Hello Everyone,
I have read many of the posts in this forum, and I have found them interesting and/or enjoyable.
I'm a middle aged adult, and I was diagosed with Bipolar II about 5 years ago. Because my moods (mania and depression) changed so often, they labeled me as Ultra ultra rapid cycler. My mania problems tended to be filled with anger instead of happiness or euphoria. Due to this, they labeled it mixed moods: depression and mania combined. I have tried new meds almost every six months, and none have really worked. During all this time, I tried to pay attention to what caused these mood swings, and I discovered something: I noticed that I did fine when I was left completely alone in silence, but suffered "depression?" or "mixed moods?" a lot when in public or while watching loud and graphic movies. I went to Google and typed in some of the words that described how I felt. "Sensory Overload" articles filled the screen. From those articles, I'm quite certain that part of my problem is with "Sensory Overload". When left alone, I don't have problems with "depression?" or "mixed moods?". However, I'm not sure if I'm really an Aspy/Aspie or not. I plan on seeing a doctor in a month or two. Tailoring my schedule to spend my time alone or with one person at a time has improved my life a lot.
By the way, I know I've had this problem "Sensory Overload" all my life. I've always been an extreme introvert, rarely having more than one or two friends at a time, and loud and public places have always bothered me, and I have always made a point of avoiding them. I just didn't notice how bad it was until I had three kids, who I love greatly.
If anyone has any other helpful suggestions or concepts -like Sensory Overload, that I can test to see if it helps, I would greatly appreciate it if you would share it with me.
30 Mar 2006, 3:37 pm
