[almondjoy]

Irritability and aggression are some of my main symptoms while hypo. It can escalate to extreme levels and I have lost touch a few times where I was doing and saying things I wasn't aware of. My mixed and depressed irritability are different, but hypo irritability is scary because I don't know what I might do.

When I'm on medication, I don't have these episodes and rarely get irritable or angry.

What I want to know is, why don't we hear more about this side of mania? Or do we, and I'm just missing it? I do experience the euphoria while hypo, but it often alternates over the course of the episode, usually escalating to the point I start losing touch, as mentioned above.

I'd like to know others' experienced or if you know of any good articles/reads about it. Thanks !!

- AJ

[gayleggg]

I have had that experience several times when I'm hypomanic. When I'm hypomanic I can go from being happy to irritable and angry in a split second. They have adjusted my meds where I don't have them anymore, unfortunately, I'm now just stuck in depression.

[Mrs. Mania]

I too had only ever known about the euphoria of manic episodes. I was blown away when I learned last week that irritability/aggression was also part of mania. This is my scariest symptom also. I actually get so mad my vision gets blurred and my words actually get choked when I try to speak them. I had no idea this was part of my disorder. I've learned that repeating a breathing mantra is super helpful for me to see straight again. Sorry to hear your suffering this, research ways to help you maintain yourself while this is happening, that's what I did and these periods have become much more manageable.

[~Christina]

My hypo is fun and its all rainbows and puppys but once I turn Manic its all angry ugly hallucinations and hell .

[wildflowerchild25]

I never knew about the anger and irritability either. It's why I didn't believe the dx for so long. I figured I never had happy hypomanias so I couldn't be bipolar. Looking back, and knowing what I know now, I see my hypomanias manifested mostly as irritable ones in the past. I don't know if it would have changed my acceptance but it's good to know now. The irritability and anger is what drive me to seek treatment last year and go back to treatment this year. I was tired of being a complete ***** all the time, especially to my son and husband.

I think we might not hear as much about the irritability (negative hypomania) as we do about the wild-risk-taking mania because the wild mania is more dramatic and interesting. "I cleared out my bank account and flew to London" is more exciting than "I drive home from work every evening screaming with road-rage at every driver who gets in my way".