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In the title really.

Sometimes I'll go for a few days and feel high as the moon, chirpy and cheerful.

Then I'll go for stints where I get irrationally paranoid, irritable and generally low... and others do notice (I also have a tendency to BAWWW on online forums)

I'm assuming it's a normal part of the human condition? I wouldn't be so presuming and self-indulgent to engage in the online fashion that is self-diagnosis of gimmicky mental disorders...

Same. it is called life. One thing can tuen ya from those days.

Depends on how far apart those days are, and how they affect your life. If you can't get out of bed on Monday, but are bouncing off of the walls Wednesday, you should seek some form of help. That may just involve drawing, or just talking to other people.

I assume you are referring to bipolar, which looks like this kind of.



If you aren't having problems because of your emotions, then it doesn't mean anything. That is the base of understanding, at least from my perspective. Ups and downs should be smooth, and related to your environment. If you lack appropriate reactions to real-life, then you may have a problem. This is one hell of a subject to discuss though, and I wouldn't take anything in this thread as the gospel.

garret wrote:Same. it is called life. One thing can tuen ya from those days.

What is tuen ya, Garret? Turn you from those days? Are you talking about alcohol?

Henners91 wrote:In the title really.

Sometimes I'll go for a few days and feel high as the moon, chirpy and cheerful.

Then I'll go for stints where I get irrationally paranoid, irritable and generally low... and others do notice (I also have a tendency to BAWWW on online forums)

I'm assuming it's a normal part of the human condition? I wouldn't be so presuming and self-indulgent to engage in the online fashion that is self-diagnosis of gimmicky mental disorders...

Hey, didn't we just talk about this?

If you're a teenager (which I am) I would imagine that it's just part of growing up or whatever.

Not normal for me.

Then again, I don't get the swings and roundabouts of mood swings. I know not the purest joys nor the lowest of the low depressive cycle parts.

Yes, I can get angry and sad and happy and stuff, but not the extremes that some others get.

If theres nothing that triggers these in a rational manner then you may want to speak to your doctor about it. There are chemical imbalances that can create disorders such as bipolar and depression (not pointless angst, real depression). I'm sure a good portion of people have gone through something similar. If theres a doctor you trust talk things over with them and see if they think its a legitimate medical condition or if you need to figure out how to deal with your emotions.

Henners91 wrote:In the title really.

Sometimes I'll go for a few days and feel high as the moon, chirpy and cheerful.

Then I'll go for stints where I get irrationally paranoid, irritable and generally low... and others do notice (I also have a tendency to BAWWW on online forums)

I'm assuming it's a normal part of the human condition? I wouldn't be so presuming and self-indulgent to engage in the online fashion that is self-diagnosis of gimmicky mental disorders...

Its not self diagnosis to notice something and be concerned about it. If it doesn't bother you much, don't worry about it, if it interferes with the life you want to live, go to a mental health professional and talk to them, because it can probably be treated with very little trouble or disruption of your lifestyle.

HELL NO!!! I'm bipolar- it changes don't happen as often as yours-sometimes I go crazy and talk to myself while I cry- trying to make myself feel better by killing zombies. Oh, and Very, very rarely-I see the-things that aren't there-only after a dream, of course. My sister almost killed herself after a nightmare-monsters didn't go away...
Eat as much fish as you can. Fish is the best thing next to depression pills to make you happy. To get sad, think really hard about the life of someone who is killed in a movie. Or your life in a zombie apoc. If you need help P.M. me...please...I'm kind of lonely...

lord of the ghosts wrote:HELL NO!!! I'm bipolar- it changes don't happen as often as yours-sometimes I go crazy and talk to myself while I cry- trying to make myself feel better by killing zombies. Oh, and Very, very rarely-I see the-things that aren't there-only after a dream, of course. My sister almost killed herself after a nightmare-monsters didn't go away...
Eat as much fish as you can. Fish is the best thing next to depression pills to make you happy. To get sad, think really hard about the life of someone who is killed in a movie. Or your life in a zombie apoc. If you need help P.M. me...please...I'm kind of lonely...

