Cyclothymic disorder, also called Cyclothymia. It is a mood disorder or mental illness like Bipolar Disorder. With this disorder, people experience highs and lows that can become increasingly disturbing. It may develop into a more serious condition known as Bipolar Disorder if not treated on time.
It is significant to understand hypomania for early intervention and proper treatment. In this guide, you will learn in detail about cyclothymic disorder in psychology, its causes, symptoms, and treatments.
What is Cyclothymic Disorder?
Cyclothymic disorder is a chronic mood disorder. A person with cyclothymia experiences recurring episodes of hypomania and mild depression. Its symptoms are less severe but still enough to affect your daily life. The intensity of symptoms is less than that of bipolar disorder.
People struggling with cyclothymia often experience:
- Hypomanic Episodes: Intense energy, activity, irritability, or creativity, a period that often shows up with impulsive behavior.
- Mild Depressive Episodes: Lower energy, discouraged motivation, or mild sadness, a period that does not happen in major depression.
These mood swings are unpredictable, which creates challenges in relationships, self-care, and work. The exact cause of this disorder is not known, but environmental aspects and genetics can often play a role. Early intervention is significant to control the symptoms for a balanced life.
Additionally, cyclical depression occurs when episodes of depression recur, such as those associated with cyclothymia or seasonally affected symptoms, or persistent depressive disorder. There are evidence-based and therapeutic approaches available to treat these recurring episodes and help manage their underlying patterns.
What Causes Cyclothymia?
Specifically, the exact cause of cyclothymia is unknown. Although it may be a occur due to combination of a few reasons, such as:
- This disorder tends to run in families due to genetics.
- Changes in the brain’s neurobiology or differences in how the brain works.
- Change in circumstances, such as prolonged stress and any traumatic experience.
Symptoms of Cyclothymia
Cyclothymic disorder symptoms rotate between emotional highs and lows. The highs of cyclothymia symptoms include heightened mood. The lows have mild or moderate depressive symptoms.
Symptoms of this disorder are quite similar to those of bipolar I or II disorder. But these are less severe and intense. With this disorder, you can typically function in your daily life, though you are not always well. The unpredictable nature of your mood shifts in this disorder may significantly disturb your life because you never know how you’re going to feel.
Hypomanic Symptoms
Hypomanic symptoms and signs include:
- Heightened feelings of well-being and happiness (euphoria).
- Highly optimistic behavior.
- Blown up self-esteem.
- Talking more than usual.
- Poor judgments cause foolish choices and risky behavior.
- Uncontrolled racing thoughts.
- Upset or irritated behavior.
- Excessive physical activity compared to usual.
- Enhanced drive to achieve goals and perform well.
- Easily distracted or unable to concentrate.
- Sleep less or decreased need for sleep.
Depressive Symptoms
Depressive symptoms and signs may include:
- Feeling empty, sad, and hopeless.
- Expressing sadness by weeping.
- Irritable behavior, especially in teenagers and children.
- Loss of interest in enjoyable activities.
- Weight gain or loss.
- Feeling guilty or unworthy.
- Problem with sleeping or a disturbed schedule.
- Restlessness
- Feeling low and exhausted.
- Facing problems in concentrating.
- Suicidal thoughts.
What Triggers Cyclothymic Disorder?
Cyclothymia triggers can be several external and internal factors, such as:
Work pressures, domestic responsibilities, academic pressures, or interpersonal issues create stress, which disrupts the balance in mood regulation among people with this disorder. An acute stressor like breakups, losing jobs, or experiencing any other form of personal loss, is likely to precipitate mood changes.
- Another factor that triggers this disorder is sleep disturbances. Inadequate sleep or disrupted sleep patterns increase vulnerability towards hypomanic and depressive episodes.
- Furthermore, seasonal factors, as well as hormonal changes, cause mood swings as well. Some people report having mood swings at a particular point in time each year. Just like in the case of seasonal affective disorder. Besides that, some hormonal changes can affect a person during menstruation, the postpartum period, and menopause.
