Comments on: Bipolar Disorder and Rapid Cycling after something great happens!!!!!

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:06:20 +0000

I have definitely had more than 5 mood swings a day. I don’t anymore but when it got really bad I started writing them down. I got up to 15 or 16 extreme mood swings a day. It’s exhausting! When it got to that point there was little I could do. I ate when I could, slept when I could, and rode out the wave until I couldn’t anymore. Eventually my body gets so tired of rapid cycling that it just stops and falls into a steady, lifeless depression. A med change and some time in a hospital and outpatient IOP program usually help. Then I’m okay for awhile until it all starts again or there’s a trigger that I just can’t seem to overcome. It’s hard enough dealing with one unpleasant mood state, but a bunch? Ack! Good luck.

By: Joanne

Joanne — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:03:18 +0000

Hi Julie
I am learning to put a day or so aside for after a big/stressful event. I have a list of things i can do but dont have to actually do them. I have lists of things to do depending on what mood i am in. I try to go with the flow of it even if it means you dont get much finished for a couple of days. It is so tiring when you are swinging up and down ( i have been on a pendulum since November) However i am starting to find that going with it and not fighting it as much allows it to run its course quicker. I am not saying dont fight it coz there are times you definately have to but by going with it seems to allow my good part of brain to repair itself and take control again. Although it does feel like a constant battle!