Jaw tightness?

[Midijane]

Do you ever have muscle tightness when going into and in your manic phases? I notice my neck and jaw muscles get so tense that I constantly have to remind myself to let go and relax for days at a time. I tend to clamp down on my teeth a lot and will sometimes give myself a headache. I also stop having an interest in food.

Do you think this may signal my mania starting? Im kind of guessing it does, but just wanted some others opinions.

Thanks.

[Bubulous]

With us it is good to have a routine.  I try to do most of the things I do when I am manic even when I am depressed.  Granted I am faster when I am manic but meditation, yoga, and exercise will help keep you stable.  If you don't fight the depression and feed the mania you are doomed to cycle more frequently.  Medicine helps but I still have breakthroughs on my medication.  However, the depression doesn't last very long now and the mania isn't uncontrollable, at least not getting admitted uncontrollable.  Let us know how you are doing.

[Griff_Mangan]

I have noticed some jaw pains and headaches when going into depression but feel pretty much fine going into mania!

[Midijane]

Never thought about medication as a possibility. I'll have to look into that, good idea.

[Midijane]

I love yoga and I'm the same way in my practice. I yoga when I'm manic and don't when I'm down. In fact that's another way I suspect my mania is starting again, when I have interest in... and actually make it to yoga class.

[ILADVOCATE]

   Some medications have the potential to cause temporary movement disorders. This can be treated with a side effect pill within a psychiatrist's clinical discretion. The full information would be on the medication website. Also keep track of when the movements come and go. You could discuss alll this with your psychiatrist.

[Bubulous]

Do you stretch or do yoga.  I do both.  Every time I have been manic I have always started working out again...of course because I have so much energy.  I will test it and not work out or stretch for the next 6 months and see if I get those side effects....just kidding now that would be crazy.  Any way if you don't already do that you may want to try it.  I just remembered that I did clinch my jaws a few times when I was manic and the would be sore for days afterward.  It didn't really hurt when I was manic because I don't really feel pain when I am.

[Midijane]

Lol, I agree about the unpredictability of our moods. I'm all over the map. I just started using the mood tracker a few weeks ago and haven't noticed any pattern at all. But after years of this roller coaster ride, I can say two things:
1 I don't beat myself up anymore, especially with the depression, and
2 my energy level and tight muscles seem to go together, I also don't have much of an appetite at those times.

Cross your fingers that it doesn't take me another 40 years to figure out 2 more things. I'm exhausted already!

[Bubulous]

I never experienced that.  It is very difficult for me to see when the mania is coming until it does.  I have filled up multiple journals and the mood chart on here but I still haven't figured it out.  I can say most of the time it is because of coming out of a deep depression.  In my case the depression comes first then the mania, (90 percent of the time.)

I am still working on it, and I will continue to work on it until I can tell when it is coming.  However all of us are different and you are going to have to do the work to figure out what is going on.  I have seen a lot of psychiatrists who monitored me very closely and they could only tell when I was going manic.  I used to drive myself crazy by journaling every night these things:

I was depressed today, I will likely wake up manic tomorrow...wrong.  I am manic today, I think I will be depressed tomorrow....wrong, and so on.  I got it right sometimes but it was rare and I think it was more coincidence than anything else.  I don't do that anymore.  It was really letting me down and driving me insane.