[EternalWinter]

I really dont know if I have ever crossed the line into mania. I have never been hospitalized due to mania but have been hospitalized due to severe alcohol abuse (daily binge drinking for weeks) maybe then I was maniac but self medicating it?

Sense quitting alcohol and getting treatment a year ago. I clearly get hypo mania and depression. Im just unsure it it really turns into full out mania. I felt at certan times, my hypomania has started off as a racing mind, energetic, to walking into a store and feeling it more intensely and feeling very aggressive and 'powerful' almost like I did a bit of cocaine and went shopping. If someone looks at me i stare them down and I think to myself if someone tries to look down on me for too long I will start a fight and I look around at things I would use as weapons (cans of soup etc..) I wouldnt find any fun in starting a fight with a random person, but I just really want to find someone as aggressive as me, or someone to make a comment about my shoes being untied.

However I only feel this way for maybe a couple hours then I settle down, I dont feel it for days or weeks like what people say is mania. Its just that I really dont know if im BP1 or BP2 my Pdoc basically told me to google it and am unsure if it is considered mania if its only for a couple hours, triggered by crowded places?

I have told my Pdoc about how I felt in certan situations but he just asked what I wanted to do, which im not sure of. Anti psychotics calm me down but the side effects are not tolerable to me, so I dont take them.

[kaliope]

mania affects everybody differently. for some a cycle can last hours, some days, for some it can be weeks. how much a mania interferes with your life determines what you are going to do about it. I spend thousands of dollars shopping when manic so I cant afford to be manic. I max out all my credit cards and go into severe debt. I have to medicate. but I am on meds that don't have any side effects for me. I have tried about all of them out there and found the ones I respond to the best. and I live a pretty normal life with them. I wish I didn't have to take them, but I cant manage my mania without them.

[Nessa213]

Originally Posted by kaliope

I spend thousands of dollars shopping when manic so I cant afford to be manic. I max out all my credit cards and go into severe debt.

This is what I do as well. I've only done this full blown one time, but the debt still chases me. For about 5 or 6 years after that I avoided credit cards all together. But a couple of years ago I got a credit card and for the first year or year and half I did really well with it. However I went into a soft mania (I guess is the best way to describe it) about 6 months ago. Since then I've been fighting with two maxed cards.

I think that mania can be triggered by anything that causes you severe stress. If for you it's being in crowded places, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that that would may trigger a mania. I'm a little surprised that your doctor basically told you to google it. That just sounds... unprofessional.

[Skittles56]

I have some of the same questions, EternalWinter.

I have had all the symptoms of hypomania, going on about 4 hours of sleep a day, spending too much money, grandiosity and arrogance, improper sexual behavior. However, I have had similar symptoms to what you describe. I would fly into a rage and shout at friends and family and I finally became physically violent with someone. I always got it under control before someone came and hauled me away, though.

I have read that full blown mania is completely out of control and usually ends with hospitalization. I don't know, maybe.

I am starting to believe that quantifying mania is probably a waste of time. The real question is what you can do to keep it under control. For me it's medication. I'm pretty sure that I will be on them for life. I also go to therapy every couple of weeks. My life is better.

I know the antipsychotics have some unpleasant side effects, but for me, it's better than destroying my family, alienating my friends, and eventually ending up in the hospital. If your doctor thinks they will help you and you seem to have noticed that they did, maybe it's time to give them a second look.

Anyway, I hope you find what works for you, whether it is medication, therapy, or some other coping mechanism.

[Travelinglady]

I have had all the symptoms of hypomania, going on about 4 hours of sleep a day, spending too much money, grandiosity and arrogance, improper sexual behavior. However, I have had similar symptoms to what you describe. I would fly into a rage and shout at friends and family and I finally became physically violent with someone. I always got it under control before someone came and hauled me away, though.

I have read that full blown mania is completely out of control and usually ends with hospitalization. I don't know, maybe.

I am interested in hearing more about this issue. I was thinking that the symptoms mentioned here are signs of mania. I just tend to talk and talk and talk and can't stop--and do and do and do (like cleaning)--and can't stop. I was thinking that was mania, too.

Well, what is mania--and what is hypomania?

[BipolaRNurse]

I questioned this same thing for over a year. When I thought of mania, I thought of someone who was completely out-of-control and psychotic; since I didn't fit those criteria, I figured mine stopped at hypomania.

WRONG!! I have hypomania that is distinct from what my pdoc flat-out calls mania: a wildly irregular, expensive, and incredibly dangerous mood swing for me. I'm rarely if ever psychotic, unless you count paranoia (which comes out to play toward the end of an episode) but I start out with the euphoria and end up being a raging you-know-what.

Contrast this with my hypomania, which consists of an elevated mood, abundant energy, an optimistic, dreamy view of the world and everything in it, and an extraordinary appreciation of beauty.

So that's why I carry the BP 1 designation instead of BP 2, I experience both full-blown mania and mixed episodes. It took a while to straighten it all out, but once I was put on an antipsychotic permanently, I've settled down a lot.

