Breakthrough mood swings happen when a mood swing is too strong for your medication. I have a friend with bipolar I who has been on lithium for over 15 years. It has worked well, but about every seven years, a serious manic episode breaks through. Considering that she was mania free for so many years, she wasn’t ready for the last one.
As all people with Bipolar I know, mania can be devastating. It’s so important that all of us look for bipolar disorder symptoms all of the time so that these mood swings can be caught early.
I use my Health Cards (www.BipolarHappens.com/bhblog) to prevent these from taking over before I realize what is happening. I know the signs that a depression episode is starting for me so that I can be really pissed off that this illness is trying to ruin my life once again and then do what I can to get better.
Julie
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Hi Julie
How can you tell when a mood swing is about to happen to a loved one?
Hi Gregory,
This is the question I aim to answer in all of my books. All mood swings follow patterns- which means they start with small signs of what a person thinks, says and does. When I created my Health Cards Treatment System- the point was to teach myself to recognize my own symptoms so that I could treat them and ultimately prevent them from taking over my life. A large part of the system involves my family and friends. They had to learn to recognize when I was getting sick as well. We all use the Health Cards.
You can read about them on bipolarhappens.com.
I also chart my moods daily. This is an invaluable tool. I can’t remember all that happens to me- my moods are too all over the place to track on my own. If you go to the back of my book Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder you can see the mood swing tracking chart I use. It’s easy to follow.
It takes daily work to manage this illness- on both sides. The people in my life have to be willing to help out- I surround myself with people who want to know how to help- but it’s up to me to let them in and be open to their advice. That can be hard when I’m depressed.
It’s great that you want to know more about the illness so that you can help the person you care about. The more you learn about their specific symptoms- by writing them down and learning what they think, say and do during certain mood swings- the better you can help them stay stable. It is very possible to work together on stability! It just takes a written out plan. Julie
Hi Julie
My loved one was diagnosed for depression and was prescribed medication. Is it possible for bipolar people to get misdiagnosed for just depression and not know the magnitude of their condition.
Greg