Cyclothymic: characteristics and features

Cyclothymic or cycloidy is a psychiatric concept that characterizes wave-like mood swings and instability of character, in which periods of activity and emotional uplift are suddenly replaced by depression and depression. The range of changes in states can be different: from several days to weeks. Cyclothymics are at risk of people who can develop manic-depressive psychosis. But in bipolar disorder, psychopathy has designated forms of behavior, and cycloids continue to clearly assess and analyze the situation.

Cyclothymic in psychology is a state in which a person first experiences euphoria and jubilation, and then suddenly feels a persistent disgust for life and for himself. This applies not only to mood, but also to character traits. Sociability is replaced by a craving for loneliness, activity - a decline in strength, bright life prospects - a feeling of deep hopelessness. Hypertim (active) instantly turns into hypothyma (non-initiative). The speed of alternation of these states depends on the provoking factors:

• violation of sleep and rest;
• physical and emotional overload;
• troubles at work, poor study;
• sad events (dismissal, divorce, illness or death of a loved one).

Cyclothymic psychopathy can manifest itself the other way around: a person is depressed and completely indifferent to the events that are taking place, but at the same time continues to joke and be active, or, against the background of a good mood and an optimistic mood, stops communicating with people and withdraws into himself.Personality disorder leads to a sense of injustice and meaninglessness around the world.

If cyclothymia manifests itself in a teenager, against the background of depressive states, he has a desire to commit suicide, and with an emotional upsurge - to commit an extreme act (go on a hitchhiking trip, jump from a height, conquer a mountain peak, dive from a tower). And only at this moment, most adults begin to understand that the child needs psychological help. Does this mean that he is sick? Scientists still have not come to an unambiguous conclusion whether cycloidy is a disease or a mental disorder that can be dealt with with the help of psychological training.

Accentuation according to Leonhard considers cyclothymicity as an extreme variant of the norm, and not a disease. From the category of people with affective psychoses, 2 groups are distinguished:

• typical;
• labile.

A typical cyclothymic individual is a person in whom periods of ups and downs of mood are noted at the same frequency - 2-3 weeks. The first crisis occurs during adolescence. An active and active teenager suddenly ceases to be interested in what is happening around him, shuns his peers, spends time alone.

He thinks about the meaning of life, he is not satisfied with the current state of affairs, a feeling of his own inferiority arises. Any criticism addressed to oneself is perceived very painfully and can become an impetus for a suicide attempt. The very fact of the desire to leave this life is not advertised, the action is performed under the influence of affect.

Depression gives way to an emotional upsurge, this can be influenced by a new acquaintance, a long-awaited letter, financial encouragement - that is, any pleasant event that becomes a trigger for the transition from the hypothetical phase to hyperthymic. A person is actively interested in current events, empathizes, jokes, and is in the spotlight. He is sociable, cheerful, manages to do a lot of things in a day, returns to his old hobbies, shows an affection for people who are attractive to him. After 2-3 weeks, in a typical cyclothymic, the light is turned off again, and the whole world for him becomes dull and gray.

In labile cycloids, mood swings and rises occur at short intervals: each period lasts 2-3 days. They are mobile, inquisitive, funny, charming people who have an unstable character. It is easy to upset or offend them, they subtly feel what is happening, sensitively react to a change in attitude towards themselves, and are sensitive to cardinal changes in life. They plunge into depression deeply, hopelessly and attempts to bring them out of this state do not lead to anything: the cyclothymic at this moment is convinced that life is over for him and there is nothing to rejoice in it.

2-3 days pass and close people note that the cycloid has a shine in his eyes, he plans some meetings, talks a lot on the phone, makes grandiose plans for the future. A typical feature of labile cyclothymics is an overestimation of their own capabilities. They cannot realistically assess the current situation and at this time they often commit expansive, risky actions that threaten their health and life.

The main reason for the manifestation of cyclothymia is a hereditary factor. Among relatives, there are always people with an unstable character: hot-tempered, emotional, unbalanced. In anger, they commit acts that they later regret, and in a peaceful, calm state they become like angels.

Such drastic mood swings in adults necessarily affect the psyche of a teenager. He does not know what awaits him in the next moment: "stick" or "carrot".Stresses, deep mental pain, suffered in childhood and puberty, are a conducive factor for a person to be diagnosed with a mental disorder.

