Rapid mood swings, dissociation....?

Question

The last few months I have been prone to rapidly changing mood swings, I can go from irritable to giggly to depressed sometimes several times in a day, I think I'm getting worse. I often get really high & giggly at night. I had a terrible argument with my husband 2 days ago and felt so bad I seemed to get locked out of myself, I felt like I could only think on a very shallow level, and for about 24 hours, I could barely move around and couldn't speak at all, it was terrifying because I wanted comfort but I couldn't ask for it. I had a really bad panic attack as well, I even tried cutting myself with a razor to try and get back into myself, I have never felt this bad before, I am ok now, but it really scared me to feel like that. I know I should talk to someone about this but I am not mentally ill and last time they just wanted to give me anti depressants, but I don't need them because I am not depressed all the time. What is going on?

Answer 1

Well it definitely sounds like you're going through something scary. People rarely start dissociating and cutting all of a sudden. So there must be something going on and it sounds like it might have been building for a while.

I'm not sure who you went to last time for help, but I would suggest you find a therapist so you can talk things out one on one with someone. You don't need a diagnosis of mental illness for a therapist to see you. Therapists see people with all sorts of problems.

Whoever you went to last time sounds either like your family doc or a psychiatrist. They're the only ones who can prescribe drugs. But it would be really good for you to have an impartial person to talk to about all this stuff, like a therapist. Don't worry about the docs. If you and your therapist decide you want to try meds then you two can talk about seeing a doc. But for now find a therapist.

No one should be trying to tell you what's wrong on Y!A, even if they're doctors. None of us know you. We haven't talked with you. We don't have enough info to tell you what's wrong. But I can tell you that something is going on with you and you should go see someone, especially if it's getting worse.

Please be good to yourself and get the help you need and deserve!

Answer 2

You may be suffering from a form of bi-polar, though I am not a doctor. I have suffered from this in the past and still do to a point.

It can make life more interesting and it can also be difficult at times. The best thing may well be to speak to your GP about it and ask if he could recommend alternative methods of helping you other than medication, especially as I have felt over the years that the medication has a habit of turning me into a zombie.

Don't be afraid to ask for help and also ignore the stigma behind the words "Mental Illness" on average over 75% of people are affected in one way or another at some point in their lives, so don't worry!

Answer 3

You said, 'I know I should talk to someone about this but I am not mentally ill'; but the symptoms you described do sound like mental illness, which is nothing to be ashamed of. Anti-depressants will indeed not work if one is in the Bi-Polar spectrum, and it sounds to me like you could be suffering with Bi-Polar II, which means you've never experienced a full-blown manic episode; the giggly times you describe sound like hypo-mania. If your GP insists on medication, an SSRI in a low dose may be a good way to start. Insist on a psych referral, and make sure you're completely honest with every health professional you speak to, especially when it comes to the effects of medication. If you do start taking medication, try keeping a diary so you can chart the changes in your mood effectively.

Answer 4

Well when you get bad enough to cut on yourself, you are depressed. And cutting is not the cure for it, cause you just need to keep cutting more and more to get the release you are looking for. If you are having these mood swings all of the time like you say, well then you still have a problem. Even though you feel you are not depressed all the time. The depress medication they are giving you is to help to keep you from becoming depressed. It sounds like you become depressed off and on, and you need to find out what it is that is making you depressed off and on. Going and getting help don't mean that you are mental ill, but a lot of people get depressed, and this is one time of the year that it happens to a lot of people. You need to learn to ask for help, and to ask for someone to comfort you. Other wise how are they going to know what you need if you can not come right out and ask for what you needs are. You just may find that people will help you and comfort you when you need it.

Answer 5

I must admit it does sound like Bipolar but the cycles inbetween moods seem very short for it.

I would go to your GP plus are you on any medications? Some antidepressants make you have mood swings, panic attacks and dissociation.
Also it could be a psychotic episode brought on by numerous things from having a baby to stress.

There is no stigma attached to mental health issues these days and something like 1 in 10 people have a problem with it at some point in their lives, so please don't worry about what people will say.

Try having a look at the link below and please see your GP

Answer 6

You have the signs of Borderline Personality Disorder.

1) Bipolar mood swings do NOT tradionally occur in short periods. People are wrong about this. Bipolar episodes last for weeks or months at a time.

2) Bipolar patients do not dissociate. They may have psychosis, but that is not dissocation.

