I think some of the distinctions are subject to interpretation by individual doctors. One person's BP 2 may be another's BP 1.....some doctors determine the 'flavor' by whether the pt has ever been hospitalized, while others draw the line at frank psychosis.

Technically, if you've ever had a full-blown manic episode or experienced psychosis, your dx is BP 1. I don't know if that helps, but in the end the number doesn't really matter---what does is whether your doc is treating you or an ICD-9 code.

ETA: I have two very distinct stages of mania---one I'd call hypomania (but my pdoc calls it mania) which is a lot of fun, and another which I consider to be full-on mania and is NOT fun.

The hypo is when I feel WONDERFUL and everything is possible and I want to clean/organize everything in sight and I love everybody and the world is full of bright colors and beautiful things. But then it turns on me and my thoughts start to race, I get mean and nasty and I pick fights, my outlook is terrible and I'm full of rage. Everything irritates me, I get itchy/scratchy and can't find a place for myself, and it's like all 250 TV channels are on in my head at the same time. I can't channel the energy so I pace around and fidget incessantly, and the last two times I've been manic I had auditory hallucinations.