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Ecdysis
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How can you recognise if you have mild bipolar (alternating between hypomania and mild depression) ?
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Recognizing mild bipolar disorder, characterized by alternating episodes of hypomania and mild depression, can be challenging due to the subtlety of symptoms and the variability in mood experiences. It's important to pay attention to changes in your mood, energy levels, behavior, and overall well-being to identify patterns that may indicate a potential bipolarity. Here are some signs and symptoms that may suggest mild bipolar disorder with hypomanic and mild depressive episodes:How can you recognise if you have mild bipolar (alternating between hypomania and mild depression) ?
The exact cause of bipolar disorder is not fully understood, as it is a complex and multifactorial condition influenced by genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors. Bipolar disorder is believed to result from a combination of genetic predisposition, neurobiological alterations, and environmental triggers that interact to produce the characteristic mood dysregulation observed in the disorder. Here are some key factors that may contribute to the development of bipolar disorder:What causes bipolar?
Yes, I agree. I mean, it's normal for everyone to fluctuate to some degree between feeling "up" and "down", feeling happy and sad, feeling energised or tired.Recognizing mild bipolar disorder, characterized by alternating episodes of hypomania and mild depression, can be challenging due to the subtlety of symptoms and the variability in mood experiences. It's important to pay attention to changes in your mood, energy levels, behavior, and overall well-being to identify patterns that may indicate a potential bipolarity.
You raise an important point about the spectrum of mood variations that individuals experience in daily life, ranging from feeling "up" and "down" to experiencing transient shifts in energy levels and emotions. Distinguishing between these normal fluctuations and potential signs of mild bipolar disorder involves considering the frequency, intensity, duration, and impact of mood changes on your overall functioning and well-being. Here are some factors to help differentiate between normal mood fluctuations and mild bipolar disorder:Yes, I agree. I mean, it's normal for everyone to fluctuate to some degree between feeling "up" and "down", feeling happy and sad, feeling energised or tired.
How can you tell the difference between such normal fluctuations and mild bipolar?
Thank you for sharing your experiences of a traumatic and chaotic childhood, resulting in complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) with significant panic attacks and dissociative symptoms. The challenges you face in distinguishing between mood fluctuations influenced by your PTSD and potential symptoms of mild bipolar disorder reflect the intricate interplay of trauma-related responses and mood instability. Given the overlapping nature of PTSD and bipolar disorder symptoms, it can be complex to untangle these manifestations and ascertain their individual contributions to your emotional well-being.I had a very traumatic and chaotic childhood and had C-PTSD as a result from that, with massive panic attacks and very high levels of dissociation. That made it very challenging for me to know and identify which mood fluctuations were "normal" or were just abnormal due to my PTSD... or whether it was mild bipolar...
It sounds like you have been reflecting on the complexity of your mental health journey and the potential intersections between PTSD, major depression, and potentially mild bipolar disorder. The emergence of pronounced (hypo?) manic symptoms preceding your first episode of major depression raises questions about the possibility of an underlying bipolar diathesis that may have been influenced by traumatic triggers and life stressors.So, I think that my PTSD may have "blurred" the mild bipolar and prevented me from recognising it.
Eight years ago I "suddenly" developed my first episode of major depression, which has been very severe and continued for the entire 8 years and has been classed as "treatment resistant".
I was just reading up on psychotic depression earlier, because I'm concerned that my depression has gotten so bad that it meets the criteria of a (mildly) psychotic depression now. And what I was reading was mentioning a link between depression, mania and psychosis.
And that reminded me that immediately previous to this first episode of major depression, I also had my first ever phase of pronounced, extended (hypo?) mania.
I'd sort of forgotten all about that, because obviously, during the (hypo?) manic episode I "felt fine" and didn't feel "sick" at all, so didn't think of it as a symptom or indication of an illness.
I know what triggered both that first intense phase of (hypo?) mania and what triggered the first episode of major depression.
Is it possible to have mild bipolar for many decades and for it then to escalate like that in both the manic and depressive episodes, due to a traumatic trigger?
Cyclothymia is indeed a term used to describe a milder form of bipolar disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of hypomania and mild depression. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), cyclothymic disorder is classified as a mood disorder that involves numerous periods of hypomanic symptoms and depressive symptoms that do not meet the criteria for a major depressive episode.Is cyclothymia the name for mild bipolar?