Dude...

A few days ago I was depressed because I received a huge tax bill.

This morning I am happy because I have just finished a good breakfast and my new camera is going to arrive by lunchtime.

These are normal things in life which any balanced person would react to.

It is only a problem if you get depressed or hyper for no good reason.

There is a pseudoscience semimystical astrology like thing called "Biorhythms". It is defined as "a hypothetical cycle in physiological, emotional, or intellectual well-being or prowess." Basically it tracks Physical, emotional and intellectual ups and downs on a Sine wave for each, allegedly predicting high and low points in each catagory. Each catagory has its own cycle over a specific period of days, 23 for Physical, 28 for Emotional, and 33 for Intellectual.

It was big in the 70s and early 80s. You can probably find some website with a Biorhythm wave creator

Humans are a poorly evolved mammalian species, it seems to me that we are very irrational, in that we NEED bad things to happen to us in order to appreciate the good things.

Pretty stupid eh? But i think thats the way we are, im a chirpy person because i have spent so long living in gak holes around the world, so many of my friends died young, etc

Where as if you are rich and healthy and well off and you have always had everything you ever wished for, then i would presume that you can become depressed if your car wont start or you tore your favourite shirt. We are products of our environments ultimately.

After a tour of Sierra Leone, im just happy i can get a hot shower every morning before work, i never ever walked out of my house to see a corpse with a melted tire around its neck, and i dont live in a festering hell whole in Africa.

All i can say is, try look on the bright side of life, try to put yourself in somebody elses shoes. Try and empathise with the hobos and the tramps you see and think "maybe my life doesnt suck THAT hard.."

There is ALWAYS someone worse off than you mate.

Oh unless its mental illness, then i dont really know what to do, im a soldier not a doctor!

Oh and stop being a girly poofter!

It's completely normal mate.

we all have good days and bad ones, as long as you recognise when your having a bad day and can "snap out of it" then it's really not a problem. However, if you find you can't motivate yourself for long periods (i'm talking several days) and the prospect of running a hot bath, downing some JD and cracking out the razor blades is starting to appeal then get yourself to a doctor.

I second what Matty says, there is always someone worse off than you, sometimes it can do you good to see this, it makes you realise what you have. Seeing a close friend loose his legs in Afghan certainly makes you appreciate the things you have.

The best way to shake off a bad mood is to do something you enjoy. Go for a run, stick on a film, arrange a night out with mates or just kick the hell out of your cat. what ever works for you.

It is fairly normal, yeah. As others have said, the best warning of a problem is if mood swings start interfering with your life in a serious way.

squilverine wrote: or just kick the hell out of your cat.

Personally I don't recommend attacking your cat because he/she might pounce back and leave you covered in hideous claw and bite marks.

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Wrexasaur wrote:.

garret wrote:Same. it is called life. One thing can turn ya from those days.

What is tuen ya, Garret? Turn you from those days? Are you talking about alcohol?

lol i meant on bad thing on a happy day can make you miserable aand vice versa.

Yes. I do it all the time.
I'll think I'm absolutely gorgeous and delicious and awesome and then the next day I'll feel pretty meh and I won't even feel like talking to this girl (the short female unit I referred to earlier).
It's all a matter of emotion I guess. I'm 14 and I guess that means my emotions are about as stable as Frazzled. Then again at least I'm not an emo.
Greetsz,
Mr. Self Destruct

Have a more regular sleep schedule.

ShumaGorath wrote:Have a more regular sleep schedule.

This. Always make sure to have a good, proper breakfast as well.

I'm not certain if it's typical or not. I know that I cycle a little like that, but some of my moods have to do with external forces like how my job is going, or if my son is throwing tantrums for an entire day, or how much sleep I've gotten. I also know I'm a complete mess if I don't take my ADD meds. My concentration will be off and I won't accomplish anything.