- Disruption of routines concerning sleep, diet, and physical activity causes emotional instability. This phenomenon is referred to as social rhythm disruption. It is grounded in the importance of circadian rhythm for our emotions.
Does Trauma Cause Cyclothymic Disorder?
Psychological trauma is associated with overwhelming feelings of discomfort. It can be emotional and physical, due to a severe experience that you don’t know how to deal with. All trauma produces high levels of stress. Research supports this connection, with some studies examining whether experiences from childhood trauma can cause this disorder. When the stress response system was still being developed, traumatic events in life acted as a trigger for some mental health disorders.
A review published in 2020 indicates that adults with bipolar disorder were just over 2.5 times more likely than adults without bipolar disorder to have reported experiencing a traumatic event in childhood.
While the association between trauma and cyclothymic disorder is correlated. It does not imply that being traumatized will always develop into this mental disorder. For example, if an individual is at risk of developing cyclothymic disorder, then exposure to trauma can catalyze evolution. Not everyone who has experienced trauma will develop this disorder.
Risk Factors for Cyclothymic Disorder
Numerous biological and environmental factors can influence the development of cyclothymia. Genetics has a large relationship to the disorder. People seem to be at a greater risk of developing this disorder if one or more of their family members has been diagnosed with a mood disorder. Some individuals without any prior family history also may have brain chemistry that is unique to that person, which could contribute to them developing cyclothymia later in their life.
Stressful circumstances experienced daily can also negatively influence a patient’s mental health. The same goes for this disorder; when a person experiences one or more instances of trauma, they may have a greater chance of developing.
These circumstances put individuals at risk for developing co-occurring mental conditions. These can be depression, anxiety, or addiction. Moreover, these co-existing conditions can make symptoms worse and be more difficult to identify and treat.
The Difference Between Bipolar and Cyclothymic Disorder
Cyclothymic disorder is often described as a mild form of bipolar disorder. There are some main differences between cyclothymic and bipolar disorder:
- The mood shifts are less intense than in bipolar I or II disorder.
- Fewer depressive episodes that do not include suicidal ideation, unlike bipolar disorder.
- Usually, hypomanic episodes do not result in severe consequences like hospitalization.
This disorder seems less harmful than bipolar disorder. But it can result in relationship difficulty, reduced stability, and ongoing stress due to its chronic nature. Individuals with this disorder need to establish a sense of emotional equilibrium with the help of the right treatment.
How Does Cyclothymia Disorder Turn into Bipolar Disorder?
Cyclothymic disorder can develop into bipolar disorder when the intensity of mood shifts increases. These severe hypomanic and depressive symptoms meet the diagnostic criteria for Bipolar disorder. Moreover, this progression often occurs over time, increasing severity driven by high stress or lack of proper treatment.
This is how Cyclothymic Disorder turns into Bipolar:
- Heightened symptoms of mild hypomanic into severe hypomanic.
- Depression reaches a severity and turns into a major depressive episode.
- The stable mood period between episodes has reduced or disappeared.
- Significant life stressors and trauma can lead to the progression of this disorder into bipolar disorder.
- Untreated cyclothymia can worsen over time and lead to bipolar disorder.
Cyclothymic Disorder VS Borderline Personality Disorder
Emotional ups and downs are the similarity between cyclothymic disorder and borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, there are fundamental differences between the two. When we talk about cyclothymia, it is a mood disorder on the bipolar spectrum. Contrary to this, BPD is a long-standing thinking, feeling, and relational pattern.
Moreover, the pattern of mood shifts is another huge distinction. With these disorder tendencies, an individual’s emotional ups and downs will last longer. For example, they could stay high and low for several days or weeks and follow a somewhat rhythmic or predictable pattern. The specific environmental triggers for mood shifts are not always apparent at the time of occurrence, and often, they occur unexpectedly.
