[confused2006]

Hi, can anyone let me know if the following feelings are typical of hypomania. At the moment I feel very frustrated and feel like I really want to do some things that I know I shouldn’t, either spending money on things I don;t really need or sexual indiscretions, my sex drive is really up at the moment. At the moment I can control everything but just feel the frustration building. I know I shouldn’t act on these feelings but am starting to get so frustrated that I am starting to think just give in to it. Its making me very irritable as well.
Also, over the last week I have become a bit obsessed with tidying the house, all day everyday, and as soon as I sit down I think of something else to tidy up.
I’ve read a lot about the types of things people do when they are hypomanic but not how they feel.
I was diagnosed with depression 3 months ago, and have anxiety and OCD as well. I have suffered for several years before this year but the depression and anxiety was manageable. My mood has been really good over the last week as have my energy levels so am a bit confused with all the varying emotions going on.

[mathrye]

Yes, hypomania makes me very frustrated. I was furious that people didn't understand how important everything is, and how they seemed so apathetic, etc etc. Money went straight out the window, and in a month I spent myself from quite financially stable to zeroing out (or overdrawing) all my bank accounts.

The tidying up bit is a huge red flag to me. My first mania hit me when I was living alone for 2 months in a rented condo (traveling for work). I could come home at 4PM. Tidy up the living room. Tidy up my bedroom. Open 20 wikipedia articles. Tidy up the kitchen. Lay down yoga mat. Do 90 seconds of yoga, then run to the bedroom to arrange laundry. Open 10 more wikipedia articles. Start water boiling for dinner. Step onto yoga mat for 2 minutes. Get into first pose. Freeze there, thinking of all the things that I need to clean. Start water for shower. Tidy up bedroom. Tidy up kitchen. Oh yea, was I making dinner? Tidy up living room. repeat repeat repeat for hours on end. Why is there no hot water in the condo? Oh wait, I was going to shower! Wait, is the water still running? Shoot, that was like 3 hours ago.

I couldn't bring a single task to fruition because a tenth of the way into it I would remember so many other things that I would need to do. It was very circular and felt very natural. I was proud of being so mindful of my surroundings. I wrote off the fact that I would start task after task without finishing any of them as just being absent minded.

The ridiculous thing is that I only travel with one suitcase and a carry-on. Considering that clothes and yoga mat take up 80% of my suitcase, it baffles me now how I managed to spend 4 or 5 hours tidying up every night. I would tidy up the same room 3 times in 1 night, despite not spending a single non-cleaning moment in it. When I returned home (still experiencing mania) I got rid of most of my furniture, half my clothes, and half my stuff so that my room could be minimalist and tidy. Gosh, I miss my dresser sometimes.

What you describe sounds very similar to what I experienced. I'd really suggest talking to a pdoc or therapist about it. If you aren't hypo/manic, then it won't hurt to have that confirmed, you can rest in peace. Maybe it's just anxiety and ocd acting up. If you are ramping up, you'll want to nip that in the bud a.s.a.p. before things get really destructive.

Before all this, I was just diagnosed with mild depression and had been placed on prozac, which seemed to be working well. No big deal, until it wired me up and all hell broke loose.

How are you feeling now? How well can you focus? Sleeping OK?

[mathrye]

Oh yea - friends would come over and I'd incessantly clean my room while talking to them. We called it 'futzing.'

[confused2006]

Hi thanks so much for the response, can certainly relate to a lot of those things. Hoping to see pdoc today.

[mathrye]

How'd it go? I hope you've been able to find some information and relief.