Mood changes..Aspergers or something else like Bipolar?

Page 1 of 1 [ 9 posts ] 

LimboMan
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

Joined: 24 Feb 2016
Gender: Male
Posts: 138
Location: England

30 Nov 2016, 5:05 pm

Right now I am just really worried about these constant mood changes I'm having. I've always experienced difficulty with my mood, but now its just got to point where its crushing me and my enjoyment of living away, and being very disruptive. Some days I am top of world and nothing can annoy me, but for what feels like several weeks I have felt depressed and down and irritated by everything. But this then merges into me feeling very happy about my life and situation and shouldn't waste life, and I feel like I should do rash things. I've also had these delusions where I convince myself to point where I think people are annoyed with me but find out their not and I've been really paranoid.

I do not know whether this is just sensory overload from my Aspergers, or if there's other underlying things I don't know about. Others I've spoke to say people with ASD don't shift from one mood to next so easily but its just their opinion. Should I see a doctor about this? It is getting a real problem and making me a bit miserable I don't know if its normal.


_________________
Diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome (mildly)


redrobin62
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Apr 2012
Age: 62
Gender: Male
Posts: 13,009
Location: Seattle, WA

30 Nov 2016, 5:50 pm

Yes. Seeing a psychiatrist is a good idea, especially if it's disrupting your happiness and way of life. To quote the Emperor of Wrong Planet, "No one here is qualified to diagnose you", or something to that effect.

<--- Suffers from bipolar and BPD (albeit undiagnosed) himself.



Edenthiel
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 12 Sep 2014
Age: 56
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,820
Location: S.F Bay Area

30 Nov 2016, 6:17 pm

Yes, it would be a very good idea to check in with your doctor & hopefully a specialist like a psychiatrist (ie someone who can order blood tests and prescribe medications *if* they are indicated). If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, did you notice the onset coinciding with the shortening of daylight? If you are in the USA, did it coincide with the chaos surrounding the elections? It would probably help the doctor(s) if you can figure out when it started and whether anything else was going on at the time.

I didn't learn to weed apart ASD/AS/Sensory issues from likely bipolar until I was in my 40's. Even now I'm not always sure, but I figure if there's no outside event I can correlate with, it's probably "just" the cycling of my mood due to a family history of such. So, I hunker down when its the bad time & try to restrain myself when the opposite hits. If it ever reaches the point where I can't, I'll get drugs to help.


_________________
“For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.”
―Carl Sagan


BeaArthur
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 11 Aug 2015
Posts: 5,798

30 Nov 2016, 6:23 pm

It certainly sounds suggestive of bipolar. As above commenter said, I can't diagnose you, but I do recommend you see a psychiatrist. Don't just go to your general practice doctor, other than for a referral.


_________________
A finger in every pie.


MagicMeerkat
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Jun 2011
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,964
Location: Mel's Hole

30 Nov 2016, 6:53 pm

I've had mood swings ever since I was a child. My mom thinks I'm bipolar or Borderline Personality Disorder, or that it's just "that time of the month". But I had them for reasons, usually repressed emotions or frustration of not getting what I needed or someone not listening to me.


_________________
Spell meerkat with a C, and I will bite you.


League_Girl
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 Feb 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 27,249
Location: Pacific Northwest

30 Nov 2016, 7:16 pm

My mood does change but I think it's more due to anxiety. I know I am not Bipolar or BPD. Plus I had PMS. Another label that was slapped on me by my mother. Even my husband said the same.


_________________
Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed and ASD lv 1.

Daughter: NT, no diagnoses. Possibly OCD. Is very private about herself.


LimboMan
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

Joined: 24 Feb 2016
Gender: Male
Posts: 138
Location: England

01 Dec 2016, 12:45 pm

I've certainly noticed a decline in mood when light in the day is less. I am from the UK and now it is positively freezing I always struggle with the winter. Before this I was feeling much happier in Summer and warmer temperatures. I guess its normal for people to feel annoyed at change of weather but think my experience with mood is extreme. Now I don't feel like I can enjoy anything and depressed. But anyway, I will follow this up with my doctor.


_________________
Diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome (mildly)


Private Idaho
Toucan
Toucan

User avatar

Joined: 31 Jul 2016
Age: 61
Gender: Male
Posts: 271
Location: USA

01 Dec 2016, 1:05 pm

Some variations in mood are normal but it does sound like you may have bipolar or what they call Bipolar II, where the mood swings are not so severe as to cause mania or deep depression, but still cause problems in your life.

See a doctor because there are many good mood-stabilizing medications available. Bipolar disorder is very controllable if you get the right meds and stay on them. Good luck.



DancingCorpse
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 12 Dec 2015
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,532

02 Dec 2016, 1:02 am

Autism and mental health is a very complicated rapport to navigate, you'll need to find a professional who understands the condition and can separate autism from other possibilities but autism is certainly enough to trigger mood swings and difficulty in regulating emotion and the problematic nature of dealing with this condition daily, monthly, yearly takes its toll and can lead to other things developing. Whether it is swirling around with another condition you suspect added to the mix well that's a good road to try to explore with help, it'd be useful to get the advice and counsel of someone who can aid you in shining a light in there to a deeper depth.