What is Cyclothymia? – How is it different from bipolar disorder?

What is cyclothymia and how is it different from Bipolar disorder? In this video I compare the symptoms of bipolar disorder versus cyclothymic disorder, discuss when it starts and whether or not it turns into bipolar disorder.

In short, the best way to think about cyclothymia is to think of similar to bipolar 2 disorder but not quite as severe and not as many symptoms. With bipolar 2 disorder you have episodes of hypomania and episodes of depression. With cyclothymic you have symptoms of hypomania but not enough to be considered a hypomanic episode. You also have symptoms of depression but not enough to be considered a full depressive episode.

Videos referenced in this video
Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder

Hypersexuality and Bipolar Disorder

Reference
Perugi G, Hantouche E, Vannucchi G. Diagnosis and Treatment of Cyclothymia: The "Primacy" of Temperament. Curr Neuropharmacol. 2017;15(3):372-379.

Disclaimer: All of the information on this channel is for educational purposes and not intended to be specific/personal medical advice from me to you. Watching the videos or getting answers to comments/question, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. If you have your own doctor, perhaps these videos can help prepare you for your discussion with your doctor.

[neonloneliness]

i have cyclothymia and it annoys me that it's so often dismissed as something not as serious. i know people who have had suicide attempts, i've ended up in a psych ward and almost on suicide watch from a depressive episode. i'm a mess despite being on multiple medications; without meds i'm not even functional and just tear everything apart. the problem with cyclothymia is that since there are no distinct episodes you're just experiencing various symptoms 24/7. i rarely have periods of stability and when i do they don't last longer than a few weeks.

[kellymarie]

Often times, I suddenly get this urge to get my life together, i feel on top of the world, the best of the best, I feel extremely happy, supper energetic, and suddenly it all drops, literally. It's like junping from a cliff. And I just start to cry, and feel horrible, all numb, like there's no point to life, and end up thinking about suicide.

But although it only happens from time to time, it all happens the same day, and I don't know if it's depression, my anxiety, or anything else

[jaredmello]

You have a really clear and concise way of explaining things I find to be extremely helpful. Thank you

[kristagaulin]

Thank you! I was told as a teen I was bipolar rapid cycling. But I was always confused because I look back at it didn’t start when I was a teen. It’s been this crazy cycle since I could remember. I never felt like I was as extreme with mania or depression like bipolar was described. I said yes to almost everything in both lists BUT they are not extreme. My cycles are every two weeks. I’ll feel the depression start to come in and it lasts about a week to 2 weeks. Then I fell confidence again and will clean the house for 10 hours or just generally feel “normal” again for a week or 2, then the depression and anxiety starts again.
It’s frustrating to always been in this cycle but I manage it. The depression is the worst when all you want it to feel “normal “

[zohaali]

Just wanna pause a moment to appreciate how truly beautiful you are and very well spoken...:)

[sorenable]

I think this video could use an update. Especially with growing medical professionals ideas about bipolar being a spectrum! This video was so demoralizing, and pretty generalizing and dismissive, especially the “they’re just a moody person” line. Rarely if ever experiencing a stable mood for any length of time since childhood has been alienating, distressing, and negatively impacted every area of my life. Not qualifying for the arbitrary requirements for hypomania or depression according to subjective observation of my reported symptoms had prevented me from accessing care until just this year, at 32 years old. Now that I know, I’ve often wondered what it’s like to experience baseline (like many bipolar 1 & 2 folks can have.) I have no idea what that’s like. I have watched dozens of your videos and greatly appreciate them, but after a recent Cyclothymia diagnosis, watching this one just made me feel broken. 😢

[KaylaLoveHeart]

I was diagnosed with this and ADHD last year. I had no clue I was on this kind of schedule until my psychiatrist told me. I would switch moods every couple of weeks, or even every week sometimes. I went on mood stabilizers and then got on my ADHD medication and it's really changed my entire life for the better.

[jayday]

I was diagnosed with this and before knowing, I had isolated myself from everyone. Thank you, this video encourages me to keep going to therapy and continuing learning how to live my best life.

[serpentfox]

Super interesting! I have this since I am 6 and saw therapists throughout my childhood and adolescence but it was never diagnosed 😄 for me its super obvious, I keep track of my mood since I recognized the pattern in my late childhood and there are usually 4 cyclic swings a year. I think I have developed good coping mechanisms, like making exact plans for what to use the energy when I recognize a coming hypo-hypomania episode and planting an "security switch thoughts" for decisionmaking. For dysthymic episodes I search for places and people I can go to and use the time mostly for honest self reflection, meditation and learning about psychology 😄 the motto is: the more your know the less you fear!

