Do you feel more Manic or Depressed

I hardly see my manic side and when I do its not like a wow factor. I just feel a simple cailm over myself like there is nothing that can get me down and I look at the world as if I can conqure it. It doesn't last long for me until the depression finally sets and stays with me for a long time. I don't have suicidal thoughts when depressed but I don't want to be around anyone but myself.

For me its probably too soon to tell, but Ive been keeping a record of my day to day moods since the 7th of April...from then till the first i felt meloncoly...like Eeyor with a black cloud over head. Then, on May the second till present its been hypomania, baby! Not continually hypomanic...some periods of calm. So, i would say hypomanic...at least I hope that continues to be the case.

I think I'm a bit hypo now, although it's a very pleasant and productive time for me. What I dread are the dysphoric times when I get pissed off at people merely for looking at me the wrong way, and the long, deep, dark depressions that take forever to get out of. It's too bad that those moods are the most prevalent......otherwise, being bipolar would be a breeze. LOL

Are you joking?

cocoabeans~ What I ment was...I was diagnosed with cyclothymia...I would rather be MORE hypomanic than depressed (which I think most ppl here probably feel that way, right?) I DONT want to be bipolat at all...I guess that didnt sound right, lol. Im gonna delete it.

I have bipolar 1, no it isn't hypo/mania all the time. Not at all. I'm depressed and manic about 50/50. The depression is just as low as with bipolar 2. The mania suuuucks!!!! I cannot state that enough. Hypomania might be kinda fun and entertaining but full blown mania is anything but fun. Sure it might be fun for a few days, while still hypo, once it escalates to mania, fun is over. Take into account that alot of people with bipolar 1 also get psychosis that comes with mania, extreme agitation it really can be it's own kind of hell. And if you suffer from dysphoric mania instead or euphoric.. Well that's really quite brutal. I'm sure some people enjoy the mania, but often that isn't quite the case. I think that's more common with hypomania.

Everytime anyone mentions hospitalizing me, it's due to mania not depression. Sorry just wanted to clear that up a bit. One thing you can read about is how hypmania is higher productivity levels and alot of the time with full blown mania productivity is very low, as is functioning. Sorry I just wanted to make it clear that mania doesn't really equal good times, when you read the list of symptoms regarding mania they really fail to paint a clear picture. Never mind dealing with the aftermath.

Original question, for me I expeience depression and mania about half and half, I don't get hypomania except for the build up to acute mania. Takes the fun out of it for me as I know that mania will be following.

I've never been manic. It's why sometimes I doubt my diagnosis. I have two moods: I'm either so far down I can't see up or so irritable and pissy I want to kill everyone around me. Those moods can switch at the drop of a hat but I spend probably 80% of my time completely and utterly depressed and suicidal. When I'm not depressed then I can't sleep at all but have no energy to do anything and EVERYTHING makes me so angry I just...it's a mess

I have always been more depressed then manic.... I would deff welcome a MANIC episode.....

Glad to hear that I am not to crazy.for I was begining to doubt my diagnose too. For I am more depressed then anything. never been to depressed to contemplate suicide except for once. now its depression,depression,and more depression.tonight I can't sleep and I hate it. plus I know all to well whet its liketo not know what you want to do from one minute to the next. I still don't understand the manic stage and what it brings to the table. I ama bit confused on that

Mania can be the tricker of the two to recognize. Depression is a lot easier to pin point. Mania can come in different guises for different people. A lot of the problem is insight as well, when manic is can be extremely hard to even realize that you are or were. I think most people when manic loose touch with reality a bit or a lot, you're ability to think rationally or logically can be really skewed. That definitely affects our ability to always recognize it.

Hypomania is more subtle so it can be either easily recognized because you are a bit more in reality and with it. Or it can be harder to spot because of the less drastic symptoms.

You learn over time to see the patterns, signals, and symptoms of mania, but it takes time. Even after years it's something a lot of us still struggle with. Are you charting your moods? That can be a really helpful tool when it comes to this.

