pmdd bipolar disorder
Mood Disorder??
I am 17 years old and I have really bad mood swings. I generally have two times of being sad and two times of being happy in a month. Each time lasts about a week. When I have a bad week, it is really bad. I cut and I feel hopeless, helpless, and like there is no escape. A few times, I have thought of suicide but I don’t think I could ever actually do it.
When I am having a good week, I’m not manic. I am just normal. Things don’t bother me as much but I’m not as happy as what is actually described in bipolar disorder.
Basically I just fluctuate between depressed and normal moods. Anyone know of anything like this?
(BTW, it has nothing to do with my menstrual cycle. I have looked up PMDD and it doesn’t really describe me..)
Thank you all for your help! =]
Bipolar disorder is more complex than used to be believed. Bipolar II is a less severe form of bipolar, without the extreme mania and delusions.
“Bipolar Disorder has many variations. Bipolar II is one of them. You’ll read here about those forms which do not have “mania” to make them stand out or easily recognizable. Depression is the main symptom, including especially sleeping too much, extreme fatigue, and lack of motivation. What makes bipolar depression different is the presence of something else as well. But that “something else” often does not look anything like mania: “hypomania”, which you’ll learn about here, can show up as huge sleep changes, irritability, agitation/anxiety, and difficulty concentrating. And finally, some people can have some bipolarity without any hypomania at all. Really.”
The traditional description and diagnosis of bipolar is changing. You need to talk to your doctor/psychiatrist and therapist about your mood swings, and ask them about Bipolar II. (If you don’t have a psychiatrist or therapist, get one!)
You can go here: http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/frameset.html
and print out the questionnaire to determine how likely you are to be on the Bipolar Spectrum. Check out your results, and share them with physician or mental health professional.
Good luck.
Update! Wow!
