Bipolar - more than two phases?

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Is it possible for a person with the bipolar syndrome to have more than 2 phases, which are mostly mixed depressive/manic states, for instance - a depression with a race of thoughts, depression with anger, "normal" hypomania and "quiet" mania?

"mixed episodes" are a thing - as far as I know this term was taken out of the DSM and replaced with "mixed features specifier" in the DSM V.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28077190

Yes, I know. I just was curious if it's common to have more than 2 different phases in the same person.

Yes. There are manic phases, depressive phases, and mixed phases.

Yes all of this is very common. Jog down some of the things you're feeling at the moment and try to compare them to how you felt on a different day. Phases can happen during the day and you can experience something differently at night. I usually drink tea at night: with no caffeine before I go bed. Sleepy time tea. It puts my mind at ease.

I think mixed episodes would come under the category of "depressed mood with racing thoughts". "Quiet mania" would just fall under hypomania. It's not uncommon for people to experience subclinical symptoms between episodes. At least that's what I've been told. I don't have a diagnosis of bipolar disorder so most of this is foreign to me.

I suppose you could say that remission counts as a phase as some people experience stable moods between episodes.

Bipolar doesn't have a schedule. It's not always predictable how the symptoms will manifest from person to person so it's no surprise that moods can be milder at times or mixed or whatever.

I wish it was that easy for me. Even tranqs don't always help to put my mind at ease.

Yup. "mixed states"or "mixed episodes" or something similiar. I've got that too. I can be deeply depressed and awfully anxious at the same time. Dreadful feeling.

Mood stabilizers are supposed to help with this too. I've been just recently re-diagnosed (Depression->Bipolar) and started new meds and I have not had these in at least two weeks now.

Are you taking mood stabilizers? I hope you find relief for this.

Not yet. Will need to talk to a doctor about it.
But as far as I understand, you can't really quit once you started it? This thought is kinda worrying.

A mixed episode could also be a high mood but no motivation (or, like someone said, a depressed mood with racing thoughts and a lot of energy).

The criteria for bipolar says nothing, I think, about mixed episodes, but you need at least one manic episode and 2 depressive episodes for bipolar 1 and for bipolar 2 you need one hypomanic episode and 2 depressive.

From what I've read, one mixed episode is already enough to diagnose bipolar type 1. It seems that it's the worst kind of bipolar regarding the prognosis and risks, especially when it's combined with rapid cycling. Sigh.