For some people who live with mood disorders, periods of depression or mania can come on suddenly and for no apparent reason. But mood episodes can often follow various kinds of triggers. Some of the most obvious are situational factors, especially stressful or upsetting life events. Losses or disappointments are more likely to lead to depression or low mood. Some stressful events can bring on feeling manic or speeded up. Some of the triggers are more physical or biological. Disrupted sleep patterns are a common trigger for mood episodes, especially for manic or mixed episodes. That cycle can be self-reinforcing: not sleeping leads to mania which leads to not sleeping and so on. For people who are especially sensitive to sleep disruption, even a change like flying from the US west coast to the east can bring on manic or mixed symptoms. Many people notice seasonal patterns of mood symptoms, with more risk of mania as days get longer in the spring and more risk of depression as days get shorter in the fall. Some prescribed drugs, like prednisone or steroid medications, can bring on mood episodes – either mania or depression.
Learning about your own personal triggers is an important part of your wellness plan. Understanding your triggers can allow you to either avoid or adapt. Some triggers are best avoided. If you are very sensitive to sleep disruption, you may decide that late nights are not for you. Some of us on the west coast do celebrate New Year’s Eve on New York time. If a prescribed medication has brought on mania or depression, you’ll want to talk to your general medical doctor about alternatives. Some triggers are unavoidable. We certainly can’t change the seasons, but it is possible to anticipate or prepare. If you know that you’re more prone to depression in the fall, you’ll probably want to ramp up your depression-fighting wellness strategies (like scheduling positive activities or social time) as the days get shorter. If you know you’re more prone to mania in the spring, you’ll want to pay special attention to you sleep patterns and make sure you aren’t short-changing your hours of sleep when the days get long.
