fando

What you have does sound like Bipolar Disorder. I have several friends with it and the symptoms you describe are similar to the symptoms I observe in them. They go through phases of normalcy then extreme depression on a regular basis. These mood swings are much more severe than what someone with blood sugar level issues might experience. We're talking crazy severe -- without meds, you can end up doing crazy things. Once, when a group of friends were out on a road trip (not including me), the one with bipolar stole the car (stranding the rest in the process) and ended up walking across Arizona barefoot. He was picked up by the police and was returned safely. His bipolar was especially severe. The disorder comes in degrees, so others might not be as affected.

I heavily recommend visiting a doctor and figuring out what is affecting you. Bring up the possibility of Bipolar Disorder, but don't press it.

Sakpo

Heathen Dawn has made posts regarding actively seeking out medical attention.

Anyway thank you very much, Heathen Dawn. I really enjoyed your post.

HelenM

There's actually a lot of overlap between different mental health disorders.

Hopefully HD's doctor is aware enough of HD's range of moods to prescribe what would be most helpful. That partly depends on how much HD discloses to the doctor but I hope an astute doctor will find out what he needs to know to make an appropriate diagnosis.

Helen

Vesica

On the possibility of Bipolar----

Coming from someone with bipolar (?) who dated someone with and has two friends with...all of whom have different manifestations....It does not sound like bipolar to me. Some Q's (which of course you don't have to answer here...)

1) Your age and gender? I can't tell but you strike me as female...I was diagnosed with bipolar as a teen and as I have not had any symptoms since about 20, I think it was acutally a hormonal imbalance...

2) (if female) Do you have major mood issues around that time o'the month? Do you seem to have more painful/symptomatic periods than your friends? (This would support the out'o'control hormones here...Birth control helped calm me down until I matured enough that the levels got normal)

3) Are you having inappropriote emotional outbursts? (this would support poss. bipolar)

4) Do you find it hard to express appropriote emotion? Does it feel like you are not in control of your feelings, like they are someone else's?(again with the bipolar)

5) As far as physical symptoms, (A brief bipolar list):
Racing thoughts?
Physical tremors or shaking when mind is going too fast?
Fascination with light, shadow or random objects when 'down'?
Intense but brief flashes of emotion from nowhere?
Inability to stop yourself from saying things or doing things?
Increased risk taking??
Feelings of superiority over others?
Extremes of feelings (like insensly hating those you (at times) intensly love)?

I have learned to embrace a wide range of 'normal'....If it is not interfering with your life or the living of it, don't fret!

Heathen Dawn

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Strange how many people here on the boards make that assumption. No, I'm male. I may be very emotional, but I'm still a man.

Cold, darkness, dampness, hunger or sad music is enough to trigger an emotional downslide in me. In hearing music, I'm especially sensitive to instruments played in legato (continuously).

I don't know, at this time, what in particular causes me depression; however, when I'm depressed, I know exactly what did it. And each time I'm in depression, there's this unmistakably feeling of a "hungry head", a feeling like my head is screaming all inside. It's neither a wholly bodily nor a wholly emotional pain; it's half of both. Also, stopping breathing for a couple of seconds can send me into depression, as can the kind of air, smells etc. I'm extremely sensitive to external stimulations. An external stimulation can have any kind of effect on my emotions. I might say in my case the intertwining of body (brain) and mind (emotions) is taken to the extreme.

Splat

HD--That's a truly fascinating post. Thanks for explaining your roller-coaster.

Never underestimate the power of coffee!

Caffeine is an alkaloid, as are nicotine, cocaine and many other compounds with potent effects, and coffee itself is a complex stew of hundreds of compounds that might be affecting your brain chemistry.

Any chance you can get a neuropsych workup, if you haven't had one already?

Demosthenes

Heathen Dawn, does your symptoms hit you when it's the wintertime? What you described sounds a bit like SAD, seasonal affective disorder.

And the reason why people keep assuming you're female probably have to do with your choice of name. It's somehwhat a feminine sounding name.

abe smith

Heathen Dawn, do you work for a living? or are you committed to any sort of schedule except that governed by your own whims? I ask this qy, not sarcastically at all; but because My Impression Izz that you don't have a lot to do w/ your time & attention except to self-watch your own behaviours & All-that. Are you living -on Daddy's money? Maybe you need a few *real* problems.....

Sakpo

&lt;mod hat on&gt;

Tone it down, abe.

My impression is that you don't know much, if anything, about Heathen Dawn's real life situation. There's no need for insulting conjecture. The iidb rules demand you agree not to act like a jerk, and you're getting pretty close. Perhaps you have a valid point, or at least a valid question, buried in there, but your tone and word choice is quite insulting, or at least could easily and reasonably be interpreted as such. That said, I'll allow your post to stand, this is just a warning.

If you have any disagreement with this post, please direct it to me via PM or to the boards as a whole (including higher management) in the Bugs, Problems, Complaints, and Suggestions forum.

Boro Nut

I'm pretty sure it's not analogy to anything, I just think its the way they make televisions.

Boro Nut

[ November 28, 2002: Message edited by: Boro Nut ]</p>