Cyclothymic disorder is a mood disorder. It is defined as cycles of hypomanic episodes and mild depressive episodes, even milder, but frequent and lasting for a minimum of 2 years. These are the same core symptoms of bipolar disorder. But these symptoms of cyclothymia have not met the criteria to be diagnosed as bipolar I and II. That’s why it’s informally referred to as a third type of bipolar disorder (bipolar III disorder). Cyclothymia is chronic. Also, it’s underdiagnosed. Despite everything, it is treatable with therapies and medication, but it can’t be prevented.
In today’s guide, you will learn everything you need to know about cyclothymia.
What is Cyclothymia or Cyclothymic Disorder?
Cyclothymia, often referred to as cyclothymic disorder, is a form of bipolar disorder, lasting at least 2 years. Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings. It has three types: bipolar I, bipolar II, and cyclothymia (the one we are discussing). Each type affects people differently. Learn more about bipolar disorder in our detailed guide. But the differentiating factors of cyclothymia from other bipolar types (I and II) are mild symptoms and frequency.
Cyclothymic disorder causes sudden emotional ups (hypomanic episodes) and downs (depressive episodes). Such patterns of hypomania or depressive disorder are not severe as they are fully classified as a full hypomanic or depressive episode. But cyclothymic temperament (cycle of mood and energy swings) is frequent in cyclothymia. A change in people’s mood can be seen day to day or multiple times a day. They may be separated by a very short break of normal or neutral mood.
How Common Cyclothymic Disorder Is?
Cyclothymia is not as common as other types of bipolar disorder. The estimated and commonly defined affected ratio of cyclothymia is 0.4% to 1%. But it’s not precise. Researchers say that due to overlapping symptoms and low intensity, it is currently underdiagnosed. There’s no universal, agreed-upon affected ratio of cyclothymia
Who Does Cyclothymia (Cyclothymic Disorder) Affect?
Cyclothymic disorder is commonly diagnosed in adolescents and adults. Also, the prevalence ratio among males and females is equal, unlike bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder diagnosed patients are 7.8% men and 4.9% women.
Want to know the reason behind this? Read our detailed guide on bipolar disorder prevalence in men and women.
Why is Cyclothymia Underdiagnosed?
From several researches, it is clear that the prevalence of cyclothymic disorder may increase if it is diagnosed properly. The reason why it is underdiagnosed is mild symptoms. Unlike bipolar disorder I and II, cyclothymic disorder is not as severe. Although its symptoms (highs and lows) cause interruptions in people’s lives, not as much as bipolar I and II do. Most people remain functional and perform their tasks (not very well), considering hypomania and depressive patterns as personality traits.
Personality traits are a combination of thinking, feelings, and behaviors that make every person unique. These describe who they actually are, either funny, creative, smart, genius, or a combination of all.
People perceive emotional highs, for instance, inflated self-esteem, as one of their positive personality traits (confidence). While emotional lows, like low energy, are considered one of the negative personality traits (laziness). This leads to ignorance, which not only causes underdiagnosed, but also worsens the conditions over time.
What are the Symptoms of Cyclothymia?
As cyclothymia involves emotional highs and lows, the symptoms change according to the episode. You will experience the symptoms depending on your current episode: hypomanic or depressive.
Symptoms in Hypomania in Cyclothymia
Hypomania is one of the two episodes in cyclothymia. It is defined as emotional highs. During this episode, you emotionally feel on the peak of a mountain. Hypomanic symptoms are the same but not as severe as manic symptoms. These include:
- Feel extremely elevated
- Inflated self-esteem
- Less need for sleep
- Talk too much
- Racing thoughts
- Irritable behavior
- Unable to concentrate
- Poor judgment (risky behaviors)
Hypomanic symptoms are not always good. Higher levels of confidence and many other symptoms increase the risk of harmful activities, such as unwise financial decisions, substance misuse, and more. Also, a significant decrease in sleep can increase the risk of mental health disorders.
Depressive Symptoms in Cyclothymia
Depressive symptoms are fully opposed to those that hypomanics have. People commonly feel sadness and emptiness in a depressive episode. The other symptoms may include:
- Sadness
- Social isolation
- Low self-esteem
- Guilt
- Self blame
- Loss of energy
- Sleep challenges (insomnia/hypersomnia)
- Change in eating habits
What are the Causes of Cyclothymia?
There’s no exact cause of cyclothymia found yet. However, researchers say that cyclothymic disorder can be developed by a combination of several factors, which include:
- Genetics: Genetics is one of the most highlighted causes of mild bipolar disorder. Some research says cyclothymia is passed down through generations. People having first degree relatives already dealing with such conditions has high risk of development.
