More talkative when depressed?

I have been thinking about how during my first episode of depression, I had nearly all the symptoms of depression, yet when most people would react by withdrawing, I would become more talkative and sociable. It felt forced and I had a compulsion to do it even when I was seriously drained from it.

I have thought that it may have been due to me being a natural loner and being in solitude is pleasurable for me. However, I was no longer able to get pleasure from it, which may have made me more easily give in to the pressure to socialize more than I am comfortable with.

On the other hand, I have been experiencing symptoms similar to hypomania, and I am wondering if maybe I was having mixed symptoms at the time. I remember sometimes I would talk even when people expected me to stay quiet, and usually I would start arguments and often would yell at people, even though this is not typical of me. But then again, I was also being emotionally abused at that time.

Does anyone else have this happen to them while depressed? All I've gotten when explaining this is people being confused or doubting it is depression (even though I've been professionally diagnosed).

I have experienced depression at different levels. When it isn't so bad, I can still smile and make a joke. Usually it's a dark joke, but not too dark. So, I can relate to that. When hypomanic, I sense nothing of depression and feel like it's completely and finally gone away. I don't get hypomanic often and when I do, it usually leads to a mixed episode or a manic episode. I also don't always crash into a depression after hypomania and mania. I've talked to my doctor and he said that you don't always have to go into depression following an episode. I am diagnosed bipolar I. If you are experiencing such symptoms like you express, be sure to follow up with your doctor so you can be treated according to you needs and symptoms.

By the way, I have learned from my doctor that when you experience a mixed episode, a person is diagnosed as having bipolar I. Do you have any type of literature, either online or in the form of a good and reliable book? There is more descriptions of all levels of bipolar and their symptoms to watch for and the length they last to be a certain type of bipolar (such as bipolar I or bipolar II). This can help you watch symptoms and tell your doctor about it. Wishing you the best.

IntellectualCat wrote:I have been thinking about how during my first episode of depression, I had nearly all the symptoms of depression, yet when most people would react by withdrawing, I would become more talkative and sociable. It felt forced and I had a compulsion to do it even when I was seriously drained from it.

I have thought that it may have been due to me being a natural loner and being in solitude is pleasurable for me. However, I was no longer able to get pleasure from it, which may have made me more easily give in to the pressure to socialize more than I am comfortable with.

On the other hand, I have been experiencing symptoms similar to hypomania, and I am wondering if maybe I was having mixed symptoms at the time. I remember sometimes I would talk even when people expected me to stay quiet, and usually I would start arguments and often would yell at people, even though this is not typical of me. But then again, I was also being emotionally abused at that time.

Does anyone else have this happen to them while depressed? All I've gotten when explaining this is people being confused or doubting it is depression (even though I've been professionally diagnosed).

it's really hard to say, you can have a lot on your mind and have a lot of emotions that needs to be released and expressed, which can depend on various factors like the social environment, other factors, etc.

i've been told by some person at a mental health place that i may have bipolar ii disorder and "atypical depression" which i told him i found that ironic of him mentioning both, despite me not being diagnosed with bipolar disorder of any type, and the atypical depression condition doesn't seem to entail much, because there isn't really any uniform definition for "Atypical depression"

some sources say one thing and some sources say another for all sorts of conditions. it doesn't seem to matter because i do and have fit all the criteria of depression pretty much, except sort of like the one you pointed out, but that's what makes it confusing because are they treating it in the biological sense or a conscious sense, because if they are basing it off a biological sense more that would causes someone to withdraw too much, then that would make sense for me if my mood, psychological and other factors are affecting me so much, it makes it miserable to do much more than i already can, so i sit back and need time to just "withdraw".

however, my diagnosis sort of makes it more confusing as i have schizotypal personality disorder and MDD, yet there is clear connection between what is what, why and what sort of help is "best" for me.

the part you mentioned on starting arguments, etc, it IS sort of a typical aspect of bipolar disorder but not always, i am still unsure myself if i have bipolar disorder, and even if it is true, i wouldn't exclude schizotypal PD as in this case, i believe if that is the case and IF, then i would be suffering from all three, MDD and bipolar II AND schizotypal PD, but i really doubt i have bipolar ii, i feel like the majority of my issues are from interpersonal problems, even when my mood is in a "Better" state or slightly more functional, i am not any different, as a matter of fact, it becomes a double dissociation because it shows how i really function and how i really perceive things in the maximum alive state and capacity i have.

although i was more the opposite of you, i attended social gatherings or family get togethers more desperately out of pure boredom, isolation, and unfavorable lifestyle, circumstances, and coping, but to a lesser extent over time because i realized how disconnected, inferior and apathy i had when doing things, on top of the interpersonal conflicts, not being able to get along with others, despite having a friendly or polite demeanor, it seemed that i enjoyed and still up to this point, family get togethers more than people more my age ( im 25 now ). one simple explanation could be that i didn't have to worry about being responsible for anything ( not to sound like i calling myself lazy as i am not ), but because things were simply too much for me and people weren't or arent as "mature".

this is why more recently, i've been doing this more alone, come at will and leave at will, then i dont have to worry about any #######4, sort of like a schizoid, only i'm not "schizoid", im "schizotypal".

*mod edit*