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Having mood swings is something normal, since although we can keep our mood stable, social, labor and even hormonal factors, in the case of women, they can cause mood swings that make us go from joy to crying soon. However, after a short period of time, we will regain the emotional balance that we had before the event.
However, there are people who suffer changes in mood constantly and abruptly, going from euphoria to depression in a minimum period of time, although without suffering a major depression or bipolar disorder. These people suffer from cyclothymia, a chronic mood disorder with variations of mild hypomanic and depressive episodes. Neither hypomanic nor depressive symptoms are severe enough for the person to be considered to be suffering from a manic or major depressive episode. In this Psychology-Online article, we explain in detail what cyclothymia is, what causes sudden changes in mood, as well as its symptoms and treatment.
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Original text
- Negative thoughts about yourself and the people around you.
- Feelings of sadness and hopelessness.
- You want to cry continuously for no reason.
- Irritability.
- Feelings of guilt
- Trouble concentrating
- Lack of motivation.
- Loneliness.
- Reduce the risk of bipolar I or II disorder later on.
- Reduce symptoms in order to enjoy a better quality of life.
- Avoid recurring symptoms.
- Treat possible problems of alcoholism or drug use, as these worsen the symptoms of cyclothymia.
- Medications: The use of drugs used in the treatment of bipolar disorder is usually prescribed to relieve symptoms and prevent them from recurring frequently. Antipsychotics and anticonvulsants, such as lithium and quetiapine, may be recommended. In this case, antidepressants have not been shown to be effective in treating cyclothymia successfully.
- Psychotherapy: various psychological therapies can be carried out. Those that offer the best results are cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal and social rhythm therapy, and rational emotional therapy.
Treatment of cyclothymia
The main objectives of the treatment of cyclothymia are the following:
For this, specialists recommend the combination of drug treatment with psychotherapy:
In addition to medical treatment, as in any other type of ailment, the support and understanding of the family and the environment is necessary for the affected person to overcome it.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Cyclothymia, sudden mood swings - why are they? , we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical Psychology.