipolar. People make decisions that are damaging or outright dangerous- promiscuous sex, exercise in dangerous extremes on very limited calorie intake and sleep, spending money you don’t have, gambling, drugs, etc. That’s why bipolar 2 is a mental illness.

Good mood occasionally? Is a good thing. Hypomania? Is plain old destructive. Understanding the difference? Is why we ask someone who’s had years of training, rather than just trying to self-diagnose.

If you can? Focus on what’s different about when you’re in a good mood. Is it a particular time of day? When you’ve slept better? Exercised more? Had more social contact/less social contact? Is it a particular time of the week? How is your physical health? Because if you can find those patterns, you can fiure out how to replicate it. Awesome!
 
What do you have to lose?

A mood stabilizer could really help!

I’m on Trileptal which doesn’t help with depression as much as mania....I’m not manic, but it does the job anyway. At one point I worried that it was making me too happy so I did some research and found that it can cause depression in some people....I couldn’t find any evidence anywhere that it causes mania. And to be fair, it’s nowhere near the hypomania I experienced years ago on an antidepressant.

The good thing is that I’m much less reactive to my environment which thereby stabilizes my moods. I have mood fluctuations....normal sadness....but I still sit here and think I’m too moody....before realizing that normal people are sad, too.

I hope you talk to your doc! Good luck!
 
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