I have hourly mood swings. Is this normal in depression?

Question

Hi doctor,

I have hourly mood swings, sometimes 10 to 20 minutes. I will be fine, all of a sudden, I feel sad, and I feel like I am dying. And my movement slows down, and I am just numb, and then I have this burst of energy. I cannot even get out of bed. Is this normal for depression?

I have been diagnosed with these:

Dermatillomania.

Anxiety.

Depression with psychosis.

PTSD.

I am taking Zoloft 100 and Abilify 10.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

What are your symptoms exactly?

If they are of depression, then the treatment with an SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) is ideally given for six months or so. Basically, if you are depressed, you will feel irritable, low, feel like crying, sad, do not wish to eat, have difficulty sleeping, anxiety, tiredness, headaches, etc. In bipolar illness, there will be a period of these depressive symptoms, and then after a period of normalcy, the reverse happens. That is, you feel unusually happy for no reason, there are episodes of spending money excessively on things which you do not need, or maybe excessive use of alcohol, other illicit drugs, sex, irritable behavior, decreased need for sleep, and still feeling fresh, grandiose talks and ideas, many non-goals directed activities, etc. So if you have not had the manic or hypomanic phase, then you probably suffered from major depressive disorder or generalized anxiety disorder.