[squibshy]

This is exactly what I have been feeling for YEARS of my life, I even went to therapy and they gave me antidepressants which worsened my state but they never considered this, I was sexually assaulted as a child and other self harming situations and outer situations have occurred for me in my life, this I feel is ruining my life and my relationships with others. I’ve also experienced hypersexual tendencies in the past 2 years and while I am a teenager my behavior seems semi abnormal. I want to speak to someone and I think I will. Thank you so much for this I can finally find out what is going on with me.

[carriemclaughlin]

I'm doing a case presentation on cyclothymia and due to the heavy cross over with bipolar disorder, I was seeking extra assistance. This was extremely helpful.

[nigelgoodwin]

I have cyclothymia. Venlafaxine, pregablin and aripiprazole. My heart goes out to fellow sufferers.

[kiimuh]

So I realized that I cycle through these “episodes” where I’m not exactly hypomanic because I don’t fit the criteria, so its a mild form of hypomania, and depression but like not fully depressed because I dont fit the criteria and I’ll cycle through these emotions almost everyday.

The shortest I’ve felt the mild hypomania was 1-2 hours and the longest was 1-2 days and the shortest I’ve felt depressed was a day and the longest was about 5 days. But, the thing is I cycle within one day like I’ll wake up depressed thinking about suic*de and then 2 hours later I’ll be super energetic and elated and I feel like I’m on top of the world and I can accomplish anything for like 1-2 hours and then I’ll go right back to feeling depressed and wanting to die.

Sometimes I’ll be depressed for 3 days and then feel that mild hypomania for an hour or two and then I’ll go back to either being depressed or being baseline for about a week and then it repeats but it’s never the same every time, it varies. Sometimes I’ll cycle a few times in a day, sometimes I’ll cycle a few times within a week. Is this considered cyclothymia???

[kcarter]

I’m exploring this diagnosis with my therapist. I’m bipolar 2, but she is leaning away from that now to this. A really great informative video on the subject!

[bobplease]

Someone had sent me this video in reference to my mental health behavior. I have always see myself as behaving the way you describe, not full on bipolarism but this cycling, I have always felt it has been a cyclical behavioral thing for me. Thank you for your work in this field Dr. I see you truly care about people and that helps in that the disappointment of people to me has always agitated me tremendously. It has made me narcissistic, and I do not want to be that way. I will be ongoing in my therapy. Thank you oh so much.

[Mellllllody]

These are extremely enlightening, and give me courage to continue my pursuit of better understanding myself, without feeling "crazy". Thank you!

[laurettadelmar]

I feel like I have cyclothymia because (even though it comes very close) it doesn’t necessarily ruin my life constantly which makes me think it’s that rather than bipolar. I do have enough symptoms to be bipolar but I also ultra-rapid cycle - sometimes feeling suicidal in the morning and then feeling high as a kite and like a bulletproof god in the evening. I don’t know what I have but since I can suppress and hide my episodes, I feel like it’s not as severe as bipolar (which I feel like you wouldn’t be able to hide)

[le_th_]

Wow, I really learned some important things watching this video.

I don't know much about bipolar disorder 1, 2 or cyclothymia. I really appreciate learning new information. Thank you for sharing your time and knowledge so generously!

[kthmalloy]

Thank you for helping me to understand what is wrong with me. I was recently diagnosed. Knowing this can hopefully help me deal with it.

[shanewyatt]

I have such a similar experience. My most common mood is one of melancholy, I just went through months of feeling low energy, constant negative thoughts, suicidal ideation, and problems with motivation and concentration. Then with maybe a few days or a week now and then usually around fall and spring where I do get hypomanic symptoms. I'm am diagnosed with type 2 bipolar but hypomanic symptoms have only been a issue when on antidepressants. With how fast my mood can change on its own or with a external . Cyclothymia does seem to fit my experience alot more. I wish I had Dr. Marks as a psychiatrist, I've done so much research and have been so disappointed with Dr's and therapist I've where I could tell I had more knowledge of bipolar 2 or cyclothymia then they do. I just had a dr want to double my zoloft even after my history and all the literature on bipolar spectrum disorders and negative effects of high does of antidepressants. The main reason I'm in school for psychology is to be able to actually be a good source of knowledge that seems to be severely lacking with mental health professionals I've personally delt with.