4 ms·

I'm not sure how to word this, so please don't take it the wrong way, but have you been screened for mental health problems? Periods of extended bouts of energy

by cj 7y ago

I'm not sure how to word this, so please don't take it the wrong way, but have you been screened for mental health problems? Periods of extended bouts of energy + productivity followed by sleep sounds like it something that could be associated with certain forms of bipolar disorder. Just curious what your personal opinion is of your mental health (and why you might not fit those typical diagnoses), since I'm sure you've come across similar information when googling your own symptoms.

htfu 7y ago
Sounds more like an adaption to a longer than 24h circadian rhythm than bipolar disorder, which shouldn't cycle that fast or regularly.
- K0SM0S 7y ago
  You are right on the money. I went to see a specialized "sleep" doctor around 2006 (can't remember the name of the specialty) in Paris, St Anne. He diagnosed what translates as a "phase shift" of my circadian rythm by ~4 hours (thus my daily cycle runs 28h give or take, sleep remains at 8-9 hours though). I'm really not a biologist, let alone neurologist, but from what information I could gather, I observe these 'abnormalities' of mine (the good as much as the bad) all seem to stem from the hypothalamus region/function. E.g. I also have a weird digestive cycle, basically ketogenic (1 big meal per day, typically for dinner) is my natural regime. I don't eat for ~10 hours after I wake up usually, then eat a 1.5~2x meal in quantity. Unless I go to sleep, I'll then keep eating regularly however. But how do you even investigate, let alone 'fix' a malfunctioning hypothalamus?.. I never heard or read anything about such research let alone treatment.
K0SM0S 7y ago
No offense taken whatsover. : ) On the contrary, thank you for the suggestion. It's interesting you mention this because by my mid-20's I hypothesized this very condition — a mild form, as I've never experienced psychosis (that's when perception becomes objectively flawed, seeing/hearing things, or failing to censor your own actions etc., hallmarks of the manic phase). However I do display classic signs of hypomany (the non-psychotic form of the opposite of depression), as well as acute and regular depressions (about every other year for 2-6 months) from the age of 12 to 34 (at which aged I "cured", somewhat definitively it seems, my last and by far biggest depression, for once motivated by real mind-numbingly bad events, unlike the mood swings most of my life which were mostly 'internal' for god knows what reason). (Note that there are "normal" depressions, I merely imply curing the "abnormal" ones here for me. I don't expect nor wish to feel good when bad things happens, even though I know I can do that now. It's not magic either, just a lot of training and not much of a choice ultimately, survival instinct if you will). So the spoiler is nope, a resounding "no Sir, whatever problem you have, bipolarity is not it." — from one top 10 specialist on the topic in Europe, maybe the world. He was so sure, and such a great psychiatrist, there was no doubt. No professional ever suggested bipolarity for me, but cyclic (seasonal) depression maybe. Anyhow. The only solution I know is to take the matter in your own hands, feel "responsible" in the noblest sense, and work, hard, relentlessly, to make a better self. You can engineer happiness it seems, or at least deconstruct the lack of it, the inability to feel happy / good. At least, in my anecdotal case. One formidable life coach in my 20's did suggest I may be borderline, and I worked hard on this because it was... probably mostly true (I did have a tendency to emphasize the good or the bad). Apparently the borderline disorder often cures itself by one's 40's, and indeed in my case, I no longer display any symptom of that (since, well, my early 30's).

by cj 7y ago

htfu 7y ago

Sounds more like an adaption to a longer than 24h circadian rhythm than bipolar disorder, which shouldn't cycle that fast or regularly.

K0SM0S 7y ago
You are right on the money. I went to see a specialized "sleep" doctor around 2006 (can't remember the name of the specialty) in Paris, St Anne. He diagnosed what translates as a "phase shift" of my circadian rythm by ~4 hours (thus my daily cycle runs 28h give or take, sleep remains at 8-9 hours though). I'm really not a biologist, let alone neurologist, but from what information I could gather, I observe these 'abnormalities' of mine (the good as much as the bad) all seem to stem from the hypothalamus region/function. E.g. I also have a weird digestive cycle, basically ketogenic (1 big meal per day, typically for dinner) is my natural regime. I don't eat for ~10 hours after I wake up usually, then eat a 1.5~2x meal in quantity. Unless I go to sleep, I'll then keep eating regularly however. But how do you even investigate, let alone 'fix' a malfunctioning hypothalamus?.. I never heard or read anything about such research let alone treatment.

K0SM0S 7y ago

No offense taken whatsover. : ) On the contrary, thank you for the suggestion. It's interesting you mention this because by my mid-20's I hypothesized this very condition — a mild form, as I've never experienced psychosis (that's when perception becomes objectively flawed, seeing/hearing things, or failing to censor your own actions etc., hallmarks of the manic phase). However I do display classic signs of hypomany (the non-psychotic form of the opposite of depression), as well as acute and regular depressions (about every other year for 2-6 months) from the age of 12 to 34 (at which aged I "cured", somewhat definitively it seems, my last and by far biggest depression, for once motivated by real mind-numbingly bad events, unlike the mood swings most of my life which were mostly 'internal' for god knows what reason). (Note that there are "normal" depressions, I merely imply curing the "abnormal" ones here for me. I don't expect nor wish to feel good when bad things happens, even though I know I can do that now. It's not magic either, just a lot of training and not much of a choice ultimately, survival instinct if you will). So the spoiler is nope, a resounding "no Sir, whatever problem you have, bipolarity is not it." — from one top 10 specialist on the topic in Europe, maybe the world. He was so sure, and such a great psychiatrist, there was no doubt. No professional ever suggested bipolarity for me, but cyclic (seasonal) depression maybe. Anyhow. The only solution I know is to take the matter in your own hands, feel "responsible" in the noblest sense, and work, hard, relentlessly, to make a better self. You can engineer happiness it seems, or at least deconstruct the lack of it, the inability to feel happy / good. At least, in my anecdotal case. One formidable life coach in my 20's did suggest I may be borderline, and I worked hard on this because it was... probably mostly true (I did have a tendency to emphasize the good or the bad). Apparently the borderline disorder often cures itself by one's 40's, and indeed in my case, I no longer display any symptom of that (since, well, my early 30's).