Stress and negative experiences lead to the fact that a person reacts painfully to any changes in life. He is looking for stability, calm and measured life, and when life "shake-up" is lost and does not know how to respond correctly to the situation. Among women, there are 2-3 times more cyclothymics due to their delicate, vulnerable psyche: they perceive the surrounding events through the prism of feelings and only then analyze them with their mind.

It is difficult to determine the signs of cyclothymia if a person's behavior fits into the concept of "normal". Outbursts of aggression or a state of euphoria and joy occur in all people. But the cycloid personality type, unlike others, is characterized by extreme manifestations of emotions. Psychopathy can be indicated by:

• unreasonable and frequent mood swings;
• anger, in which a person ceases to control himself (affect);

• constantly changing self-esteem - too low or too high;
• a sharp change in preferences and interests (a woman loves to knit, but a day later “in her hearts” she cuts an almost finished product to shreds);
• inability to bring things to the end: at first, cyclothymus takes it up with enthusiasm, but the fuse quickly disappears, and he no longer returns to his previous occupation;
• the inability to focus on one thing, to concentrate on an object or task.

The period of apathy and inactivity is characterized by signs:

• difficulties in communicating with people;
• hesitation in making a specific decision;
• a feeling of hopelessness and meaninglessness of what is happening;
• helplessness;
• memory problems;
• hatred of yourself and other people;
• ideas of self-destruction;
• indulging bad habits;
• gluttony or refusal to eat;
• increased fatigue, chronic fatigue, feeling of powerlessness;
• insomnia or drowsiness.

Symptoms during hyperthymia:

• speech excitement - the cyclothymic speaks a lot, but the speech is meaningless, without logical connections and concrete meaning;
• emotional uplift - life is seen in bright, rainbow colors;
• vigor, cheerfulness, rise of strength;
• excessive familiarity in communicating with people, violation of their personal space, lack of respect;
• increased sex drive;
• desire to perform a feat, a memorable act;
• shocking behavior;
• fast change of interests;
• lack of introspection.

It is difficult for a cyclothymic to build strong relationships with people, because they do not know what to expect from him at the next moment. The cycloid is so unpredictable in its speech or behavior that friends and acquaintances prefer to stay on the sidelines in order to avoid the troubles that constantly haunt their unbalanced acquaintance.

For a cyclothymic, the difficulties of communication lie in the fact that he does not build any specific line of behavior, he does not have a specific goal to which he would strive every day. His plans for the future are too illusory or frighten with their grotesque and unrealizable. It is difficult for people to understand a cyclothymic who lives in dreams and idealizes people of the opposite sex for whom he has sympathy.

This is a man-chaos, a storm, sweeping away everything in its path and not thinking about the consequences.The difficulties lie in the fact that the cycloid does not analyze what is happening with a cold and calm mind, but rushes into a new life battle, leaving behind "ashes" and heartbroken loved ones.

The difficulty of treatment lies in the fact that the cycloid does not realize that it is sick. Close people write off the mood swings for features of his character. They begin to sound the alarm only when the cyclothymic commits acts that threaten his health and life. Often, the first visit to a psychologist occurs after the first suicidal attempt. It is important to understand the peculiarities of the behavior of the cycloid, because each case is individual.

With abrupt changes in the emotional state, when a person experiences strong fear and an unreasonable feeling of anxiety (against this background, attacks of VSD - vegetative-vascular dystonia may occur), mild antidepressants can be prescribed, which the patient takes in courses. With psychomotor agitation, treatment with neuroleptics is prescribed. The duration of the drug intake and their dosage are adjusted by a specialist.

Cyclothymic can help itself in overcoming a mental disorder. It is important to learn how to analyze what is happening, to establish logical chains between actions and words. To do this, you must adhere to the following recommendations.

• Keep a personal diary, in which, in addition to describing events, you need to write down your personal attitude and your reaction to what happened. When reading the diary, it is easier to analyze what caused the sudden change in mood and behavior.
• Cyclothymists speak first, then think about what they said. You need to learn to clearly formulate thoughts and phrases.
• Each new case must be completed. If there is no 100% certainty in this, then a new task should be formulated.
• In a relationship, you need to learn to put yourself mentally in the place of the interlocutor. If you develop such traits as empathy and compassion in your character, there will be much less problems in communication.

For information on which personality type is cyclothymic, see the next video.