Depression vs. Bad Mood: How to Tell the Difference
- Quite to the contrary, I'm usually annoyingly chipper in the mornings-singing along with the oldies I love, and dancing while I deftly scramble some eggs.
- And every time that happens, I have to ask myself the same extremely arduous question: Is this the onset of depression or is it just a really bad...
- The reason this matters is as if it is indeed depression, I need to act-and act fast, before it gets worse.
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Distinguishing Between a Bad Mood and Depression in Bipolar Disorder
Table of Contents
Understanding the Challenge
Thes days, I don’t often wake up unhappy. Quite to the contrary, I’m usually annoyingly chipper in the mornings-singing along with the oldies I love, and dancing while I deftly scramble some eggs. But I’m human, and I also live with bipolar disorder so the odds are that some days I won’t wake up singing. Some days are going to be plain awful.
And every time that happens, I have to ask myself the same extremely arduous question: Is this the onset of depression or is it just a really bad mood?
The Stakes: Why Early Detection is Critical
The reason this matters is as if it is indeed depression, I need to act-and act fast, before it gets worse. I’ve been suicidal far too frequently enough in the past not to know that my moods have extraordinary destructive power. They can quickly get the better of me,obliterating my judgment and leading me into a dangerous darkness from which no other escape seems possible.
Vigilance: A Constant Responsibility
I’ve previously written about the responsibility those of us with bipolar disorder bear if we’re feeling “too happy”-we need to be on guard against the sneaky onset of mania. The same reasoning applies to sudden downturns; depression might be just around the corner. We must always, always be vigilant.
It can feel like an unfair burden sometimes, this constant oversight of flickering bipolar moods. I often get tired of being so intensely self-conscious. Sure, Socrates claimed that “an unexamined life is not worth living.” But I’ll bet he wasn’t bipolar and required to watch himself every minute.
Acceptance and Proactive Management
Nevertheless,after decades of living with this condition,I’ve come to accept how essential such hypervigilance is. It allows me to take the required steps to safeguard my stability: alerting my doctors to the change in my status and, if necesary, adjusting my medications; asking my loved ones to give me the support I need; and taking whatever extra care of myself might be warranted.
So when I find myself feeling unhappy, I can’t just wallow in my misery. I can’t slam Oreos and binge-watch idiotic Netflix shows and…
Distinguishing Features: Bad Mood vs. Depression
While a definitive diagnosis requires professional evaluation, here are some key differences to consider:
| Feature | Bad Mood |
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