I have recently been diagnosed with cyclothymia. Unfortunately, most people are not familiar with the term and I don't always want or have the time to explain.
So my question is this: is there a short answer I can give? Is cyclothymia considered a bipolar disorder and can I just say that that's what I have?
Thank you!
It may be easiest to say it is a mood disorder and you would be correct in saying it is a bipolar disorder.
Cyclothymic Disorder is part of the bipolar spectrum, meaning that it is characterized by periods of elevated and depressive moods, though the symptoms of elevated mood episodes do not meet the criteria (number, duration, severity or pervasivness) for diagnosis of a manic episode and may not meet the criteria for a hypomanic episode. The same holds true for the depressive symptoms not meeting the criteria for Major Depression. Distinctive is that there are numerous periods of mood fluctuations with hypomanic or depressive symptoms and that observation of symptom free intervals, lasting no longer than 2 months, during a 2 year period for adults and 1 year for children and adolescents, characterize this disorder from the other bipolar disorders.
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