What is Rapid Cycling?
You may be told you are a rapid cycler, or it might be you are in a chat and hear someone say they are rapid cycling. This is when a person will have a mood swing, but instead of the mood staying for a longer time, their mood swings back. Every person has a mood cycle. An average mood cycle is four or less in a year. It is a slow process. A rapid cycle can happen in a matter of a few hours, and cycle back again.
————————— The “rapid-cycling” form of Bipolar Disorder involves four or more complete mood cycles within a year’s time, and some rapid-cyclers can complete a mood cycle in a matter of days–or, more rarely, in hours. Studies show that women are more likely than men to be diagnosed as rapid-cyclers.
Rapid cycling is defined as four or more manic, hypomanic, or depressive episodes in any 12-month period. With rapid cycling, mood swings can quickly go from low to high and back again, and occur over periods of a few days and sometimes even hours. The person feels like he or she is on a roller coaster, with mood and energy changes that are out-of control and disabling. In some individuals, rapid cycling is characterized by severe irritability, anger, impulsivity, and uncontrollable outbursts. While the term “rapid cycling” may make it sound as if the episodes occur in regular cycles, episodes actually often follow a random pattern. Some patients with rapid cycling appear to experience true manic, mild manic, or depressive episodes that last only for a day. If there are four mood episodes within a month, it is called ultra-rapid cycling, and when several mood switches occur within a day, on several days during one week, it is called ultra-ultra-rapid, or ultradian cycling. Typically, h
The term rapid cycling was originally coined by David Dunner, M.D., and Ron Fieve, M.D., in the 1970s when they identified a group of individuals who did not respond well to lithium. These patients typically had four or more episodes of mania or depression in the 12-month interval prior to lithium treatment. This definition has been adopted formally by DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed.) and specifically means the occurrence of four or more mood episodes within the preceding year. In severe cases, rapid cycling can occur even within a one-day period.
