Bipolar? All About Mixed Moods
Published: Wed, 09/01/10
Hi ,
How's it going?
Hope you are doing well.
I overheard a story once that stuck with me.
A young child was talking to his mother.
He was trying to understand in his young
mind what to feel now that his grandpa
had died.
His grandpa had been very sick and
miserable for a long time.
He had a belief system that said that his
grandpa was in a better place now.
So in some ways he felt happy for his
grandpa.
But in a lot of other ways he felt sad,
because now he would have to miss him.
He was confused by the fact that he felt
happy and sad at the same time.
Up until that point he thought that he could
only feel one or the other at a time.
But not that day.
This is kind of what a mixed mood is like,
only a little more extreme.
With a mixed mood, it's not just a couple
of emotions that are being mixed at the
same time.
It's everything about your mood.
With a mixed mood, you can be
experiencing extreme highs and extreme
lows at the same time.
Have you ever felt manic and depressed
all at once before?
If you have, then you've experienced a
mixed mood.
Maybe you're the supporter, and you've
been confused by the mix of symptoms
you see in your loved one.
They are sleeping most of the day, but
when they do wake up they have manic
energy.
They are excited easily and talking a
hundred miles an hour, but they are feeling
negative overall and may even be suicidal.
They can't control how they spend their
money or who they sleep with, but they
don't have the energy to get up to do
simple chores.
This doesn't even make sense.
Well, guess what?
It doesn't make sense to them, either!
This is the weirdest part of bipolar disorder.
As if depression and mania weren't
confusing enough when they were separate!
But, for many people who have bipolar
disorder, this is a part of life.
Some even deal with mixed moods all the
time.
Those people are particularly hard to
diagnose, because they don't show the
usual mood swings that are common to
bipolar disorder.
They don't have to show mood swings,
though - they have all the moods right
there!
One of the hardest parts about dealing
with mixed moods is figuring out which
part to treat first.
There's only one right answer to this.
Can you guess it?
Both!
If you just treat the depression first and
ignore the mania, then it may start
uncontrollable mood swings.
The same thing can happen if you just
treat the mania and ignore the depression.
Another hard part to dealing with mixed
moods is even recognizing what they are
to begin with.
That's why it's important to keep a good
mood chart that charts your symptoms,
and not just your "overall mood."
You should be charting things like
irritability, hours of sleep, emotions,
self-control, and anxiety.
This will help you recognize when your
mood has shifted to a mixed mood.
When you do determine that you are in a
mixed mood, you should tell your treatment
team immediately, including your
psychiatrist and your therapist.
Your medications or therapy may need to
be adjusted, and you may need to look into
different coping techniques than the ones
you have been using.
Mixed moods are difficult to deal with,
mostly because they are so confusing.
Hope this cleared it up a little bit for you.
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Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
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