Hi Everyone, You guys are so supportive of each other and your posts help me. This is my first post. I wonder if anyone can suggest ways to cope with rapid cycling. I am just so tired of being up and down, my mood shifting several times daily. Only relief is sleeping. I'm on 3 meds but how else do I cope?

I sometimes imagine that I'm a "lava lamp". Is that the way it feels to you?

Hang in there, day after day. Try and live your life as best as you can, even though you often will face great adversity. Just "follow the plan" and don't get any crazy ideas.

I sometimes imagine that I'm a "lava lamp". Is that the way it feels to you?

Hang in there, day after day. Try and live your life as best as you can, even though you often will face great adversity. Just "follow the plan" and don't get any crazy ideas.

My goodness Liza, you know exactly how I feel. The lava lamp brain is what I have. I can't seem to find and stay in the middle. You are kind to reply.

I totally understand the rapid cycling thing. I just try to use the ups and downs as productively as possible, like cleaning when I'm manic, or reading the paper when I'm down. It keeps my day moving and ensures that I get some of the stuff done that was on the list. Hope this helps!

Learn to put your cycles to good use, manic get things done, down low, realize that it's ok to stay in bed all day and do nothing. Allow yourself that freedom and you will feel less stressed out and less devalued. SAy it's me and today I am a productive person or I'm me and today I have the power to just be. Takes pratice but so worth it. I've taken 15 years to understand and actually do it...

Hello, this is my first time using this message board(or any for that matter). I also have rapid cycing. It is fine to put the mania to good use, but it`s equally important to keep it in check. I try to do this by using cognitive behavourial therapy(CBT). In my case i have learnt over the years to spot the early warning signs or triggers. these are a wide range of things but ultimately lead to one thing, mania. The trick is to spot these triggers early enough and then change your behaviour to curtail the mania, nip it in the bud if you like. In my case i won`t go out drinking or stay up all night etc etc. It doesn`t work all the time and like eveything else it takes practice and lot`s of it. I`m sure there are a lot of good books out there on the subject. Unfortunately i`m not so good with the depression side of things and can cut myself of for a week or more every month. Any new ideas on dealing with this side of things? Hope this is useful to someone.

...everyone stops to look as another newbie enters the room :wave:

I have been diagnosed with depression (1999) ADD (2006) and this year
I added bipolar to the list. Rapid cycling to be exact. I prefer to think of
myself as a happy laid back person...and I am until I rage. Does anyone
else lose control when they are angry? I am under control most of the time
at my highly stressful job. When I come home my mood can go from happy
to screaming like a lunatic. I am on effexor 150 1x a day, straterra 25 mg 3x day, and abilify 5mg 1x day. I see a psychiatric nurse and no counceling as
of now but am working on that. Suggestions ?? Experiences ?? Thanks.

One more thing. Clutter makes me very nervous and agitated. Is this part of the bipolar or
just my personality?