Mental Health AGGRESSIVE highs and lows

[cyberius]

My mood has become very aggressive lately. My lows are very suicidal and hopeless, I feel slow and stupid, even dysphoric. On my highs I feel very quick, smart, funny, and I experience a great sense of warm manic euphoria like Im on amphetamines.

What is this and how can I even it out. The manic/depressive episodes happen several times a week. Im seeing a therapist and im seeing them again soon, but for now is there anything I can do besides ride it out until I get psychiatric help?

 

[zzITCHY420zz]

hey there, from recent experience with similar ups and downs in mood (coming off stims etc) , i have had quite a bit of success with st. johns wort.. recommended dosage is 300mg 2x a day but i take roughly 600mg 3x a day and it took maybe a few days to notice a difference, and ive been alot less depressed (i dont EXPECT a depressive episode during the day anymore) .. good luck and hope you the best

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

If it's some manifestation of bipolar then just a conventional antidepressant won't do. It will increase the amplitude of your mood swings.

Used to love being manic, now I love being reliable to myself and to others.

How long do your depressed episodes last? An hour? Days? If it's more like the latter, it's more dangerous and you should seek out help sooner.

Bipolar usually should be treated with medication as well as therapy. There are many to possibly try.

If you're in danger, there's always inpatient treatment available.

 

[cyberius]

If it's some manifestation of bipolar then just a conventional antidepressant won't do. It will increase the amplitude of your mood swings.

Used to love being manic, now I love being reliable to myself and to others.

How long do your depressed episodes last? An hour? Days? If it's more like the latter, it's more dangerous and you should seek out help sooner.

Bipolar usually should be treated with medication as well as therapy. There are many to possibly try.

If you're in danger, there's always inpatient treatment available.

My episodes last a few hours. I'm never going to be a true danger to myself because I acknowledge that my emotions are all in my head and I don't truly want to stop living.

I do believe it might be some bipolar agitated by drug use though. I've always had this condition in a mild more drawn out fashion, and it runs in my family. Can bipolar mood swings become as severe and frequent as I have them or do I probably have another comorbid condition?

 

[weekend addiction]

^Ya its called rapid cycling. I tend to be mostly stable and then have occasional rapid cycling during periods of sobriety. As much as its bad long term when I used drugs I stay pretty stable and slightly manic at times but rarely ever depressed. Of course the problem comes when I can't get what I want and then I can get really depressed or occasionally really manic or both. Don't rely on recreational drugs to keep you stable if you find some medicine that works that's one thing but you can't stay fucked up all the time. What drugs do you use? Alcohol in particular while a favorite among bipolar people can fuck you up bad. Same with stimulants. Don't worry about it too much cause in the end you can't control it and its just temporary feelings.

Medication works for ALOT of people I just haven't found one that works for me very well long-term. Good luck dude mood swings suck.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

I don't know, and it wouldn't be right for me to speculate. What I know though is that mental illness is diagnosed based on presence of type of symptoms. Severity (how much it affects your life, in essence), comes into play, as in if it were quite mild and it didn't stop you from living a happy and functional life it might not even be a mental illness. But once it reaches the level of mental illness, you'll be roughly categorized into having a disease based on qualitative similarities.

It's good that they don't last too long.