trying to understand

I have never been diagnosed bipolar or anything other than severe major depression and PTSD. I have been trying to figure out what is wrong with my head for a while. Had a t that thought I might have been DID but I don't think that was right. My question is what is hypomania like in real life?
My thing is my mood changes are almost hour to hour which makes me lean away from bipolar, but some other things feel right. I'm not looking for a textbook answer because that is what has confused me. I want to know what it shows feels and acts like.

well when I was hypomanic these last two weeks I didn't need to sleep as much. I felt very energetic and motivated to do things; for instance, i got my garden completely done, did paperwork for work a few weeks ahead, cleaned the house top to bottom, and made a bunch of bracelets. I also felt like I thought way too fast to keep up with, and that I talked too fast for people to understand at times. I talked a lot, even when I thought someone might be getting annoyed, and i laughed and joked a LOT. I also felt like I could not stop moving; i had to sway, rock, tap my feet/hands, or bob my head constantly. I had music playing through my head and felt that i had to sing it in order to get it out. i became super irritable at times too.

this lasted for two weeks.

Reading and asking info is ok. But the best way to get answers is to have a evaluation done. See a licensed therapist and/or psychiatrist. They should ask what you've been experiencing, your behavior growing up and family history. I was able to trace MI back a few generations.

Hypo/mania (I write it that way because the jury's still out as to whether I suffer from mania or just really severe hypomanic episodes) for me is like having all the TV channels on in my head. My thoughts race around like squirrels in a cage, I can't concentrate on any one thing longer than a bird can stay on one tree branch, and can't sit still without tapping a foot, shaking a leg, drumming my fingers etc. Nobody does things better than me, and I get irrationally upset when someone tries to point out this erroneous thinking. I have no insight that anything is wrong. I scream at people in traffic and flip them the bird. I drive too fast, work too fast, play too hard, and am too hard on others. I can't eat, can't sleep, don't give a crap. I spend money I don't have on things I don't need. And at the same time, I feel AWESOME and can't understand for the life of me why other people want me to be unhappy!

That's hypo/mania for me. It usually lasts a few days to a couple of weeks, sometimes longer depending on the time of year (summer is my favorite time of year). It's unusual to have moods shift on a daily basis or even multiple times in a single day, but there IS a variation of bipolar called 'ultradian' cycling, in which patients experience almost constant mood changes. I can't imagine how exhausting that must be, and I feel awful for you if that's what you're dealing with, OP.

i feel that way alot and its not uncommon for to cycle through moods quikly at and other times i feel creative as well i think the word is rapid cycleying hope this helps a little.

Have you ever had a high from sugar? That's something like a very mild form of hypomanic feeling.

Sorry that this is a little textbook, but bipolar episodes/moods typically last at least for several days, not hours. You say you have PTSD --sometimes people who have experienced trauma have trouble regulating their emotions and have intense and different emotions throughout a given day, depending on what is going on in the environment in the moment.

As for my experience: I get extremely restless, like I'm crawling out of my skin -it can become excruciating. My thoughts come at me a million miles an hour and I talk non-stop, I have an unstoppable urge to get out what is going on in my head. I become convinced that everything I think and say is brilliant, I become hypersexual, flirt a lot and overestimate others' attraction to me. I tend to shop like crazy and for things I wouldn't normally buy. Objects feel extremely clear, bright colors fascinate me, textures excite me. I've cried at the beauty of a flower. Not a bad thing, actually.

I sleep a couple of hours a night and am not the least bit tired. This can go on for weeks if not treated. Luckily these days, I'm starting to catch it earlier. My therapist is helping me with this.

During the period of time before it's treated (Seroquel upped)/if I don't catch it early enough, I deteriorate into also (and this is probably atypical) starting to be unable to tolerate loud noises (or what seem to be deafening and instrusive to me) and I sometimes become paranoid, think others are out to get me, either one person, or more than one person in league against me.

Some people seem to experience mania as a purely positive event. In my case, there are aspects to it that are awful (other parts experienced as a kind of euphoria) --between these things, how bad and embarrassed I feel afterwards, and the crash that comes afterwards (mostly because of increased meds that I have to titrate down again very slowly knocking me on my a **), I'm all for avoiding the mania, even if it means taking meds, including Seroquel that in many ways I hate, hate, hate.

There are other things, but this is the gist of it.

This is thoughts i can remember from last time (mid december-2 weeks ago)At first I'm like a destracted 5 year old, throwing tantrums about little things, but everyone love me and everything else in life. Why wouldn't they the world's all cotton candy and rainbows, and whoever doesn't feel this way should watch out for my split second wrath. Every sensation is just not enough and your having fun so you don't care what anyone else thinks. Slitting your wrists sound like a fun and interesting thing to do. Shut up keep your mouth quite if pdoc or t realize theyll ruin your fun. Just count multiples of 2-9.one word answers, omg I'm going to explode

Then the world slows, things get to bright, to loud, unless your the one making things to loud. You really want to hurt anyone that's annoying and that's everyone. You know you need help but are to parinod to get it, the feeling of bugs biting you under your skin sets in. You try not to tear at your skin because you know "they" will tell and you'll go to the hospital and you can't go to the hospital because theyll make you fat. That's what everyone wants. You stop eating and drinking. You can't really understand English enough because your to destacted. Your hardly making sence but your so upset and scared that you'll hurt others you start hurting yourself. Then everything is clear.... you are slipping.

You start worrying your going to crash. If you don't kill yourself now you'll be a burden to everyone and they won't remember you happy. You have to cut the caffeine out of your vains. You believe in blood leeding right. If you coulf only get the caffeine out you could sleep and the bugs wouldn't bother you. Why is my husband so mad at me I don't want/need food or sleep. I'd rather my eating disorder we should get divorced.

Back to destacted little kid to Omg what have I done !!! I have to fix everything, and prepare for the drop. What safety things do you need for the drop. How do we (my name) proof the house next time. Wait for the drop.

I have yet to decided if this is to personal so I may erase this later

hypo mania is a life changing event, everytime for me. It's that moment of clarity, that lasts and lasts. I can see things so clearly, know all the right answers, and during it I am not able to sit still. I have to make the changes, based on what I see RIGHT NOW! I start so many of the things I have been putting off, because I can see it so clearly. I fall in love with life again, and everything seems so right, beautiful almost. I get lost in the things that I do, and I can't fit enough things into the day that I am doing them. It all evolves... one thing turning into the next, and I go with it. At least, I used to go with it. each one thing evolving into something big, something grand, something that has the utmost importance.

I leave behind all of the things that I started and I chase that one, bigger than life, whatever it is thing and I get lost in it.

Soon though, it stops working the way that I need it to, that it is supposed to. People get in the way. no one acts like they should anymore and it produces anger in me. anger and desperation. I become completely obsessed, thinking about it night and day constantly.... letting my anger and desperation take control of me until I get so bottled up inside that nothing else matters.

this, for me, is how I end up experiencing mixed episodes, IF I LET IT get this far.

now, I have learned more and more how to let go of things and it's made the biggest difference for me.

hope this helps

^^^ This right here is a big part of it. Very well said.

It's like suddenly you can take on the world. And you feel like you have lightning in your veins or something.

I'm an ultradian cycler so I move through things pretty fast. 3-5 days is a usual cycle for me, but I can also switch within hours depending on triggers. Triggers can be as small for me as not getting enough to eat in a day to having too much going on. I don't handle stress very well at all.

I think the best idea is to track your moods and triggers. Igger... figuring out what is going on will take remembering exactly what happened so you can share it with your doctor.