3) Cutting is a hallmark of Borderline Personality Disorder.

See your doctor because you need long-term therapy.

Answer 7

Bipolar disorder (also known as "manic depression") is often not recognized by the patient, relatives, friends, or even physicians. An early sign of manic-depressive illness may be hypomania -- a state in which the person shows a high level of energy, excessive moodiness or irritability, and impulsive or reckless behavior. Hypomania may feel good to the person who experiences it. Thus, even when family and friends learn to recognize the mood swings, the individual often will deny that anything is wrong.

In its early stages, bipolar disorder may masquerade as a problem other than mental illness. For example, it may first appear as alcohol or drug abuse, or poor school or work performance.

If left untreated, bipolar disorder tends to worsen, and the person experiences episodes of full-fledged manic episodes and depressive episodes.

One of the usual differential diagnoses for bipolar disorder is that the symptoms (listed below) are not better accounted for by Schizoaffective Disorder and is not superimposed on Schizophrenia, Schizophreniform Disorder, Delusional Disorder, or Psychotic Disorder Not Otherwise Specified.

And as with nearly all mental disorder diagnoses, the symptoms of manic depression must cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Symptoms also can not be the result of substance use or abuse (e.g., alcohol, drugs, medications) or caused by a general medical condition.

Specific symptoms of the various types of bipolar disorder:

Bipolar I Disorder
Bipolar I Disorder actually is a number of separate diagnoses, depending upon the type of mood most recently experienced.

Bipolar I Disorder, Single Manic Episode

* Presence of only one Manic Episode and no past Major Depressive Episodes.
Note: Recurrence is defined as either a change in polarity from depression or an interval of at least 2 months without manic symptoms.

Bipolar I Disorder, Most Recent Episode Hypomanic

* Currently (or most recently) in a Hypomanic Episode.
* There has previously been at least one Manic Episode or Mixed Episode.

Bipolar I Disorder, Most Recent Episode Manic

* Currently (or most recently) in a Manic Episode.
* There has previously been at least one Major Depressive Episode, Manic Episode, or Mixed Episode.

Bipolar I Disorder, Most Recent Episode Mixed

* Currently (or most recently) in a Mixed Episode.
* There has previously been at least one Major Depressive Episode, Manic Episode, or Mixed Episode.

Bipolar II Disorder

* Presence (or history) of one or more Major Depressive Episodes and at least one Hypomanic Episode. Additionally, there has never been a Manic Episode or a Mixed Episode.

My son was diagnosed with bi-polar disease, and he is on medication now...But he had the same symptoms as you, and became delusional about it...I do hope you go and seek help for it...
We want you well...

Answer 8

Honestly this sounds like borderline personality disorder to me. But go back to the docs and tell them what is happening. The meds can help level you out, but therapy is going to be essential. If you don't agree with what one doc says, get a second opinion. It is best to recognize what is wrong now instead of waiting till you find yourself in the hospital.

Remember that having a mental disorder does not make you insane or crazy. If the label worries you, then don't tell anyone. Believe me more people are seeking help for emotional and mood disorders then you realize. And there are plenty who should be that are not, those are the ones who are never happy with life and always feel out of place.

As for the cutting...I hope you realize that those scares will be there long after the panic attack. I'm not one to tell you what to do with your own body, but please make sure that the cuts do not get infected.

Answer 9

I also think you may be having the first signs of Schizophrenia. If you are currently about 28 to 32 years old, that is a period in most people's life where they experience a maturational crisis, and it is one of the times when Schizophrenia usually manifests itself if it did not do it during your late teens when the first maturational crisis occurs. If you think it is so real, and can not understand how it can be so, consider renting a copy of "A Beautiful Mind." It is the movie adaptation of a novel based on the life of Nobel Laureate John Nash, a mathematical genius at Stanford University who eventually won the Nobel prize. It gives a good sense (Hollywood style) of how real hallucinations can be for people who suffer them. You truly need professional help and the meds you are taking are helpful to many people, but the medical professional you are using must know that you are continuing to have hallucinations. He may have to adjust your dosage. Hope this helps.

Answer 10

It sounds as though you have a chemical imbalance going on inside. You don't have to feel depressed or down in order to need an antidepressant. That could be exactly what you need. There's no shame in the need for one. The shame lies in the suffering that you live with without the meds.