Unfortunately this disorder was passed over in the early treatment of my son and there is no way knowing if this was the disorder that was originally present in him...It is diagnosed by mild elation that swings back to normal moods...(as normal as a teens moods can be I suppose

The signs that lead to diagnosis of  this disorder are Instability of mood is essential in diagnosis...This includes alot of periods of mild depression and mild elation...These periods of either can not be severe enough to fit the criteria of bipolar...so there must not be any mjor manic ir depressed episodes..

Because the mood swings are fairly mild and the highs are quiet enjoyable Cyclothymic Disorder fails to be noticed sometimes and does not recieve medical attention...The type of mood swings that happen with this are not seen to be related to something that is happening in the persons life...they change for no apparent reason...

People with Cyclothymic Disorder may be normal at times and stable for months at a time...

I know this is a short article compared to my normal ones but I really wanted to put this out there to share for all of you with teens who may jsut think wow the mood swings are a bit out there...Seek mediacal advice for this even mental health help...

I know it seems I sometimes get a little over the top(or over react) with some of the advice I do wirte on mental illness and that I always seem to think there must be a problem etc... when there is un normal teen behaviour...But Maybe just maybe there might be a under lying issue with your child...And then maybe it might jsut be normal teenage behaviour...I remember long ago thinking well the way my son acted was jsut a ratbag teenager...Well as it turns out it wasn't...Are you prepared to take the chance?

Just my thoughts and feelings on a subject that hits soooo close to home in this home anyway...

Have a great day
Cheers
Angie