I was diagnosed in 2019; late in life, mid 30s. One of the biggest issues I’ve been struggling with lately are these huge cyclical mood swings that can last weeks. I’ll be up and active, optimistic, and productive for a week or so, and feel like there’s nothing I can’t do. I’m excited about everything and often make a lot of overly-aggressive plans. Then the wave of depression comes, and I’ll spend a week in bed, crying, and then a week or two basically just disassociating and actively avoiding any responsibilities. The down is always longer than the up, and I feel like I’m slowly losing ground to the depression. I’m not sure if I’ve always had these issues or if they’ve just gotten worse lately. My ability to look into the past, especially in regards to my own emotional state, is limited.
My doc says that “cyclothymia” or mood cycles are not uncommon with ADHD, though they are not technically related I guess. That said, I don’t see too many people talking about it. Anyone else dealing with this sort of thing?
Possibly a stupid question, but are you having a menstruation cycle, and if yes, are you tracking it? I was not able to infer the likelihood by your previous responses…
I’m asking because a certain amount of being high energy before and during ovulation, and more down between ovualtion and menstruation is very common, with some people having more severe bodily symptoms (PMS) in the down phase, and there is also a supercharged version of PMS with mainly depression like symptoms, called PMDD. It’s caused by a sensitivity to hormonal changes and can develop at any point in life. The monthly cycling sounds a lot like it.
(Possibly not applicable to you, then please ignore it, but maybe useful info for others).
