Mood instability

[Kalinychta]

I’m just curious how many people here have mood swings. If you do, how often do you “cycle”? I read once that autistic people are often misdiagnosed as having bipolar disorder. Does this mean that mood instability is a common autistic trait?

How many of you have periods of high energy and happiness (or just a normal, stable mood) followed by periods of anger, depression, anxiety, paranoia, etc.? I’m trying to determine if this is an autism thing or if it’s completely separate e.g. bipolar, borderline, etc.

 

[Fino]

I typically have 2-3 mood swings per day, but they're not as severe as when I'm not on medication. I've been diagnosed with Bipolar though.

I'm constantly changing my mind on things and regretting things because I impulsively do it in one mood then shift and don't want that at all. Makes it difficult to keep a stable job and other important things humans are supposed to do.

But at least I'm never bored!

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

the closest thing I could have is being mono polar, get manic sometimes.

 

[Kalinychta]

I typically have 2-3 mood swings per day, but they're not as severe as when I'm not on medication. I've been diagnosed with Bipolar though.

I'm constantly changing my mind on things and regretting things because I impulsively do it in one mood then shift and don't want that at all. Makes it difficult to keep a stable job and other important things humans are supposed to do.

But at least I'm never bored!

I’m actually really confused about bipolar, specifically the length of swings. I read that people with regular bipolar swing every six months or more, and people with rapid cycling bipolar swing every three or four months or so. But I’ve also read other descriptions of it that contradict this. So you have inexplicable mood swings every single day?

 

[Kalinychta]

Mood swings and catastrophising is common in asd.

That’s what I’d like to determine. Mood instability isn’t listed in the DSM as an autistic trait, and I’m wondering how many of us experience it.

 

[Aspychata]

Yes. Too much. Cycle thru it until normal hits you.

If l have to think about what l went thru then cycle thru though my mood swing may be intense. Then medicate thru or meditate.

I usually want to be alone at all costs or until the next day. Otherwise be with someone and be numb. But l suffer extreme weirdness currently. Normal would mean no moods.

 

[Kalinychta]

Yes. Too much. Cycle thru it until normal hits you.

If l have to think about what l went thru then cycle thru though my mood swing may be intense. Then medicate thru or meditate.

I usually want to be alone at all costs or until the next day. Otherwise be with someone and be numb. But l suffer extreme weirdness currently. Normal would mean no moods.

Do you feel that your mood shifts are simply part of your autism, or do you think they’re their own separate thing?

 

[Progster]

I used to, but now I'm kind of numb and don't seem to have much emotion at all. A lot of it was related to pre-menstrual tension and hormone fluctuation.
EDIT: Stress and stimulation levels played a role too, I'm sure.

 

[Au Naturel]

My mood swings are random and have a lot to do with how much pain I feel on a particular day or if something I wanted to do becomes impossible. That happens a lot more as I get older.

 

[Gracey]

Mood swings and catastrophising is common in asd.

Catastrophising is common to OCD too.

 

[Gracey]

I believe my moods swung in correlation to becoming overwhelmed by stimulus when younger.

Nowadays I can cope with more stimuli but during the past 5-6yrs got blatted by peri menopause instead.

Just when I thought I'd got a handle on 'life'
BAM !!
alternating and raging hormone levels.
- or at least, that's what I suspect is happening.
Haven't recorded patterns to share. Sorry.

 

[Richelle-H]

When I was young, my mood could shift rather dramatically with little provocation. Somewhere along the way, that disappeared so that now, my mood is rather bland and stable.

I do not know if this is an asset or a curse!

 

[SDRSpark]

Yes. I said "no" to bipolar because I've never been diagnosed with it (and I have brought it up to doctors) but I'm not convinced that I don't have it.

 

[Aspychata]

I had no mood swings when l lived somewhere else and it was a normal life for me. But then my life was turned upside down and l had zero control. Then my mood swings came out because l am frustrated.

 

[Suzette]

For much of my life I felt marginalized and "wrong". I accepted others opinions about me. Including the opinion that I was "moody", "tempermental", "hormonal" etc.
But since I couldn't fix me, I started paying closer attention to others and applying their own standards back to them. They all failed. I have concluded that human beings are a volitile race and few amongst them are truly self aware.
The less I pay attention to others opinions, the less stable the critics look. I have never felt better!
In other words, it's not you. It is "them" and whatever you feel or think is just fine. Don't allow others to measure your state of mental health against their standards, because they are failures at those standards too.

