I was just wondering... where is the line between hypomanic and full blown mania? My current shrink seems to thin that if you've never been hospitalized for it, it isn't mania. I think he's a bit of a quack, and I'd fire him if I could, but that isn't the point.

For example, when I am manic, I am hyper-productive for the first couple of days, and then I'm moving so fast I can't get anything done. I don't really have that functionality that so many of the BPIIs seem to speak of... It is usually euphoric, and I get accused of being on drugs when I'm not because of it. I fly around everyone, talk 90 miles an hour without letting anyone get a word in, take on way too much, drink to excess, find interesting ways to nearly get myself killed by accident, get stranded in unsafe places and get into trouble with everyone around me, including incidents like screaming at people and getting into fights. I once crashed into a guy because he wouldn't let me merge... All in all, I'm NEVER proud of myself after a manic episode, but I've only been hospitalized for it once, and it was for trying to self-medicate it away because I was FREAKING OUT (it doesn't show up on my records as"acute mania", in other words, it shows up as an OD - they even asked if it was a suicide attempt! I told them I'd do better). I also don't have "normal" periods, and my mixed states are basically dysphoric mania with SI and planning and NO euphoria... I'm really not trying to complain here, just giving examples so I can understand better...

So where is the line between hypo and full blown? My favorite shrink told me that it's full blown when it becomes destructive to your life... I guess I never knew there was a mania that wasn't??