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Hey, everybody.

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Today, we’re gonna talk about cyclothymia.

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What is this weird word?[br]What does it mean?

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So like I said, today, we’re gonna talk[br]about cyclothymia.

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What is cyclothymia?[br]Why is that such a strange word?

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Well, once I get talking to you about it,[br]you’ll understand why it sounds like

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“cycle”, “cyclothymia” . So, cyclothymia[br]falls under the bipolar disorder—

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or falls into the bipolar-disorder bucket.[br]I like a bucket. That sounds better.

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So it falls into that category. And I’ve[br]heard from many of you that you struggle

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with this, and you wanted me to talk[br]about it a little bit more.

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So what I’m going to go over today is[br]number one, what is cyclothymia?

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How do we diagnose it? And then, what are[br]the medication and treatment options

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that we have?

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And that’s it. We get in and get out.

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Are you ready? Are you with me?

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Let’s get started.

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Cyclothymia must occur for at least two[br]years in adults, one year in children

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and adolescents. So, yes, if you’re an[br]adolescent, you can still be diagnosed

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with cyclothymia. Now, the reason that they[br]call it cyclothymia—if you remember my old

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video where I talked about bipolar[br]disorder on a whiteboard like a teacher,

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like follow along as I tell you why this[br]is called this, that will make it—

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if you haven’t watched that, watch that,[br]’cause that will make this so

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much more clear.

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So, cyclothymia, there must have been[br]numerous periods of hypomanic episodes,

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meeting the criteria for hypomania.

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If you wonder what hypomania is, come[br]watch my bipolar II video, where I explain

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what that is.

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So here is hypomania. We’re on that[br]whiteboard again.

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So hypomania is here; mania will be up[br]here.

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Then, we’re kind of in the middle, like[br]“Hey, just hanging out”, and then, we get

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into kind of dysthymia. I have a video[br]about that as well.

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I have a lot of videos. If you have[br]questions, just search the word I’m

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talking about, Kati Morton, and it will[br]probably come up.

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So I have a video about dysthymia, and[br]then down here on the bottom, we have

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a major depressive episode, which I also[br]explain in my bipolar II video.

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So, with cyclothymia, we don’t reach[br]mania: we only reach hypomania.

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So, we’ve hit it, but we don’t go above.[br]We just stay here.

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And then depression is all the way down[br]here, MDD.

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We don’t hit that either. We hit[br]dysthymia, that low-grade depression

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that can last for a long time, hence,[br]why it says this must last for at least

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two years.

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Got it?

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So we fall in this kind of middle yet[br]still uncomfortable realm of highs and

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lows.

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Never major, major highs or[br]major, major lows,

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we kind of flow in and out.[br]And that’s also why this goes undiagnosed

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all the time, because for a lot of people,[br]it’s “somewhat” manageable.

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And I use quotes because it’s still[br]not good, but we can kind of tolerate it,

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okay?

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So that’s how we diagnose it.

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I think it’s important to note you don’t[br]meet the criteria for MDD but you meet

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the full criteria for hypomania, okay? [br]So we’re going from hypomania to dysthymia.

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And I want to also note, and I’m just[br]reading from what I wrote down here,

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that if you also meet the criteria for[br]borderline personality disorder,

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that’s fine. You can have both.[br]They can happen simultaneously.

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And this is often comorbid, meaning[br]happening at the same time, with drug and

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alcohol abuse, because like I said, people[br]“tolerate” it okay. They do “okay”,

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but they usually self-medicate. And so[br]it’s often that we find people with

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cyclothymia struggle also with alcohol and[br]drug abuse, okay?

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So that’s what it is.[br]That’s how long it has to last.

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And that’s kind of what it feels like.

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What are our options?[br]So, okay, we have this.

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So, as all bipolar-disorder things, I’ve[br]talked about medication.

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[hissing], I know. I already feel your[br]anger and frustation that you’ll probably

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leave in the comments about, like, “Why[br]do you always say medication?”

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Medication can be so incredibly helpful.

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It’s not for everybody, but it’s[br]definitely something for people who

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struggle with this can be really, really[br]beneficial.

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And the medications that they recommend—[br]obviously, I’m not a doctor.

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You have to see a doctor for this.[br]But they recommend mood stabilizers.

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Wow, say that five times fast.

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Mood stabilizers or[br]antipsychotic medication.

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Now, the reason that they give you these[br]is because obviously,

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we’re floating in between. We’re all over.[br]We feel up and down and all around.

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And mood stabilizers does just that;[br]it works to stabilize our mood.

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And antipsychotic medications also help[br]with that as well,

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and so talk to your doctor if medication[br]is something that you’re looking into.

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And also, they recommend psychotherapy.

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That’s me. Hey.

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We do therapy. And CBT, they find, to be[br]the best because there are a lot

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of behavioral things that you can do to[br]help yourself better manage the symptoms.

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They obviously recommend psychotherapy and[br]medication together.

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It’s like, with our powers combined, we[br]can rule the world.

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You remember like heart—no one wanted to[br]heart—but it was like water, air—

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Anyway, those are best combined.

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So, see a therapist, and see a[br]psychiatrist so you can get all the

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help you need.

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And like I said, CBT is the best.

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They also recommend—and this is something[br]I don’t do, so don’t ask me to do a video

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on it ’cause this isn’t a type of therapy[br]I do.

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But it’s called IPSRT, interpersonal and[br]social rhythm therapy.

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They say this helps us get into a[br]more-consistent schedule, like a rhythm,

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of sleep, wake, eating, et cetera. And[br]that helps better manage your symptoms

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as well.

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I hope you found this helpful.

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And that’s what cyclothymia is.

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And if you haven’t checked out my other[br]videos about bipolar disorder,

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that will definitely help this make even[br]more sense.

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You’ll have an even-bigger picture of[br]what’s going on.

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And don’t forget to subscribe to this[br]video.

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And if you like these kinds of structured,[br]what-is-it, how-can-we-help-ourselves,

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give us a thumbs up.

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And leave your comments below.

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If you have experience with this—[br]we’re a community.

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We work together. We share our comments[br]and our experiences.

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And that’s wonderful and helpful[br]and amazing.

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And I will see y’all next time.

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—Cut

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Go right here with your hands.[br]How far is the box?

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I actually have to think about it.[br]It’s actually very difficult.

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[laughs] And I don’t want to mess up my[br]hair.

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That’s why the pat goes on top, so you[br]have to think about it again to

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— [inaudible][br]No, no, it’s too much. I gotta focus

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on cyclothymia. Stop trying to trick me.[br][whispers] tricky, tricky.