Hi,

I used to be an active member here, but I've been away from it a couple years. Things are kind of destabilizing, and I'm struggling. Anyways I think I may have been manic. I have bipolar II, so it shouldn't get past hypomania because I can still function.

Anyways, I'm a nurse and I work on the front lines doing harm reduction for the OD crisis and some other things. It's been really awful. I work with youth and we keep loosing them to this, or having near fatal ODs all the time. A few weeks ago there were 3 deaths in one week, and everyone was feeling traumatized. Staff walking around the clinic crying it is bad.

My mood had been low, which is a normal reaction 2 this situation, but in the past couple weeks it's been high, like doesn't match what's going on. I feel like maybe all the stress has given me a manic reaction. The hypomania started about 5 weeks ago, with dips into anxiety and depression

So this what's been happening, please tell me whether you think it's mania or hypomania, because I need to decide what to do about it. Although the fact that I'm questioning it means it may be starting to end anyway.

here's what's up:

Mood - Mixed, anxiety

Work - working full time, completely an online diploma which was 17 hours long in two weeks; applied to a fellowship program, and started 2 committees. Starting sevreral large projects and speaking up more in meetings.

Activities - new activities volunteer job once a week (since August), increase yoga from flow 2-3 times a week, to power yoga in 32 degree celcius heat 4-5 times per week

Hypersexual - went from infrequent sex with one partner, to sex with 4 partners in 2 weeks - they all know about it and we are kind of a group. This is new to me, but it's good. What scares me is in the past 2 weeks I've been compulsively checking dating apps, and sexting with a multiple strangers. Tonight I almost let a total stranger come over. He was pressuring me a lot, and normally I would have ended the texts, but I carried it along for a few days and sent him naked photos. He was pressuring me a lot, and when \i decided not to meet up because he was freaking me out he responded as unhinged, swearing at me and stuff. I've only ever texted him, for the last 3 days. We never met up, but I gave mixed messages and almost went through with it. Now I am thinking more clearly, and I think he could have done something violent to me, based on his reaction, and I nearly did it anyway, despite having had lots of sex this week already. Plus I just want to masturbate all the time. So this symptom had been fun and scary.

Drus - cannabis a lot more than usual (legal here), and dabbling with some thing else low risk at low dose

Trauma - recurrent images of frightening images, nightmare, anxiety, and hypervigilence. Plus little things make me cry, it's just under the surface.

Disinhibtions - telling a bunch of co-workers about a sexual situations with 2 men the night before (I'm female). I have a couple work friends it's ok to tell, but I can't even remember who I told

It sounds like a lot, but it seems pretty exciting, and if anything I'm functioning better in some areas. My understanding is part of how the severity is decided is ability to function. But there are some potentially negative effects of this,

Sleep - reduced, but still have energy

Sorry for the long message, I just want to figure out if I'm changing into type I so I can figure out the implications of that.

What do folks think?

Thanks, it's nice to be back.