Posted by Sarena on April 15, 2002, at 16:33:06
In reply to Re: Cyclothymia mood stabilizers » Sarena, posted by GeoffW on April 15, 2002, at 8:54:18
> > Hi, I'm new to this message board and am mildly unsure as to what it is all about. I stumbled ...it can be treated without therepy or medication. I'm also looking for other individuals who could share their experiences with this with me. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Hi My name is Geoff, I'm early 40s and live in the UK. I have what I think is cyclothymia, and have had it since my teens. The only treatment I am given at the moment is 20mg of fluoxetine (generic name for our old friend Prozac). This helps alot with mood stabilising and energy levels but I don't consider it makes me "normal". I've had about 1 and a half years' counselling which helps to deal with the ups and downs and the apparent external causes of mood shifts, but am not fully convinced that this is a purely cognitive as opposed to an organic condition. I manage to hold down a job most of the time, and have a family too, but I'm pretty difficult to live with when not on medication(!)
> The hardest part is coping not just with the mood swings, but with my continually changing attitudes to everything - what or whoever seemed brilliant one day is boring or unattractive the next
> A good book on the mood disorders is "A Mood Apart" by Peter Whybrow, an academic and one of the few professionals that actually seems to recognise this condition. The consensus seems to be that a combination of therapy & medication is the best approach. I haven't tried any of the "alternative" approaches, but have read alot of the self-help literature on depression. Little of this appears to be relevant to rapid mood cycling though. Hope this helps. Would be happy to hear more about your own experiences.Well, I'm only 16 and have experiencing alternating depression/high energy levels for about three years. Some time periods are a lot better than others. Only in the last couple of months, when the mood swings became more frequent and intense, have I began to investigate. The only thing I've come up with is cyclothymia-which is only an educated guess, I haven't been professionally diagnoised. So I guess I started using this page for information and some support-I feel rather alone on this subject and am uncomfortable talking about it to others. Recommended books and ways of dealing with this would be greatly appreciated if anyone had some. Thanks
~Sarena
poster:Sarena
thread:9730
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020408/msgs/103157.html