Hi @MoonGal, thanks for the great reply, also @Castdownmight find this of vague interest.
My bipolar basically clicked on like a switch at puberty.
Since then I've done a lot of introspection and some serious mindfulness training etc with a psychologist who specialized in that.
At that time, I cycled pretty much 2 weeks up, 2 down.
My cycles have always been extremely regular and even, which was part of the suspicion that my triggers ( we call them triggers here, just a local jargon I guess, an what I assume you mean by switch), were not externally influenced.
Castdown: usually some kind of event, ( trigger), usually emotionally / anxiety based sometimes ( more rarely) even a food, can cause an emotional cascade that results in a mood swing. From a fight with a family member, to getting upset because your favourite tv character is in danger, or the barking dog next door annoys you, the variations are endless, but usually historically related to your personal past, in which case CBT etc can sometimes help you identify them.
The idea being if you remain aware and can catch and deal with the trigger before you cascade you can mitigate or even stop the cycle, though more commonly you just learn to avoid them altogether.
Not as easy as it may sound.
Plus I think they are leaning towards ACT ( Acceptance Commitment Therapy) these days rather than CBT, which ironically is pretty much just a rephrasing of the Buddhist mindfulness techniques and ideas.
I think that's what was meant Moongal, (Apologies if not, and for stealing your explanation), admittedly I'm in a frantic rush atm and only sped read your response, I'll read it thoroughly later, I really liked your ideas about the dial and desk, I dabble in writing EDM but I'm by no means DJ material but I think I could rework the concept to fit the controls used in my main passion ( 3D modeling / Animation).
I'm only wiring long here cos it's cuppa time and I need to vent.
Anyway, given the fact that my cycles are so regular, and we were unable to discover any regular triggers, ( although I CAN be triggered by big emotional events, as evidenced recently)
that my triggering and bipolar was pretty much purely chemical. This seems to hold up, given its manner of initial onset and common manifestation.
Or a theory that my triggers were so suppressed in my growing years that they are now so deeply buried in my subconscious and automatic, that we need mining equipment to dig deep enough to find them.
I went through a 3 yr massive depression where it was more a day or two up and a month or two down, and sadly, practically lay in bed the whole time.
This however, gives you a lot of room and time for introspection, even if often if is coloured by your depression.
I dissected and reassembled myself over and over, and grew a lot and learned a lot about myself and what things mean to me and why I act like I do. But no triggers.
Medication also holds up the idea it's mainly chemical. I only started a new medication a few months ago and this is when the rapid cycling daily that I used to get ages ago, resumed.
On one hand, it makes my highs less manic and more focused and productive, and gives me an ok 'mid range' which is new. I have always been either up or down, never mid.
On the other, I now rapid cycle again.
I'm debating the trade off.
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