I'm not the same every hypomanic episode. The things that stay the same are the high energy, the decreased need for sleep, and the increased motivation. The symptoms that vary for me are the rapid speech and how often I get irritated. I can expect to get irritated at least once during each episode, but sometimes I get irritated much more frequently. Sometimes I can't stop talking - other times I'm able to remain somewhat collected, primarily if I'm able to plug my energy into a productive outlet like working on a project for many hours without much break.

My depression is usually very debilitating. Besides being mentally drained, I often find myself completely physically drained as well. I start to sleep more, which adds to being physically drained. Even if I sleep normally, I find myself fatigued for the whole day. No motivation for something as simple as washing a bowl to eat cereal, let alone anything productive. Enjoyable activities become dull.