I am experiencing changes throughout a day that make me wonder. For example in the morning and afternoon I may feel awful and not want to be alive, and then later in the day and evening I feel alright. Not necessarily in that order. But in sum, major changes within a day. No mania though, just as good as alright.

Hi Mayana,

I'm sorry you are experiencing these mood swings. Depression comes in lots of shapes and forms and the best way to find out what's going on would be to make an appointment with a psychiatrist. There is also a type of Bi-Polar disorder that does not involve mania. Definitely the best thing would be to get a professional diagnosis.

I really hope you are able to see someone soon about how you're feeling and that you can get some support and treatment with this. Please keep us posted!

Take care.

Joanna

My moods can change throughout the day. Whilst i rarely feel as though i dont want to live i do feel pretty low mood wise in the mornings and throught out the day until mid afternoon when my mood starts to pick up again. By evening and bedtime im usually feeling much better. Then i take my AD, go to bed and wake up feeling down again, and repeast ad nauseaum.

Like you i dont get mania, but i do get an improvement in my mood later in the day unless something has really upset me during the day to cause my mood to stay on the low side.

However my moods do seem to follow a definate pattern.

The daytime always feels so cold and lonely to me. I love the night, the darkness out side is so serene and peaceful. Its rather beautiful and i often stand at the window and look out at the dark desserted streets outside, disturbed only by the occassional car going by. Right now im hating that light nights are coming back in, i miss the quiet calmness of the darkness outside because by the time it gets dark its almost time to go to bed, and as much as i love the night, i do have to get up early in the mornings to get my son to school, and i do need my sleep, so i can sit up until the wee hours of the morning enjoying the darkness and solitude as much as i would like to. Plus as im used to going to bed early i usually cant stay awake much past midnight anyway, i end up falling asleep on the couch if i try. When i was younger though i used to prefer to sleep in the day and stay awake at night instead, but as im parent now i can no longer do that. Im a bit odd i think, i even tend to prefer rainy days to sunny weather. There is something very relaxing about listening to the rain fall outside. It seems to cleanse the atmosphere as well. Its even better if its night time and its raining, throw in a good thunder storm and im a happy bunny.

It doesnt help that i have a very pale complexion and usually turn into a crispy fry if its sunny and hot outside. One 30 minute stroll round town in shorts and a teeshirt and i come back looking like a boiled lobster. It doesnt even go brown over time, i just burn then peel. Too much sun and heat also makes me feel sick/ill. The last time i had a day out in the summer time i came back and spent the evening throwing my guts up. I felt ghastly. Too much heat/sun is bad for me. Another reason why i may perfer the night time and rainy overcast days maybe?

I always did suffer from sunburn easily when i was growing up.

Sun glare also hurts my eyes and brings on migraines, so for that reason, during the summer i have to keep my curtains drawn otherwise bright sunlight shinning in makes me feel worse. I open the curtains up if its overcast outside though, or at night time when it starts to get dark as keeping them closed all the time can make me feel a bit claustrophobic. I do like to be able to see that there is infact a planet outside of my window.

However, its odd that although there are more people around during the day that i feel lonelier than i do when the streets are desserted at night. I dont feel lonely at night at all, the darkness and solitude seems to be a comfort to me. Ive never worked out why, but heh, odd, because most people seem to find night time to be the loneliest time of all.

Im a bit weird.

Anyway, i digress (sorry about that) but as joanna advised, i would speak to a dr about it.

But yes my mood can change throughout the day, and it can also change depending on whats going on around me. If im pmsing however, my moods are all over the place, even i cant keep up with them so i dont expect anyone else too either lol. One minute i can be angry, the next im ok, then i can burst into tears for hardly any reason, then im ok, then i feel happy, then i feel like im in the depth of despair, then i feel angry, then i feel happy, then i burst into tears, then i feel ok and round and round we go. It eases off once aunt flo has arrived though.

This post has been edited by Moonlight_Magic: Apr 4 2008, 04:02 AM

Hi Mayana,

Maybe you are a night person, we do exist. In a normal cycle of a day, we secrete different chemicals in our bodies. So in the course of a 24 hour period, there are highs and lows physiologically. And that may explain why you feel better at the end of your day. Different people have differing circadian rhythms, and that might explain why you are listless during the day and then feel better in the early to late evening. Just a thought, but I know the differences are real, I am a night owl myself and can spend a whole day not wanting to do anything and then all of a sudden in the evening I am starting new projects, spending time online with all of your guys here. Makes my day (night)!!! LOL

Peace and Love.... wayne

There are several types of depression, but only a psychiatrist can give you an actual diagnosis and proper treatment plan. Mood can change throughout the day. I've experienced this many times. I'm Bipolar I with severe chronic depression, a rapid cycler, and can go up or down at the shake of a hat. Thanks to seeing a trained mental health provider, the swings have been mostly stabilized with a combo of medications. I also see a psychologist..Consider getting professional help to aid your MH issues.
Sheepwoman

I guess I should add that, yes, I have been to professionals. Though honestly where I live, it's just not that simple anyhow. The waiting lists are terrible, and my case isn't serious enough to have access to a psychiatrist here. I would have to have already attempted suicide or something. And then when we see them here, you're in and out in a couple minutes, because they don't have time. They just hand over more drugs. To top it off, the doctors here don't want anything to do with psychiatry, they don't see it as their responsibility, they don't want it put on their shoulders. So we are really ----ed here. That is why I seek answers on this forum sometimes.

Anyhow, Sheepwoman, it's interesting - you talk of rapid cycling - do you think that may be what I am experiencing? I tried to look it up on the internet but I didn't find much. What does that mean exactly?

I fluctuate throughout the day, too. I feel great when I first wake up, then go back and forth throughout the day, good, then bad, then good again.

I think I am a night owl at heart. But because of my life right now, I can't be up all night (purposefully).
I feel better at night, too. Like the darkness is my security blanket, the quiet nights are soothing, calming.

I think what you experience is more common than most people think.

This week, for example, From Monday til Thursday at about 5:00, I felt very very depressed, then all the sudden on Thursday evening it lifted. Can't think of any particular reason why it did.

I think all human beings feel different at different times of the day.

For me whenever my mood changes from feeling 'ok' to feeling a bit more down I explain it by something has made me feel more unhappy. Alot of the time it can be brought on because I am very hungry because I can't be bothered making myself something to eat. But for every other time it is because something in my life has made me feel more unhappy. I define happiness by knowing you are going to be happy/ok in the future, and when events in my life obscure me going to be happy/ok in the future I feel more down. When events make things look more like I will be ok in the future I feel more ok again.