unusual urge to laugh - Mental Health Message Board

waw2002 · 09-24-2005, 09:41 PM

I'm a 17 year old male and for the past year I've had an unusual urge to laugh. I can be sitting at the table eating, then all of a sudden I feel like laughing. The urge is so strong that I can't keep from smiling. Or the other day while walking to my class at school, the urge just hit me. THis happens almost everyday, sometimes several times a day for no apparent reason. My family are starting to think I'm crazy. By the way i've been diagnosed with depression in the past.

Can anyone explain this? I feel like I'm going crazy. I can be crying on the inside and laughing on the outside.

thanks

GatsbyLuvr1920 · 09-25-2005, 01:17 PM

Could be a sign of mild hypomania. Along with this, do you also not need to sleep a lot, have rapidly changing mood swings, feel "on-top-of-the-world", feel more talkative, and/or more energetic? I've never been diagnosed with a mood disorder, but several doctors have told me that I could be mildly hypomanic, and quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised. I have this laughing thing, too. Every little random thing will make me laugh silently to myself and smile, and I can't stop. I probably am cyclothymic, which is a VERY mild form of bipolar disorder b/c I've never needed sleep (went on two hours a few nights ago), I always talk fast, and I'm very moody. This could be a mild form of hypomania, especially since you're in your late teens (peak onset) and you've had depression in the past. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. God bless!

-GatsbyLuvr1920-

waw2002 · 09-25-2005, 01:50 PM

thanks for the reply.

I don't ever feel on top of the world and I can't go without sleep. However, it usually takes me 2-4 hours to fall asleep every night. If I do have hypomania, is there a way to get rid of this feeling to laugh.

thanks

GatsbyLuvr1920 · 09-25-2005, 08:53 PM

Well, some people who are hypomanic aren't the classic "euphoric" type, but irritable. (Manic people are either both euphoric and irritable or just irritable.) Have you been feeling like you need to get things done faster or that you have so many thoughts running through your head that it's hard to sort them out? This would be hypomania. I really don't know how to stop the laughing, unless you would go to a psychiatrist, tell him/her your symptoms, and if they think it's hypomania, take the medication they prescribe. Write back soon!

-GatsbyLuvr1920-

waw2002 · 09-26-2005, 03:39 PM

thanks for the help everyone. Do you think this could just pass on its own?

Or do you think maybe its just some weird puberty thing?

thanks again