Cyclothymic Disorder

You said your child often switches back and forth between high and low moods. You said that your child does not stay happy or sad for a very long time. It is often hard to know when these mood changes are going to happen. You said that your child has been having these mood swings for at least 1 year. These changes in how your child feels have caused some problems for him/her at home or other places. It may be causing problems in how s/he gets along with you, other adults, or other children. Some children who have the problems that you reported have Cyclothymic Disorder.

You said your child has some of the following problems with how s/he feels:

• Sadness, Irritability
• Crying
• Doesn't want to do things s/he used to enjoy
• Eats too much or too little
• Has problems falling asleep or waking up too early
• Has too little or too much energy
• Feels worthless
• Has little or no hope
• Can't stay on task
• Feels bad him/herself
• Thinks about death
• Thinks about hurting or killing him/herself
• Big changes in how s/he feels: overly happy or silly; very irritable or angry
• Feeling too good about him/herself
• Too much energy; can go with little or no sleep for days without feeling tired
• Increase in talking. S/he talks too much, too fast, changes topics too quickly, and cannot be interrupted.
• Can't stay on task - shifts constantly from one thing to the next
• Takes big risks

Children with these mood swings often have other problems. They may have problems with drug abuse or trouble sleeping. They often have problems falling asleep and staying asleep.

Cyclothymic Disorder often begins early in life. It is possible that your child will have more serious problems how they feel as they grow older. These types of mood problems run in families.

Adapted in part from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Facts for Families© series (1997), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Primary Care (DSM-PC) (1996) , and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder: Fourth Edition (1994).