Long term Bi-Polar

[Dee1956]

Hello I am not quite sure about this however a family member of mine appears to go through mania starting in the Spring, goes to the Fall, then mania appears to set in and remains till the Spring

Someone said he may have bi-polar disorder however others have said it does not last that long.
I want to help him but can't if I don't have any information.

When the depression hits in the Spring it is awful, he starts to talk slowly, does not get up till 11AM seems to enjoy nothing.  then ins Fall he is a ball of fire, seems to need little sleep, talks non stop, etc.

Can anyone advise me?

I have often wondered if it could be the opposite of SAD though I have been told that is impossible.

Thank you

[Dee1956]

Thank you so much for your response.

[Anonymouse88]

Bipolar can be seasonal, although I think it is far more common for depression to set in for fall and winter than for mania to set in then, but there's no reason it couldn't.  Some are very regular in their cycles and oscillate reliably, while others are unpredictable and may go down twice, then up, then down, and all over the place with no way to predict what will come next.  And as people above have said, the length can vary by quite a bit.  

It's tough if he thinks nothing is wrong.  People in denial tend to be very non-compliant with meds and/or therapy.  Depending on your relationship, you could ask them to start tracking their moods, and maybe their thoughts just so that there's a visual record of how things are, even if you never see what they write.  It can be very difficult to remember how depression feels when you're not depressed, and the same goes for hypomania.  It can be like it happened to someone else.  You could also ask them to go in for a consult with a psychologist with you to humor you, and you can present what you see, again, depending on whether that would make sense within your relationship.  

In some ways, it's easier to get people to get help when they're depressed, because they often feel fine when they're manic.  On the other hand, it can be hard to get depressed people to do anything.  You have to make sure the clinician is careful to check if someone's bipolar, because bipolar people, as a rule, should not be put on antidepressants without first being on a mood stabilizer (it can make them worse).  

The psycheducation (google it) website has a lot of info about bipolar forms that are not the classic bipolar I.  You should check it out, and encourage your family member to check it out as well, to see if you can get them to come to their own conclusions.

Best of luck.

[Dee1956]

Thank you so much for your response.  It has taken years to figure out that there is a cycle.  Very active from Fall to Spring, then very depressed, hardly moves.  It is breaking my heart.
I want to help it is difficult since he can not see it.

His personality is like night and day.
I have begun to search for Seasonal Affective Disorder in reverse of the Winter SAD
Again, thank you so much!

[thatquietgirl]

Bipolar disorder episodes can last days, weeks, months, or even years.  Your friend was incorrect.  All you can do is sit back and be there for him when he needs you, but until he is willing to admit he has a problem himself, he's not going to be willing to seek help.