- Differences in Brain Biology: Cyclothymia can be linked to an imbalance in brain chemistry. When neurotransmitters in our brain dysfunction, mainly dopamine and serotonin, it can become a contributing factor to cyclothymia.
- Environmental factors: If someone has experienced a traumatic event recently or passed through life’s stressful situations, it can also cause cyclothymia.
How Can Cyclothymia Affect People’s Lives?
People with cyclothymia don’t lose their functioning abilities entirely. They can continue performing their daily life schedules. However, continuous mood swings impact their life significantly. It can cause several challenges at work, in academic performance, and in relationships as well. Here’s how:
Impact on professional life: Cyclothymic disorder impacts people’s performance at work. Hypomanic patterns boost their productivity and creativity, but can lead to unwise decisions. In contrast, cyclothymic depression can cause delays, etc.
Impact on academic life: As cyclothymia is often diagnosed in adolescence, it can cause a massive decline in their academic life. Hypomania episodes encourage them to study hard, while depressive episodes make it hard to concentrate and remain motivated.
Impact on relationships: Cyclothymia makes it hard to maintain healthy relationships. It can cause inappropriate desires and communication challenges, affecting the relationship negatively.
Is Cyclothymia A Disability?
Cyclothymia is generally not a disability; it’s a mental health condition. However, patients with cyclothymia can be considered under disability if the condition impacts their life. Here’s under which cyclothymia disorder can be officially recognized as a disability:
- The patient must be diagnosed with mild bipolar disorder
- The conditions impact their ability to work, communicate, remember, perform daily tasks, etc
- The patient has a medical history of receiving treatment regularly for at least two years
Diagnosis for Cyclothymic Disorder
Experiencing such conditions, the first question that might come to your mind is whether cyclothymia is treatable. Yes, it is! With appropriate treatment and care, a patient can recover from it. However, it depends on the diagnosis. Diagnosis is a foundational step, leading to mental wellness.
A diagnosis performed by an expert psychiatrist helps to understand patients better and identify underlying causes. This helps in appropriate treatment selection, focused on your need to achieve specific goals.
Finding an expert cyclothymic disorder diagnosis in California might be difficult. Due to overlapping symptoms of other conditions like major depressive disorders, bipolar II, GAD, etc, it is often misdiagnosed.
Let’s see how the Brainpower Wellness Institute diagnoses patients deeply with cyclothymia.
What’s the Diagnosis Process of Cyclothymia?
The right diagnosis is necessary. And to make sure it is done right, certified psychiatrists diagnose patients at Brainpower Wellness Institute. Our professionals perform a detail-focused diagnosis following several approaches. These include:
Physical Exam
The importance of physical exams in diagnosing cyclothymic disorder is significant. Psychiatrists often suggest a physical exam and order patients to undergo some lab tests. This helps identify underlying causes and evaluate the patient’s internal health.
Psychological Evaluation
No one can better explain how patients themselves. That’s why psychological evaluation also plays a crucial role in diagnosis. It includes a communication between a patient and psychiatrists in describing symptoms, understanding feelings, and pinpointing the exact causes. We at Brainpower Wellness Institute have done this psychological evaluation in a non-judgmental, collaborative environment. If necessary, we can also get some information about patients’ symptoms, episodes, and behaviors from their friends, family, or partner.
Check Medical History
Our diagnosis process also includes checking patients’ medical history. Through this, we commonly identify underlying symptoms, check patient experiences with treatments, medical side effects, and more.
These are some of the steps we perform under our diagnosis process for cyclothymia. This comprehensive analysis ensures every patient receives the right treatment, targeting specific areas to help get rid of specific conditions.
Diagnostic Criteria for Cyclothymic Disorder
Diagnostic criteria are a clinical checklist for cyclothymic disorder diagnosis set by health authorities, like the American Psychiatric Association. The points stated in this checklist include:
- Over the past two years of your journey with cyclothymia, you have experienced cyclothymic tendencies (cycles of hypomania and depressive patterns) most of the time. For teens or adolescents, the symptoms should last for at least 1 year. Learn the causes of it in teens and its symptoms with our in-depth guide on bipolar disorder in teens.