If you are seriously concerned, speak with a doctor. My other suggestions would be to get enough sleep, exercise, and eat better. Also make sure you are interacting with people in the real world, and not just your computer screen. The internet is great, but I think that sometimes people use it for their entire social life.

To be honest I'm having a hard time thinking about what induces my moods, most of the time it's feeling like I don't have much going for me socially, or simple pining, I'd chalk it down to teenage angst still not being gone by age 19 or perhaps direct causality from events that happen... I don't think the causes are unattributed.

I just got concerned because a friend of mine was sick of my whining and paranoia and felt I should see a campus counsellor.

This is some good advice though

If we go by your current definitions, methinks I'm normal, perhaps my friend is just concerned because of the severity of how I can feel at times, I've never really felt that fond towards self harm however

Mattyrm's point was interesting... leave it to us comfortable, well-to-do middle class children to start thinking too much about what's wrong with ourselves, my greatest flaw probably is a never-ceasing self-analysis.

Get a job, or university, part time or full time - so long as it is with some people who are equal or more intelligent than you. Being around morons all day can be very depressing.

Be around attractive people of the opposite gender - sexual tension will take your mind of being miserable and hormones will be the dominating thing in the chemical soup of your body.

Those two things worked for me in a bit of a funk around 19. Mattyrm is very correct as well, and is one of the reasons depressing music is generally a mood lifter for me. I spare a thought for the billion+ people who dont have clean water every time I turn on a tap and it lifts my day.

Food, exercise, sleep.

Eat properly, three times a day. It's amazing what that does to your mental health.

Exercise regularly, even if it's just walking for 30 minutes.

Sleep properly (~8hrs), and during the nights.


I was diagnosed borderline (F60.3 if you wanna look it up in DSM-IV) a couple of years ago. And those three simple things, together with SSRI (Zoloft), really helped me out.

Nothing in your behavior really points to you having a "proper" mental illness (depression / borderline etc). It -is- normal to have ups and downs. Especially when you're 19. You are on the threshold of being a grown up and a youngster. It's not an easy period of your life.

But, as an earlier poster wrote. If your social and/ or personal life suffers from your mood swings, go see a professional. Try to get a proper psychiatrist and not just a counsellor (although I think that in the UK a counsellor can remit you to a psychiatrist?).

If it works like it does here in Sweden, they'll most likely give you some sort of SSRI to see if that helps. Try it out, it actually might help. If it doesn't, it warrants further treatment.

In addition to getting enough sleep, I highly recommend regular exercise. It releases endorphins, stabilizes your system, and helps to give you a sense of accomplishment. There's nothing like running further than you could last week or doing more push ups than you could a month ago to improve your self esteem. In addition, it'll help with any girl problems that you might have. Not that you've mentioned them, but late teens is usually when you start transitioning from harmless dating to serious relationships. It's also the time when your high school friends begin falling away, scattering to the four winds and just changing. At that point, you must follow legoburner's advice and find a new community to be a part of, either at work or university.

Gitzbitah wrote:In addition to getting enough sleep, I highly recommend regular exercise. It releases endorphins, stabilizes your system, and helps to give you a sense of accomplishment. There's nothing like running further than you could last week or doing more push ups than you could a month ago to improve your self esteem. In addition, it'll help with any girl problems that you might have. Not that you've mentioned them, but late teens is usually when you start transitioning from harmless dating to serious relationships. It's also the time when your high school friends begin falling away, scattering to the four winds and just changing. At that point, you must follow legoburner's advice and find a new community to be a part of, either at work or university.

