I read an article today and now my world makes so much more sense. In a Depression Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) “Ask the Doc” article, Dr. Mark Bauer, MD states that:
“[T]he most common mood state in bipolar disorder is a mixture of hypomanic/manic and depressed symptoms. In fact, the classic picture of bipolar disorder having a course alternating between the poles of high and low moods is an over-simplification.”
He goes on to explain mania and hypomania more clearly, basically describing them as hyperactivation – feeling “sped up” and driven. This can feel good (e.g. grandiosity), bad (e.g. irritability), and everywhere in between. In other words, mood and activation level are two different things.
Ergo, we can think of bipolar disorder as
“a condition of recurring depressive periods punctuated by periods of hyperactivation – and sometimes these periods of hyperactivation alternate with slowed down, depressed periods, but at other times they overlap.”
That. Is. My. Life. It’s very rare for me to experience a period of time with no depressive symptoms; at best my symptoms become few and mild enough that I don’t meet the criteria for clinical depression for a couple days to a few weeks. But periods of hyperactivation… just look through my blog and you’ll see my posts about “I’m going to do this new thing that will change the world,” staying up all night composing, “now I’m getting better and I’m mad at Fox all the time,” and most recently “Let’s Play Skyrim!”
I usually feel better during my periods of hyperactivation because 1) I have energy to do things and 2) I’m hyper-focused on something that’s meaningful to me, at least while the hyperactivation lasts. Sometimes I don’t feel so good because I want to Do All The Things!!! but I can’t focus on one thing to do, so my mind is a jumbled mess. I’ve also tried to be a part of too many different groups at once, which invariably results in me feeling overwhelmed, backing out, feeling guilty, and my depression symptoms becoming more severe. As far as I can tell, all of my periods of hyperactivation have occurred at times when I also met the criteria for mild depression. (Possibly also moderate depression.) In other words, I’ve never had a discrete hypomanic or manic episode.
I try not to put too much importance on labels; what’s really important is that the needs of the person with a mental health issue are being met. But having a label creates a container for my experience; I can understand it and talk to other people about it and know I’m not the only one who’s had that experience. Finding labels that accurately describe my experiences helps me feel safe. I obviously can’t diagnose myself, but the label “bipolar disorder” seems to become more accurate the more I learn about the experiences it’s intended to describe.
I know I’ve been “depressed” lately because I’ve been feeling sad and/or grumpy, isolating, having trouble eating full meals, apologizing for my existence, and thinking “I want to die” when I’m tired. I feel like it’s only a matter of time before my world starts unraveling (again): I worry about Fox’s safety, our rats’ health, my own health, the house burning down, etc. Calling these experiences “depression” helps me separate a bit from them, accept them, and engage in self-care.
a day with depression 