My Psychiatrist Updated My Mental Health Diagnosis
What the heck is cyclothymia?
Back in the year 2002, a psychiatrist gave me the news that changed my life. I was having severe episodes of depression after my original postpartum depression, but there were other days where I felt remarkably good and active. I’d get all excited and talk too much and impulse shop, but eventually I would crash into misery again.
The doctor told me that I most likely did not have depression but bipolar disorder, type II. He prescribed a mood stabilizer to go with my antidepressant medication and sent me on my way without really explaining what that meant.
I was young and accepted the diagnosis without too many questions. The way I saw it, as long as I had medication to help my anxiety and depression, it didn’t really matter what the doctor wanted to call it. I clearly did not understand the difference between major depression and bipolar disorder, and it got me in more trouble when I was hypomanic than I’d like to admit.
I’ve done a lot of research since, and now I fully understand bipolar disorder and its ramifications. I’ve done what I can to track my moods and try to deal with symptoms as they come. I always try to remember that feeling depressed now does not mean I will feel bad forever.
