I get mildly hypomanic before the holidays. I love Christmas. I love shopping for the kids, wrapping everything, planning Christmas dinner, planning everything really, and making everything perfect for everyone. (Which is why I have been too busy to visit here in a few weeks.) While I do attribute it to just plain old happiness for the season, I also recognize the hypomania symptoms that go beyond just being a happy elf. Overspending, overdoing, not sleeping, etc...

Aaaand then the day AFTER Christmas comes and I am exhausted and depressed. I literally crash. Every year. While I do attribute the exhaustion to having been constantly busy for weeks, I also recognize my typical depressive symptoms, especially the sadness and derealization.

Since my bipolar episodes have gotten more frequent and more intense as I have gotten older, I'm worried that today is the kickoff of a depressive episode that will certainly last a couple of months.

I'm not ready to be depressed again.

Does anyone else follow a similar cycle? Any tips for avoiding the crash or making it more bearable?