- The duration of symptoms-free, normal mood shouldn’t last for more than two months
- The symptoms should be mild and not severe enough to meet the other bipolar disorder types’ criteria
- The symptoms should be a result or respond of substance use and other medical conditions
Effective Treatments for Cyclothymic Disorder
Meeting the diagnostic criteria, the next step is getting appropriate treatment. There are many treatment approaches for treating cyclothymic disorder. It includes psychotherapy, medication, or both. However, the selection depends on the diagnosis. Each person has different symptoms, causes, of intensity of mood shifts varies. By center aligning such factors, the effectiveness of a specific treatment is measured according to patient conditions and selected.
Effective treatments for cyclothymia disorder, Brainpower Wellness Institute offers:
- Psychotherapy
- Medication
Psychotherapy
It is one of the widely recognized treatments for cyclothymic disorder. Often referred to as talk therapy, psychotherapy is a collection of various therapy treatments. It is a confidential, communication-based treatment, focused on building coping skills to manage emotions. Psychotherapy consists of sessions, which are often conducted individually or in group settings.
Although psychotherapy has many types, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is at the top of the list of treatments for cyclothymia patients.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
A psychotherapy subtype, CBT is a structured, evidence-based treatment. It is often recommended for treating several mental conditions. CBT for cyclothymic disorder treatment is focused on identifying causes that episodes of hypomania and depression are the results of.
The goal of cognitive behavioral therapy is to identify negative thoughts and harmful behaviors and replace them. Through CBT, patients learn effective coping skills to manage emotions or feel controlled during manic or depressive episodes. Addressing cyclothymia triggers, a psychiatrist helps reduce the frequency of mood shifts and prevents them from turning into other bipolar types.
The purpose of CBT is to ensure long-term recovery, rather than short-term relief. Although it does not ensure a permanent cure for cyclothymia, regular follow-ups and ongoing support help reduce relapse.
Suppose you want a personalized CBT treatment. Choose Brainpower Wellness Institute and book your appointment today. We offer quality treatment along with ongoing support.
Medication
There is no certified and FDA-approved medication for cyclothymic disorder treatment. This clarifies two main concerns: one is that no medication helps treat cyclothymia, and the other is that cyclothymia can be treated without medication.
However, in some cases, psychiatrists prescribe some medications, like mood stabilizers, in treatment plans for patients with severe conditions. It’s necessary to consult with our healthcare provider for treatment and always take medication under a certified psychiatrist’s supervision.
What’s the Best Treatment for Me for Cyclothymic Disorder?
The best treatment means the one that appears effective for you in treating specific conditions. Everyone experiencing cyclothymic disorder has unique conditions, which is why treatment varies for everyone. However, for most people, psychiatrists often recommend psychotherapy, and significant outcomes have been seen in many people.
Book your appointment today at Brainpower Wellness Institute. Our certified psychiatrists help diagnose you and prepare a treatment plan accordingly.
What If Bipolar III Disorder Is Not Treated? Unignorable Risks
Untreated cyclothymia causes several risks. And unfortunately, it is underdiagnosed. People with unnoticed or untreated cyclothymic disorder have not only the risk of major impairment in performing daily tasks. But they also have several risks, which include:
- Risk of turning mild bipolar disorder into severe (bipolar I or II)
- Higher possibility of developing other mental illnesses, such as anxiety disorder and depression, which has significant impact on life
- Increase suicidal thoughts and engagement in self-harm behaviors
Can Cyclothymic Disorder Be Prevented?
No! The development of cyclothymic disorder can’t be prevented, but worsening can. This is because of hidden causes. As we discussed earlier, the exact cause is not identified by researchers, so prevention is not possible. However, getting early treatments, like CBT, prevents it from becoming severe. Undergo the right treatment today and get personalized care. Contact us at (714) 712-0711.
How Can Brainpower Wellness Institute Help Patients with Cyclothymic Disorder?
At Brainpower Wellness Institute, we help patients in overcoming the biggest challenge, an in-depth cyclothymia diagnosis. With clinical evaluations, our certified psychiatrists ensure everyone gets the right treatment without delays.
We offer cyclothymia patients evidence-based treatments, personalized to treat specified conditions. Our approach is to deliver long-term outcomes to every patient who trusts us, rather than managing symptoms temporarily. From initial assessments to recovery sessions, our professionals follow a strategic process to make mental wellness achievable.
Cyclothymic disorder is chronic, but recovery is possible. You can live a purposeful life with proper treatment, including therapies and medication. If you are looking for quality mental health treatment in California, visit Brainpower Wellness Institute or get telepsychiatric treatment.
Book an Appointment Today
Whether you’re ready for a consultation or have questions, our team is here to help. Contact us to book your appointment or call now for psychiatric help.
