What is rapid cycling? People who live with bipolar experience the “highs” that come with mania or hypomania, they also experience “lows” that come with depression. When Rapid Cycling occurs, it means that four or more manic, hypomanic, or depressive episodes have taken place within a twelve-month period.
Rapid cycling feels like your mind is playing tricks on you. You are sad one minute, hyper the next, giddy, and then back to sad, teary, and wanting to hide. It's very confusing and it's scary how fast your mood can change and change and change.
Others may only experience this once every few years. However, a small subset of people will have rapid cycling, in which the mood swings come fast and frequently. Rapid cycling is considered one of the more severe form of bipolar disorder.
About 10 to 20 per cent of people with bipolar disorder may have rapid cycling and it is probably more common in people with the form of bipolar disorder sometimes referred to as bipolar II (those that experience less severe highs). It is also the case that rapid cycling is more common in women.
Rapid cycling bipolar may particularly resemble BPD, as mood fluctuations happen more frequently than with typical bipolar. Frequent manic episodes could also contribute to relationship difficulties, since the way a person behaves during a manic episode could have a negative impact on the people close to them.
Mood swings of bipolar disorder are more random and less related to events than those of borderline. Those with bipolar might have a hair-trigger kind of response during an episode, whereas the borderline person has a hair-trigger response all of the time.
There is no clear trigger for rapid cycling, but bipolar changes occur due to changes in brain chemicals.
Bipolar I disorder is the most severe form of the illness. Bipolar II disorder is characterized by predominantly depressive episodes accompanied by occasional hypomanic episodes. Hypomanic episodes are milder than manic episodes but can still impair functioning.
Bipolar disorder may worsen with age or over time if the condition is left untreated. As time goes on, a person may experience episodes that are more severe and more frequent than when symptoms first appeared.
If one parent has bipolar disorder, there's a 10% chance that their child will develop the illness. If both parents have bipolar disorder, the likelihood of their child developing bipolar disorder rises to 40%.
Answer questions honestly. But don't argue or debate with a person during a manic episode. Avoid intense conversation. Don't take comments or behavior personally.
What is the life expectancy of someone with bipolar disorder? Experts have established that living with any mental health condition reduces your life expectancy by anywhere from 7–10 years . The life expectancy for someone with bipolar disorder is approximately 67 years old.
They last at least two weeks but can last much longer, sometimes for months. Like manic or hypomanic episodes, they can severely disrupt your everyday life.
Rapid cycling can happen any time someone experiences bipolar disorder—about 10-20% of people diagnosed with bipolar disorder experience rapid cycling at some point. In many cases, rapid cycling eventually goes away on its own and people return to a pattern of longer and less frequent episodes.
Mood shift frequency varies from person to person. A small number of patients may have many episodes within one day, shifting from mania (an episode where a person is very high-spirited or irritable) to depression. This has been described as “ultra-rapid cycling.”
While bipolar disorder cannot develop into schizophrenia, it's possible to experience symptoms of both. Before you consult a mental health professional, here are a few things you should know about the two conditions.
Bipolar disorder, formerly called manic depression, is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression). When you become depressed, you may feel sad or hopeless and lose interest or pleasure in most activities.
When Rapid Cycling occurs, it means that four or more manic, hypomanic, or depressive episodes have taken place within a twelve-month period. Changes in mood here can happen quickly and occur over a few days or even over a few hours. If there are four mood changes within a month, it is called ultra-rapid cycling.
Bipolar disorder can cause your mood to swing from an extreme high to an extreme low. Manic symptoms can include increased energy, excitement, impulsive behaviour, and agitation. Depressive symptoms can include lack of energy, feeling worthless, low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts.
Effective treatments for some patients with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder currently include lithium, divalproex, lamotrigine, carbamazepine, atypical antipsychotics, and psychosocial therapy.
Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPDs) become overwhelmed and incapacitated by the intensity of their emotions, whether it is joy and elation or depression, anxiety, and rage. They are unable to manage these intense emotions.
For someone with this type of BPD relationship, a “favorite person” is someone they rely on for comfort, happiness, and validation. The relationship with a BPD favorite person may start healthy, but it can often turn into a toxic love-hate cycle known as idealization and devaluation.
Cyclothymia, or cyclothymic disorder, causes mood changes – from feeling low to emotional highs. Cyclothymia has many similarities to bipolar disorder.