[ultramar]

Your pdoc tells you to google it and won't diagnose you? He/she sounds really odd

If your aggression is triggered by crowded places, then I think you have your answer at least as far as that is concerned. Maybe working on the anxiety and your reactions to crowded places in therapy could go a long way with this. I range from scared to terrified and always feeling trapped in crowded places --I'm still working on it, it takes time. Best of luck!

[ultramar]

Originally Posted by PAYNE1

I am interested in hearing more about this issue. I was thinking that the symptoms mentioned here are signs of mania. I just tend to talk and talk and talk and can't stop--and do and do and do (like cleaning)--and can't stop. I was thinking that was mania, too.

Well, what is mania--and what is hypomania?

It differs from person to person. In part, it's a matter of degree and to what extent these things seriously negatively affect your functioning. Episodes of full-blown mania often include what you're talking about, often with little need for sleep, but in addition some form of delusions, other forms of psychosis, some people, along with the other symptoms, go into rages. Unbearable agitation. Some people make very impulsive and destructive decisions that radically change their lives. You're not necessarily going to be hospitalized, but your daily functioning is going to be very seriously compromised. But people here can attest to all kinds of different ways full-blown mania can manifest itself, as I say, it differs.

I'm not a doctor, but it seems to me that increased energy, productivity, talkativeness, if it's basically limited to this sort of thing, it's more likely hypomania. These things may be annoying and/or fun, but they're not going to turn your life utterly upside down. Full-blown mania (bipolar I) is actually pretty rare, statistically.

[Victoria'smom]

I really can't tell the. Difference, but I know I'm (hypo) manic when I'm told for several days that I'm exasperating. As far as antipsychotic think about a prn anti psychotic.

[EternalWinter]

Yes my Pdoc told me to google it. My first appointment was with him and he asked me about three questions, do you sometimes talk fast? Do you sometimes feel good for months at a time? He diagnosed me as bipolar where I doubted the diagnosis because of his quick diagnosis, stopped going and ended up going back two years later after so much self destruction.

My last appointment was about two months ago and my next one is coming up soon. I find it strange because the one week I was doing so unwell he made another appointment a week later where I was doing 'good' and said wow I dont need to see you when your like this so ill book the next appointment in august.

Other then complaining its my fault for not getting a new one yet.

My main problem is, when I bring up how stressed I am, he literally has no solution, I feel like stress has been consuming my life ever sense I started seeing him. I quit my job months ago because I felt like pulling my hair out everyday at work.

Really the occasional hypomania, depression and mixed things are annoying. But my life is a ball of stress and I feel like its so hard to move on. Anti phycotics have never helped me with stress. I think about going back to drinking all too often because I can never catch a break. I dont know if its just me or them but I never call my friends because they dont call me, I assume they dont want to hang out, I mean they do when I call but i feel like maybe im forcing a friendship so I stopped, I feel very much alone. but thats just one of my 100 issues

[lawrenman]

Just by reading what I am reading here..I feel like you are a bit out of control.

Stress can be controlled somewhat. From what I figure you were a heavy drinker for so long that your coping mechanisms are out of whack. Alch dulls your senses. Most likely you are just becoming more aware of how you feel on a normal daily basis.

I agree anti-psychotics don't make sense for you.

I would not consider you bipolar. I would consider you recovering.

I think your best bet is to try to become more self-aware. Start monitoring how your body reacts to certain things...what makes you tick. Get a better understanding of where you think your mind is going before you get there.

Your P-doc is there to help you, but they can't really help you much if you are unaware of yourself and cannot explain in detail how you feel under certain situations.

Even if you find you are getting normal, this self-actualization will go a long ways to increasing your coping skills.

Good Luck to you.

Originally Posted by BipolaRNurse

I questioned this same thing for over a year. When I thought of mania, I thought of someone who was completely out-of-control and psychotic; since I didn't fit those criteria, I figured mine stopped at hypomania.

WRONG!! I have hypomania that is distinct from what my pdoc flat-out calls mania: a wildly irregular, expensive, and incredibly dangerous mood swing for me. I'm rarely if ever psychotic, unless you count paranoia (which comes out to play toward the end of an episode) but I start out with the euphoria and end up being a raging you-know-what.

Contrast this with my hypomania, which consists of an elevated mood, abundant energy, an optimistic, dreamy view of the world and everything in it, and an extraordinary appreciation of beauty.

So that's why I carry the BP 1 designation instead of BP 2, I experience both full-blown mania and mixed episodes. It took a while to straighten it all out, but once I was put on an antipsychotic permanently, I've settled down a lot.

This is, at least for me, an apt description about the difference between mania and hypomania. With full-blown mania, I tend to lack insight in a big way - sometimes psychotic features are present...sometimes not. When fully manic, I've found myself lying to others and having urges to shoplift while engaging in over-the-top shopping sprees. Normally, I am an honest person, never shoplift, and actually dislike shopping itself. My appetite completely disappears but that may be related to my ED. Random songs constantly run through my head (although this happens with hypomania, too). My thoughts race like wildfire and somehow I even get to where I am thinking of several things at the same time. Think of the diagram of the atom...it's like that during fully blown mania with the thoughts. Of course, I talk, talk, talk - and I generally am an introvert. I literally feel like the world is my "personal playground." I do not get physically aggressive but experience hypersexuality. I could go on but hopefully this is helpful description-wise.