 

[Butterfly88]

I have angry outbursts sometimes. My therapist thinks it’s a result of PTSD.

 

[Rainbowcat]

I’m just curious how many people here have mood swings. If you do, how often do you “cycle”? I read once that autistic people are often misdiagnosed as having bipolar disorder. Does this mean that mood instability is a common autistic trait?

How many of you have periods of high energy and happiness (or just a normal, stable mood) followed by periods of anger, depression, anxiety, paranoia, etc.? I’m trying to determine if this is an autism thing or if it’s completely separate e.g. bipolar, borderline, etc.

My mood is not stable. I usually feel irritated or sad or angry and that can take place during a day. I may feel angry and the next minute i am feeling happy and then again angry and then sad. It is very tiring.
On the end of August i got a hypomanic episode, which got triggered after a lot of stress . After the hypomanic episode i got into depression, which lasted 3 weeks. Then anger outbursts followed, which got triggered and that lasted 2 weeks. Now i am trying to calm my self and i started taking mood stabilizers prescribed from a psychiatriast. I haven't got a bipolar disorser diagnosis yet, i just started going to a psychiatrist.

 

[Ken]

I do not believe I am bipolar. My father was bipolar and my mood swings are nothing like that.
My mood swings are mostly depression and/or PTSD. However, I'm not sure I am labeling "depression" correctly. My depression always hits abruptly with no apparent connection to anything. I just suddenly feel that a profound disaster has occurred, as if I just witnessed a loved one killed by a bomb or building explosion, etc. It is a feeling of urgency and profound loss, but it is not connected to anything. It is very hard to be or act happy with that feeling. It persists for a few days to a few months. It is also inhibiting in daily life including work. I have had this all my life, as far back as I can remember. It doesn't seem to have a schedule, or at least not one that I have ever been able to track. It seems to occur anywhere from two to several times per year.

I think I have figured out my PTSD, which started in childhood. The PTSD is triggered by country and western music or anything along that line including blue grass, some folk music, etc. Basically, it is triggered by anything to do with cowboys or that lifestyle. the sight of a cowboy hat is extremely uncomfortable. I have figured out the source, but it is too painful to write about. Upon a trigger, I will frantically bolt at full speed. The best example I have seen of how it makes me feel is portrayed in the true story move titled, "Welcome to Marwen". It is a true story of Mark Hogencamp's PTSD experience. Here is a clip from the movie, though as a standalone clip, it doesn't have the impact without the rest of the movie. I'm not sure if the PTSD is related to autism, but I believe it is, because I am certain the condition of its origin is autism related.

Apart from the depression and PTSD, I do not think I have mood swings. I'm never numb. I have sensitive feelings, that can be uplifting or upsetting, but it's never connected to the depression.

 

[Aspychata]

Guess l would need to break down the definition of mood instability in exactly what context? Do us that have spectrum issues suffer as a offchute or is it directly related? Since so many of us have PTSD and trauma and stress daily, then it reasons that drastic mood changes may also result. Currently l have stopped working which has stabilized a lot of my thinking. I may have a spurt of idiocy thinking but now l do my best to shut it down. When l worked, my moods could be all over because l dealt with toxic employees leaving little time to stress about other things. But then l had to deal with issues where l lived so l just quit working to handle that stress which trumped the work stress.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

No, I don't have labile moods. I'm usually consistently optimistic unless something sad or scary has happened. At those times I sometimes do fall into deep depressions and feel very hopeless. Even then, after a few days, I am once again able to see the bright side of things.

I am usually a pretty quiet person. I almost always have a soft, breathy voice. Unless someone is threatening my child, I don't usually get angry enough to feel the need to raise it (then I turn into Mama Bear).

But if I'm nervous, I might talk fast and loud. Or if I'm laughing and joking with someone I really trust, I talk loud and fast too, like a Californian.

I guess I'm an observer. I like going quiet places and just existing. I like being with one or two trusted people. I like being comfortable. I like making others happy.