Of all the things I have tried for my problems, nothing other than a couple of medications has helped like exercise. While I try to run two or three times a week, if not more in the summer, you can get a lot of benefit by going down to the park or a shopping mall and just walking for a mile or two. While doctors tend to emphasize aerobic exercise, I think everyone should do a little strength training, even if it is just a few sit ups, push ups, and wall squats. If you haven't done exercise before or in a long time, you'll be amazed how quickly you'll look and feel better. I don't know what you're body shape is, but don't get discouraged if you're overweight or obese. This is why I hate it when people say it is always someone's fault if they're fat. I can eat and never exercise and I'll be just overweight, while my wife eats less than me and has never been below 280 lbs ( I think thats like 19 or 20 stone for you Brits). Don't let that bother you if that is the case, exercise anyhow. You might still be heavy, but you'll feel better and if you do it long enough I believe that you'll have a better body shape even if you're fat. I had another friend who was pretty obese by a BMI chart, but he did weights and was incredibly strong.

I believe that both exercise and mental exercises are important for establishing what I have heard called an internal locus of control. Basically someone with an internal locus of control feels that most of what happens in life is determined by him or her, while an external locus of control person will view outside forces as controling his or her destiny. Verbally, out loud, trying to move my locus internally instead of externally is very helpful for me.

For instance, someone might lose their job. That was entirely beyond their control ( say a layoff, not stealing from the company or whatever). You can look at that as " these things always happen to me, why did that occur, what am I goign to do, its pointless to try, or you can say, this really sucks, but I'm going to cut my expenses, look for public aid, and take advantage of the time to not only look for jobs but look at new fields and education opportunities. That sort of person who has difficulty getting a job will find public aid, and start looking for education loans, scholarships, new fields, etc. I'm not saying that i'm perfect either, the entire reason I started practicing this is because I found that in the past I looked at external causes instead of internal opportunities. A religious point of view I like is that an external control person looks at God as either giving them what they want, or says "why did God do this to me?", while the internal control view is that God is there to help me accomplish my goals and that my achievments can please god instead of God doing everything for me.

Which brings up another topic that atheists here among us may or may not like. You might look into religion or the study of religion. This doesn't mean you have to go out and become a born again Christian or Orthodox Jew. I'm not a deeply religious person, but I found it entertaining, insightful, and ultimately helpful to me to study the way people deal with spirituality. In fact, I think being agnostic can be a little liberating because you can read different spiritual viewpoints without preconceived bias. I read the entire Divine Comedy, which, among other things, shows how an individual can integrate secular concepts and rationality with spiritual ideas. I've studied the bible comparatively, specifically, comparing a King James bible to a modern translation aimed toward Catholics. That was helpful as I could see how two people who viewed a source as divinely inspired interpret it differently. I also have spoken with an in law who is a Jehovah's Witness. While I don't understand or agree with many of his views, he is a highly educated person who could explain his beliefs very well. I learned that many things people say about that belief are misunderstandings or simply prejudice. I want to start reading about Buddhism when I get the chance.

I highly recommend "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl. If people can continue to have an internal locus of control in the Nazi camps like he describes, then I think the vast majority of us certainly can do so.

Another thing is while there certainly is danger in self diagnosis, knowing your body and your feelings is not self diagnosis. Obviously, though I'm not a physician, if I have severe pain in my leg, I know I should tell a doctor. Similarly, if you have feelings that bother you, you can't lose by going to a doctor to discuss them. I would suggest from personal experience though, that you pick a psychiatrist or therapist who sees patients with a wide variety of problems and tell them EVERYTHING. This will save you possibly years of time by targeting what might actually be wrong instead of just dealing with symptoms.

For instance, for years people thought I was just depressed, anxious, and unmotivated. Doctors had suggested I had an anxiety disorder, or just clinical depression. I even had my hearing checked when I was very young because I wasn't responding to being spoken to like other children. Finally, a few months ago ( I'm in my early 30's), I brought some school records and some comments to my doctor, who suggested treating me for inattentive ADHD. I had been exercising already, which helped me a great deal, and the doctor combined that with new medication. It has been a night and day difference.

The take home message is that if you have lows and highs that are noticeable enough for you to ask about them on Dakka, at least keep a journal recording very high and low days, and really consider seeing someone. I don't know how the public health works in the UK, but I imagine they could set you up with a doctor for little out of pocket.