[MyUsername1111111]

Hi,

I have been hypomanic for 12 days now. Yesterday i had a couple of paranoid delutions, but today i feel a lot slower and very normal. I can no longer walk and talk on auto pilot.. it takes me time and effort. During my first episode in 2013, I was paranoid one night toward the end of my episode as well.. but i thought paranoia comes at the peak? Is this not true?

But today, I have not felt this normal since before this episode.

Is there anyway to prolong hypomania? Currently drinking an energy drink, and bought a 7,500W SAD light box yesterday.

Has anyone had success with this?

[sorand0m]

No idea how you'd achieve this to be honest.

Please be careful.

[CANDC]

The danger in hypomania is it is so far from that normal mind you describe yourself in now. The bipolar people I know are all addicted to the mania, but they all end up back in depression the more they chase mania. It is like an addiction.

I am not sure from what I have seen prolonging the mania is a wise move. Some people think they are invincible. They wake up with a $500 shopping bill for stuff they don't really need.

Those light boxes are supposed to be very nice.

[raspberrytorte]

I have a light therapy lamp. I like it, but I only use it when I get the winter blues. It's never made me hypomanic. I don't know if it would prolong it. You'll have to let us know.

[MyUsername1111111]

Ah, the chase. I know that depression can be magnified with more exposure to manias, and being BPII I am supposed to have more depression than hypomanias, but because of the nature of my personality, my depressive episodes are very hard to identify.

I have only seriously thought about suicide twice. Once as a young child (5 years old), and once two winters ago. I feel as though i only become depressed situationally (missed opportunity, failed something i expected to succeed at, rejection from something i felt entitled to, ect.). After my hypomanias, i tend to return to baseline.

I will report on the light box; I am hoping it at least gives me some motivation if not an intense amount of energy. The winter blues sometimes come for me, but i also find the winter season beautiful. It is bizarre how the spring and summer months effect me more than winters.. maybe it is that half way through the winter is christmas and new years which is always a fun event.

[raspberrytorte]

The majority of my severe depression episodes have happened in the summer. Makes no sense. lol

[MyUsername1111111]

I wonder if BP patients are triggered by the same sort of thing every time? For me, hypomania is clearly related to the season. For you, depression is related to the summer.. in general, depression aside, do you enjoy your summers? Do you go to school and find summer lacking structure? Maybe your job becomes more stressful in the summer? Or is it totally random?

[Craving_hypomania.]

Do your episodes follow a specific pattern ? Is the time gap between the episodes fixed ? I had my first hypo episode which lasted about 3 months then I had another one roughly an year later which again lasted 3 months. Its been about a year since and I am really desperately hoping to go hypo any time now. Im not on any meds . Though both times I was hypo my parents were secretly mixing olanzopine in my juice which probably shortened the hypo phases. How regular are your episodes ?

[raspberrytorte]

Originally Posted by MyUsername1111111

I wonder if BP patients are triggered by the same sort of thing every time? For me, hypomania is clearly related to the season. For you, depression is related to the summer.. in general, depression aside, do you enjoy your summers? Do you go to school and find summer lacking structure? Maybe your job becomes more stressful in the summer? Or is it totally random?

It's because a really life changing, traumatic event happened to me in the summer going on 12 years ago now I think, so sometimes just the season in general is a trigger. But my job is more stressful in the summer, but it's more stressful around any holiday and I've never been depressed in december or anything. What kind of things trigger you?

[MyUsername1111111]

Originally Posted by Craving_hypomania.

Do your episodes follow a specific pattern ? Is the time gap between the episodes fixed ? I had my first hypo episode which lasted about 3 months then I had another one roughly an year later which again lasted 3 months. Its been about a year since and I am really desperately hoping to go hypo any time now. Im not on any meds . Though both times I was hypo my parents were secretly mixing olanzopine in my juice which probably shortened the hypo phases. How regular are your episodes ?

Mine too come annually, within a week of the exact same date. Who knows.. you may be a bit hypo right now simply because you made a new online forum account and are looking to connect with others?

Originally Posted by raspberrytorte

It's because a really life changing, traumatic event happened to me in the summer going on 12 years ago now I think, so sometimes just the season in general is a trigger. But my job is more stressful in the summer, but it's more stressful around any holiday and I've never been depressed in december or anything. What kind of things trigger you?

I see. So you associate summer with the event and work builds up a bit. I've never been depressed in December either, if anything a bit better in mood. I hope this light box (panel) can both re-energize me during lazy days, and tip me into a speedy mood on already positive days.

For me, I usually eat a lot of food the week before hypomania. Aside from that, i have not been able to find any consistent patterns for me aside from the seasonal change into spring. Although, before two of my three episodes (this one included), i had been somewhat neglected from my father.

I do not think that anything triggers me into a mood aside from bettering or worsening my current social standing or net worth, and even in these situations it is nothing compared to my yearly hypomania which still has no consistent identifiable triggers.

[raspberrytorte]

Really, any major life changing event triggers me, usually into depression. I suck with stress.