Cyclothymia: Matt Edmonson reveals impact of mental health disorder

Matt Edmonson has shared details of the impact mental health condition, cyclothymia, has on his life.

Symptoms of cyclothymia include periods of feeling low followed by periods of extreme happiness and excitement.

It's similar to bipolar but the extremes of highs and lows are a lot milder.

"The 'up' times truly do feel fantastic. They come with relentless energy, sense of excitement and hunger for new ideas," Matt said on Instagram.

He added that the low times are "accompanied by incredibly strong anxious thoughts" and says it was those times which persuaded him to seek help.

"After years of struggling, simply getting the label of cyclothymia placed on how I was feeling was life changing."

Treatment for the condition is usually medicine and some kind of talking therapy, like psychotherapy.

Matt says the moods can be difficult for people in his life.

"I don't get much sleep, don't eat when I should and I get tremendous volumes of work done in very short spaces of time, often neglecting everything else around me."

Matt says having a project to focus on really helps keep him grounded and he started making music during lockdown.

He recently released a song, Hayfever, with James Arthur.

In his post he jokes, "this is going to sound corny, but it's true. Discovering music saved me."

"I realised that if I jumped onto my laptop and just made anything on Logic, however bad, it would stop my brain racing off into anxious thoughts."

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