I just wrote a post about how I often have downswings after really great events. Such as turning in my latest book proposal. The post is below. Here is an excellent reader commnet on the post:
Hi Julie
I quite often get a downswing after something really good. This then makes me feel even worse as i feel ungrateful for not being able to enjoy something good. Other times i have to be careful that i dont allow mania to set in but in doing this, it can also lead to a downswing. I quite often feel i am living a “catch 22”.
Hi Joanne,
Wow Joanne. It is SO helpful for me to hear that others go through this! I am going to post your comment on the top of the blog so that people can see it. I will then add some tips on what to do to prevent this and manage it when it does happen! Please feel free to add your tips as well to the post.
Julie
Do other people on the blog go through this? I would love to hear your ideas on management! Julie
Hi Julie: Just found your site and listened to the podcasts. thank you so much. My wife is bipolar and I am doing my best to learn more and help. She is not a great patient however I am patient. Question, I am looking for resources that will help me help her discontinue smoking pot. It is a huge trigger but she does not realize it. Any suggestions from anyone? We just started going to DBSA groups however she doesn’t trust psychiatrist….. (big sigh)… Thanks
Hi Julie, I have a daughter that is 31, married and having signs of hypomania. She is very excited because she and her husband are going to Hawaii for their honeymoon. I talked to her about what I’m seeing and also other family members have noticed the change in her.She has stopped taking lamitical and wellbutrin over a month ago because they want to get pregnant soon. Is there something she can take to help her calm down before she gets really sick? She has the health cards but isn’t using them.
Hi Julie,
I made brief contact with you through Facebook.
I just want to highlight the fact that people with bipolar don’t necessarily have triggers.
I found I kept getting asked at support group meetings what my triggers were. In the early days of my diagnosis, I would ask myself this over and over. What am I depressed about? What am I upset about? What has caused this change?
But over time, I realised by doing mood diaries and mood graphs that my mood was moving up and down, almost rhythmically, every two weeks. Almost without fail.
It didn’t seem to matter if I was busy at work or on holiday, studying for an exam or on a night out, the mood swing would come. Sure sometimes the period of the cycle would be a bit longer than usual (and I might get my hopes up and think I was over the worst!) but there weren’t any triggers as I saw them.
For me, there are some important steps a sufferer (especially rapid cycling) can take:
1) Rate your mood each day (or whatever period is appropriate) and try to do this at the same time of day
2) Use a rating scale of some sort (for example: -5 for very depressed, 0 for normal stable mood, +5 for very manic)
3) Use brief descriptors for other factors (e.g. poor sleep, medication changes, agitation, euphoria, hypomanic)
4) Arrange these notes before seeing your doctor in some way (in a table or graph) so she can see the broad information.
5) I cannot emphasis self-education enough. Know your medications and their potential side-effects. Know all of the symptoms of bipolar in detail. Don’t hesitate to ask your doctor questions. Use the internet for research but treat some things with a pinch of salt. Follow up conflicting info with your doctor.
6) If possible, involve third parties in your recovery process. Support groups are a great way of engaging with people with similar problems. Friends and family can provide emotional support and a means to bounce issues off when you’re confused. A trusted party can also be used to provide feedback to the doctor on your mood over a period. This can be done in person or in writing.
For me, one of the biggest problems of dealing with even low-level depression was the the big impact it had on my concentration. This in turn had an impact on my short-term memory. This meant that it became very hard to perform even routine tasks in work and my job performance seriously suffered.
Then when I was hypomanic, I went to work but was too giddy to get much done and became unconcerned with deadlines.
Thankfully, I’m well now and on a good mix of medication and I’m doing a college course that I’m finding challenging and enjoyable. I’d like to be able to spread the message about bipolar as there is still a lot of ignorance and stigma out there about it.