I was today years old when I learned a new term called ‘Cyclothymic/Cyclothemia Disorder’. It is a relatively very new word/term to describe someone  that is now considered Stage II Bi-Polar Disorder. Which in layman’s terms means…

Cyclothymia (sy-kloe-THIE-me-uh), also called cyclothymic disorder, is a rare mood disorder. Cyclothymia causes emotional ups and downs, but they’re not as extreme as those in bipolar I or II disorder.

With cyclothymia, you experience periods when your mood noticeably shifts up and down from your baseline. You may feel on top of the world for a time, followed by a low period when you feel somewhat down. Between these cyclothymic highs and lows, you may feel stable and fine.

Although the highs and lows of cyclothymia are less extreme than those of bipolar disorder, it’s critical to seek help managing these symptoms because they can interfere with your ability to function and increase your risk of bipolar I or II disorder.

Treatment options for cyclothymia include talk therapy (psychotherapy), medications and close, ongoing follow-up with your doctor.

Ok, I gotta ask. Is it me? Or are we starting to label our feelings, just because we have feelings. I completely understand, and agree with 90% of all of this detailed psychoanalysis. However, I am starting to feel a little out of sorts about why EVERYTHING has to have a label. If I am happy, I think the word “happy” should be good enough. Unless it becomes maniacal or you are snapping. If I cry, it doesn’t mean I am in despair.

At what point do we stop nitpicking our emotions, and giving them names, and instead, just go through the emotion. It just seems like we are going into some seriously gray area on diagnosis.

Don’t get me wrong. There is definitely a need for a scale 1-10, maybe 1-100. But, we are really close to like 99.

Years ago, after my auto accident, we are talking I was in a horrible accident in 1987 on Wilshire. Couldn’t walk or crawl for months. Yeah, I became depressed and melancholy. I was rear ended at 49 miles an hour. So, I was mad too. However, I didn’t need a label to get through those emotions. I was living and feeling and fighting in my situation.

Then in 2005 our suspension in our Rover went out after getting it back from the shop. I was life flighted. Yeah, I mentally struggled with surgeries and pain. But, that is human. I was living through my emotions. You have highs and lows, and in betweens.

Trust me when I say, something definitely changed in medicine at that time. They put me on all sorts of stuff, because they THOUGHT, I SHOULD feel this way or that. Since I didn’t, they put me on other shit. It was insane. All the meds did was piss me off, and make me gain weight. It was horrific. Then, I got depressed because I felt like the docs weren’t listening. It was a feeling of helplessness. I am pretty certain if they though a pill would fix that, they would shove that down your throat too.

Look, some people it is a constant. It is a constant feeling of fight or flight, of being trapped, and God knows so much more. Those people need help. I am definitely not certain all of these micromanagement labels are going to help. You simply can’t  generalize or micro a group of people experiencing their lifelong feelings. Yes, you do need some labels. But, not so finite, you actually miss the big picture.

I went thru all of the label to be told, oops, we suppose you weren’t clinically depressed, or oops our bad, you aren’t Bi-Polar either. All of this after extensive studying, testing with blood, and psychiatric. Come to find out, I was just living through my situations and responding. Go figure. Meanwhile, they put me thru endless stress and anxiety.

So, at what point do you say, hey, I am just living in life and responding, I am fine and don’t I need to be micromanaged labeled?

I feel like it is really hurting people who are really going through something that is genetic, or imposed. Versus, labeling people who are just living life in a moment.

I am perfectly fine. But, I believe when you unjustly label someone, you stigmatize those who are actually in it versus those who are feeling it for a moment in life.

I mean we all feel sadness at one point. We all feel extreme happiness at points in our lives.

But, nowadays all of these acute labels seem to being going off center.

What are your thoughts?

To find out EXACTLY what Cyclothymia is per The Mayo Clinic, please click the link below.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cyclothymia/symptoms-causes/syc-20371275

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To think this conversation all started from a Facebook Ad. Learn something new each day.

Sending so much {{{HUGS + LOVE}}}

Namaste

Leila