I am uaually on the hypo side all the time.

I'm depressed more often than manic, but mania is no walk in the park for me. A tiny fraction of it is pleasurable, and the rest is excruciating chaos which is devastating to my self esteem and functioning.

Up until an intense year long depression last year, I've more often than not swung toward hypomania. They're usually fun for me, except for when they're long lasting, coz then the racing thoughts make convo's hard, train of thoughts are not a train at all which then leads to agitation. And then I get upset with people who sleep, coz sleep is for the weak. I get over stimulated by sights and sounds, which leads to migraines and my anxiety is so sky high I want to crawl out of my skin and I'm just quite beligerent and unpleasant to be around. So yeah, a few days at a time is great, anything longer than a week and THAT'S what I put up with. Idk what my cycle pattern is now tho, been quite stable since January except for a blip last month, where I thought dying would be in everybody's best interest(?) idk wtf that even was

I spend most of my time on the depressed end of the spectrum. I doubted my BP diagnosis for a long time because I didn't think I'd ever had a manic or hypomanic episode, although looking back with 20/20 hindsight I can see a lot. Then I went on this last mania for about four months. Some of it was fun while it lasted, but the suicidal crash back into deep depression at the end was pure hell. That was two months ago and I'm still nowhere near back to "normal" yet. I think I'd almost rather have the depression, at least I know what to expect. The mania still scares me.

I have never thought about charting my moods.

I'm mixed right now... and I can't take it.

I am depressed the majority of the time, mild to moderate. I don't like it one bit. Mania however creates big problems for me that stick around long after the hypo manic, manic period is over. I had to go bankrupt 15 years ago for 285 thousand dollars. That's when I finally was DX'D correctly. My psychologist talked me into closing 2 of my card card accounts and I keep one with only a 1500.00 limit. After the BK I got in trouble two more times, twenty to thirty thousand in credit card debt. I worked my way out of it, but it was difficult. That's how I can tell I am Hypo Manic, the Euphoria lasts three or four days then the ugly irritaability and agitation, poor judgement and then the severe depression that follows. I am now trying to learn to adjust to the mild to moderate depression. When I moved I found 6 packages that had never been opened. Things I ordered off the internet, got and forgot I ordered or received them. I know the hypo mania/mania will return, but I have only one credit card with a low limit to screw up... When I am manic I can't hear a thing, I just run around doing whatever fancies me.

I tend to rapid cycle so bad I can't tell you what I am in one day, much less multiple days. However, when I am dealing with a clearly defined mood it tends to be depression. The depression tends to be preceded by clearly defined mania. When I get manic I can't sleep, can't shut up and can't concentrate on one thing very long. I also get extremely irritable. When I'm depressed I just don't want to do anything. If it doesn't involve my kids and husband I just don't care. You could tell me the entire town was on fire and I wouldn't care. I do get more thoughts of hurting myself than I do when I'm not depressed. I prefer to deal with neither and would give almost anything to be rid of the rapid cycling--to me that is the worst feeling in the world because I despise feeling like I'm not in control of my feelings--but if given a choice I'll go with being manic on some level. I hate being depressed and it scares me. I always worry that I'm going to get so far down in the black pit, as I call it, that I'll end up suicidal and back at the psych hospital.

I am naturally more manic than depressed. BP1 I smile cause I dread the depression which is really bad for me. At the moment I am in sheer depression and have been for over a month. I see no end at the moment. For me mania is good, bad and ugly all wrapped in 1. I use to just be really happy and chirpy and life was brilliant. Then I started suffering delusions, paranoia, hearing/seeing things. Then I find mania is not my friend. As much as I like to think it is. I have gotten myself into loads of trouble because of the mania. The worst bit for me is the fact when I am hypo-manic or manic I think I have special powers and am a super hero and think I am invisible. Oh yeah!!!! Traffic is my best friend there and I try as much as I can to try and get "knocked" down as I think I can bounce back from it unharmed. Ye pretty stupid huh!

Mania can be both fun and bad. But depression is just sheer badness