Comments on: Color me Cyclothymic

By: jess

jess — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:19:52 +0000

Sonia,
Thank you so much for the post, this is the first I have read after looking into this disease/disorder. I know there hasn’t been a post on here in years but just wanted to say that.
I’m only 20 and have just started looking into all my up and down thoughts/actions.. maybe its not this and maybe it is but so much of your post was similar to myself I had to reply

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 13:12:30 +0000

Thank you so much for this blog. I feel the exact same way. I was diagnosed with depression when I was 14 and have been struggling with it for the past 6 years, along with a severe anxiety disorder. In the past year I’ve experienced my first few hypomanic episodes where I get extremely creative and goal-oriented but then maybe a few days to a few weeks later I just sink into a deep depression and never finish what i started – (sometimes i’ll pick it up again during my next hypomanic phase). However chaotic this makes my life sometimes, relationships are especially difficult, some of my best work has been done during my hypomanic episodes. I’ve also gotten used to this way of living and even though the depression can be debilitating sometimes, for the most part I think my illness(es) have made me a more interesting and stronger person and i’ve been able to accept it and work with it because it does have its benefits. Many of the greatest artists of all time were mentally ill.

By: Sonia Neale

Sonia Neale — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:00:49 +0000

When we feel safe, validated and not judged, we are usually able to confide in a doctor how we are feeling. In Australia, a GP can make out a mental health care plan for you to see a clinical psychologist and the majority of the bill, if not all, is covered by Medicare and you can have up to 12 individual visits under this scheme.

Feeling safe is the first priority for any sort of disclosure and validation of those feelings can facilitate you being able to freely tell someone how you feel. Therapists are inherently non judgmental and extremely empathic and can help you work out what is happening underneath your feelings of self-harm and suicide. A lot of the time we don’t want to hurt ourselves or die we just want an end to the pain we are feeling.

It is most important to remember that given time, you will not always feel suicidal and wanting to self-harm, you won’t always feel that way. There is a Buddhist saying, that this too will pass. That has been my experience when I was facing what you are. If the situation is critical, phoning the Samaritans or Lifeline can literally be a lifeline till you can get to see face-to-face a therapist.

Having depression should not feel embarrassing, but I can understand your feelings about disclosing them. There is also a very good chance your doctor and your potential therapist have experienced depression themselves.

By: Jasper Jones

Jasper Jones — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:16:01 +0000

Dear Sonia, I recently had a suicide risk assessment completed and I felt very embarrassed so I did not tell the truth about how I was really feeling. Now I find myself contemplating either self harm or suicide on a regular basis and I have no support, How do I overcome the embarrassment of depression and tell my doctor truthfully how it is?

By: Sonia

Sonia — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:13:05 +0000

Dear Raiser,
Suffering mental illness and mood swings is far more complicated than simply getting some sunshine, food intake and a good night’s sleep.

If that was the case then there would be very little mental illness in the world.

Why am I telling the world about this? Because I try to live in the solution as much as I can and it gives positive hope to other people.

By: Raiser

Raiser — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:10:15 +0000

“Color me crazy, but it’s better than living in a world of black and white.”

Then why are you telling the world about this on a psychology blog?

I bet if you look closely, you’ll find that your moods are linked extremely closely to three things:

- The weather (especially the amount of sunlight)

- The consistency and quality of your sleep schedule

- The regularity and nutritional content of your meals, including optimal water intake

If people could just get on top of these three issues, they would immediately win 90% of the battle against depression, anxiety, whatever. People want to make things more complicated than they are by creating labels, diagnoses, complexities. It all comes down to sunlight, sleep, and food. Getting those three core components of your life in order will give you the strength, resilience, and consistency that you need to meet with life’s challenges head on.

By: greythinking

greythinking — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:54:06 +0000

Read this great explanation of cyclothymia today: http://twurl.nl/tt40wp It’s one of my fav psych disorders (doesn’t everyone have a fav?)

By: PsychCentral

PsychCentral — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:09:54 +0000

Therapy Unplugged: Color me Cyclothymic @http://zz.gd/01289a