I often wondered the difference between hypomania and mania. I think the difference may be with mania you are no longer aware of your actions and their potential consequence. I think if you are at a point where you can stop and say hey am I manic you are probably not. Still need treatment of course but I think awareness probably plays apart. If you can look at your finances and say I am spending a lot of money needlessly you can devise a plan to stop that. When you are completely off the wall the pain sensors are gone. Until one day when the mania is gone And you look at your Cc bill and your new shoe collection and say to yourself why the f*** did I think I needed a new pair of shoes for each day of the year.