Bipolar - Manic and depression phases - when do yours occur?

[Onit]

Hi all...my husband has been diagnosed as having depression and bipolar disorder 2. I wanted to get some idea of when others have their crashes because I have charted his and voiced this to his psychiatrist and our doctor to see if some sort of controls may be required.

His major periods of depression occur in February, May, September and December.

His manic phase occurs in April and we've not yet experienced any at any other times.

These phases are definitely seasonal (southern hemisphere seasonal) for him.

Any ideas on how to cope with it from a spouse's perspective going forward, and also for him?

[nandm]

Hi. I responded to your other thread but wanted to respond here that my manic/depressive mood swings seem to have no rhyme or reason to them. They do not appear seasonal and have no set pattern.

[Thami]

HI There,
I am also living with depression - it occurs at anytime and anything can trigger it (be it a fight) or whatever. Mine tends to come from low self esteem and being discouraged, when i have a bad day at home or at work - just about anything can bring that mental to surface.

[ClayTheScribe]

Mental illness can definitely have seasonal triggers, especially if something traumatic or troublesome happened at any of those times in the past. I have major depression and it usually gets worse when autumn comes, around this time of year in the northern hemisphere, and also when summer starts. The best thing you can do is to be there for him, while not neglecting yourself, and to make sure he's on some type of medication. You may need to tweek the meds for the certain times when depression/mania is worse. Encourage him to exercise more during those tough times if he can, that's perhaps the best way of pushing mental illness more into the background. In fact, exercise with him, it'll be good for you both. The therapeutic dose recommended is 30 minutes of sustained cardiovascular exercise. If he doesn't already have a therapist, he should get one. And you might find one for yourself so you can better cope. Also, make sure he's getting enough vitamin D and/or sunlight, especially when it gets darker outside. Make sure he doesn't retreat into himself at any of these darker times and pull him out if he does.

[endofmyrope]

When something unexpected happens in my life or a family member thats when I really have a meltdown. Off to bed I go for days. Otherwise Im just depressed everyday. Im doing some better these days because Im getting out more and spending time with my daughter and grandchildren helping to homeschool them if not for that I would be in bed right now. By the way I suffer from Manic Depression and generalized anxiety disorder. I havent noticed anything seasonal. Im just depressed everyday even on medication!

[secretsmile]

i go high evry spring without fail followed by a sharp but short depression autum will triger depresion in me. thats not to say i dont have swings at other times of the year

[Threshold]

I have a tendency toward SAD (seasonal affective disorder) which means I tend to get down when day's are short and up when day's are long.

Larger than that, by actual bi-polar cycles run several years...a mania that lasts from 6 to 18 months, that dips into a depression. The higher the mania. the worse the following depression.

If/when those cycles coincide...things get extra ugly.

I do have a period in Oct where I tend to get suicidal that my psychs assume is attached to some early childhood trauma.

I don't automatically cycle every year or two, I may have several years of relative stability, or only short ups and downs, then enter a real big manic/depressive cycle.

things are becoming more bi-polar as I age. When I was younger I tended toward deep depressions with small manias, now my manias are full blown.

[Found]

I'm single but here goes.

I have been manic while drinking and depressed when not drinking.

I have been manic and depressed at the same time while on the wrong meds.

All three kinds kinds of phases have lasted months, days, hours or minutes. An old colleague (in a counselling-coaching role) once commented an interview with me was like a roller-coaster ride for her.

Hoping the others' information is useful also,

[Lizzie101]

I never thought my mania or depression were associated with seasonal changes but my husband says he sees a big difference. He says that I'm more manic in the summer months and more depressed in winter months. I'm not sure that it's true but I'll trust his observations. I do know when I had my major depressive episode that led me to be hospitalized twice it was in the winter but I believe what precipitated it was the stressful situation I was in. I had taken on the role as the sole caretaker for my mother with Alzheimer's. The pressure associated with care taking sent me over the edge. I agree with the others advise about staying on meds and exercise daily. One big problem with bipolar is that when the person starts to feel better (usually a manic high) they stop their meds. It also took me about two years to get properly medicated. Don't give up on him.

[Found]

I find that when I have taken my meds I can stand thinking about sad subjects for longer, also feel less frazzled and not as if skating on thin ice. Taking my meds is refreshing and relaxing for that reason. That goes pretty well whether I have been feeling up or down.