[crystalrose]

how do you know if you are coming down from a high or if you are about to crash? I have been hypomanic for 3 weeks straight.

[ilazria]

I don't usually realize it until I am into the down swing. I feel heavy, and my chest kinda hurts. I start feeling really bad about everything, and more likely to hole up inside my house. Eventually I hit the bottom. Then I'm REALLY miserable until I get some sleep. When I wake up, I'm usually in a kind of numb, semi-stable state.

[BNLsMOM]

I just start to feel more calm over the course of a couple of days. Then I realize that I am getting depressed.

I have less energy. I start sleeping better. I feel flat (but I'm probably just "normal"). You don't necessarily have to crash into depression. Sometimes you just stabilize.

[Haze-N-Rave]

At the peak of a manic state, I find myself running around doing 10 things at once but not getting anything done at all. I usually jump from one thought to another instantly and my thoughts race. At this point other people notice and usually have to tell me I'm manic or somehow tell me I'm out of control and I realize it for myself.

I personally panic at this point and crash very quickly. I get full of embarrassment, regret, and fear. I think people are totally freaked out by me and I hide away. Then I know I'm low.

After years of experiencing this though, people are never as freaked out as you may think - I had to realize that it was me who was thinking that they were freaked out when they really weren't nearly as much as I thought.

Also, for me, getting back to stable means starting from a low point, so it isn't always bad.