Unlike this disorder, mood fluctuations associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD) occur extremely quickly. They result from related stress due to interpersonal interactions. Although the mood changes that occur with BPD are dramatic. They occur as a direct result of an individual feeling badly about themselves based on how others treat them.
Individual identity is another area where cyclothymic disorder and BPD differ. While people with this disorder exhibit emotional instability, they typically experience emotional fluctuations within the framework of a consistent self-concept. In contrast, individuals with BPD frequently experience difficulty establishing their own self-image and value system. They will frequently change values, goals, and appearance as a means of coping with the distress associated with these differences. As a result, identity instability contributes to chaotic interpersonal relationships. Due to this, individuals will frequently devalue marriage or their partner one moment and be idealistic the next moment.
Treatment for Cyclothymic Disorder
Like other bipolar disorders, cyclothymia can be treated by a combination of medication, psychotherapy, and psychoeducation.
It can be treated through medications such as mood stabilizers like lithium, which help balance high and low energy shifts. Your psychiatrist may also prescribe an antipsychotic, depending on your symptoms. Moreover, antidepressants are not typically used in the treatment of this disorder, unlike other major depressive disorders. Additionally, cognitive behavioral therapy and psychoeducation are effective in treating this mental disorder.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Cyclothymia is an effective and evidence-based psychological treatment. It can help individuals with cyclothymic disorder identify and change their dysfunctional thinking and behaviour patterns. Also, help them develop a more stable and positive mood. This treatment will also help the individual develop skills to manage their stress, recognize their early warning signs, and develop coping strategies to improve their overall quality of life. CBT for this mental disorder may be used alone or in combination with medications or other forms of therapy such as IPSRT.
Main components of CBT for Cytothymic Disorder:
- Cognitive restructuring is the process of addressing cognitive patterns that cause extreme fluctuations in mood.
- Behavioral Regulation helps to establish a consistent daily routine. It minimizes impulse control problems, self-destructive behaviors, and high-risk behaviors.
- Mood Tracking can teach patients to be aware of early indications of mood shifts. It identifies potential triggers for those changes and tracks their existing mood patterns. In this way, you can successfully deal with their symptoms proactively.
Psychoeducation
Psychoeducation is a significant psychiatric intervention to help individuals understand their chronic mood fluctuations. It helps to improve management and prevent progression. It focuses on recognizing mood shifts, triggers, and developing management skills.
Main aspects of psychoeducation for Cyclothymic disorder:
- Psychoeducation teaches patients about what this disorder is. It helps them to recognize mood shifts, unpredictable milder changes, and other traits.
- It educates you to keep track of your daily mood swings, life events, and sleep patterns. Moreover, it makes it easy to recognize the warning signs of upcoming mood changes.
- You will learn how to identify personal stressors and environmental aspects that trigger this mental disorder.
- It emphasizes stabilizing the daily routine, which is necessary to manage mood shifts.
- You will learn to develop cognitive behavioral techniques to manage impulsivity and emotional reactivity.
When to Seek Professional Help
You need professional support when your cyclothymia symptoms persist and worsen. Consult your psychiatrist if symptoms are causing distress, involve risky behaviors, or risk of developing bipolar disorder. Mental health care providers will help you reduce the symptoms through different therapies, medications, and other techniques.
Conclusion
The cyclothymic disorder is a recurrent and usually underdiagnosed mood disorder. It has a notable impact on an individual’s emotions and overall functioning. This mood disorder can negatively affect a person’s ability to interact socially, work productively, and their life in general. So the condition must be detected promptly to help the patient restore emotional stability. A combination of counseling and behavioral therapy, along with lifestyle changes and medications, can effectively manage this disorder and improve patients’ overall functioning.
Are you searching for a reliable mental health treatment option for cyclothymic disorder? Then you are at the right platform. Orange Coast Psychiatry is the leading mental health care provider. Our team of experts is highly qualified in treating every mental health condition effectively. Get in touch with us and achieve mental relief, a stable, and healthy life.
