Posted by Tomatheus on March 21, 2013, at 12:27:51
In reply to Atypical Depression?, posted by damnthislife on March 21, 2013, at 10:35:15
Hi damnthislife,
Welcome to Psycho-Babble. Although I'm not in a position to diagnose anyone, it does sound to me like you might have atypical depression. You do seem to be experiencing the overeating, the oversleeping, and the rejection sensitivity that individuals with atypical depression tend to experience. Do you also experience a boost in mood in response to positive events? This, from what I understand, is something called "mood reactivity," and I think that it's technically necessary for a diagnosis of atypical depression. Even if you don't experience mood reactivity, I would think that the fact that you experience the overeating, the oversleeping, and the rejection sensitivity should be of significance, and I would definitely mention this to the psychiatrist that you're about to see.
To respond to your question as to whether anyone experiences symptoms that are similar to yours, I will say that I do experience the hypersomnia that you experience and the low energy, but not the overeating or rejection sensitivity. So, I don't think that I have atypical depression. I don't even like to use the word "depression" to describe the affective aspect of my condition because what I seem to struggle with is not so much an absence of happiness as much as it is an absence of energy. However, I've had a diagnosis of one depressive disorder or another (now schizoaffective disorder, since I also experience psychosis) for many years now, so it's kind of hard to talk about the affective aspect of my condition without using the word depression.
Anyway, I hope that your upcoming appointment with your psychiatrist will go well, and most importantly, I hope that you'll end up getting the treatment that you've been needing for some time now. I wish you luck with everything, and if you have any additional questions, please feel free to ask them.
Tomatheus
Dx: schizoaffective disorder
Treatments: Abilify & serrapeptase
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