When I don't feel like going to the trouble to explain what schizoaffective disorder means, I commonly say that I'm manic depressive rather than schizophrenic because the manic depressive (or bipolar) symptoms are more prevalent for me. But I experience schizoid symptoms as well.
Manic depressives experience alternating moods of depression and euphoria. There can (blessedly) be periods of relative normalcy in between. There is a somewhat regular time period to each person's cycle, but this varies dramatically from person to person, ranging from cycling every day for the "rapid cyclers" to alternating moods about every year for me.
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Mild mania is known as hypomania and usually does feel quite pleasant and can be fairly easy to live with.One has boundless energy, feels little need to sleep, is creatively inspired, talkative and is often taken to be an unusually attractive person.
Full-blown mania is frightening and most unpleasant. It is a psychotic state. My experience of it is that I can't hold any particular train of thought for more than a few seconds. I can't speak in complete sentences.
I go for days without sleeping when I am manic. At first I feel that I don't need to sleep so I just stay up and enjoy the extra time in my day. Eventually I feel desperate to sleep but I cannot. The human brain cannot function for any extended period of time without sleep, and sleep deprivation tends to be stimulating to manic depressives, so going without sleep creates a vicious cycle that might only be broken by a stay in a psychiatric hospital.
Going a long time without sleeping can cause some odd mental states. For example there have been times when I lay down to try to rest and started dreaming, but did not fall asleep. I could see and hear everything around me, but there was, well, extra stuff going on. One time I got up to take a shower while dreaming, hoping that it might relax me enough that I could fall asleep.
:lol:
