Hello justafriend306: Well... I've never actually been given a real diagnosis by any of the mental health professionals I've seen over the years. So I don't know if I could be considered to be Bipolar, although the pdoc who saw me during my last hospitalization suggested I might be. (She put me on Abilify. But I didn't stay on it.)

I tend to have a lot of difficulty with anger & frustration. I do try to be cognizant of when I'm becoming agitated. And when I do I try to do what I can to head it off... sometimes successfully... sometimes not... Years ago I used to get periodic bursts of inspiration to take up some new hobby or activity of some sort. When one of these would hit, I'd rush out & buy books & other stuff I thought I needed in order to get off to a flying start! Then after a few days I'd lose interest & whatever I bought would just collect dust until I finally got rid of it. I still have these types of experiences from time-to-time. But I now recognize them for what they are so I can head them off before they drain my wallet.

So I guess I would say yes I think being aware of when you perceive yourself to be heading into a hypomanic phase could be helpful in fending it off. But, of course, you also need to have a plan in place for what to do about it. At least from my perspective, that's the tricky part. I don't know if the weather has much of any particular effect on me. I'm mostly an indoor person nowadays regardless of the weather. I do, in some ways, prefer the comfort of the cold & darkness of late autumn & winter. So I'm always a bit apprehensive as spring & summer approach.