I have a lot of energy, and I'm zooming around and talking and singing when yesterday I was very near to killing myself. I'm going over to Maine to have lunch and see lighthouses! I had trouble sleeping but that's not unusual for me.

How do you tell the difference between hypomania and just not being depressed anymore?

Hi spikes. Sometimes it is difficult to know until one or a couple things are strikingly out of the usual. I think it's perfectly lovely to have a lot of energy and be upbeat singling and talking a lot, but when that starts to become outlandish or "over the top", it's something to question. I sometimes pull out the hypomania/mania symptom list, which are basically the same, but just a matter of severity. Do you have three or more of the following (or four or more, if irritability is present)?

1. Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity (beyond normal "good" self-esteem.

2. Decreased need for sleep (i.e. feeling rested only after 3 hours sleep)

3. More talkative than your baseline with pressure to speak

4. Racing thoughts

5. Increase in goal-directed activity (projects) beyond what is a normal baseline on a "normal" good day

6. Excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a potential for painful consequences

I guess I'd wonder how far away Maine and its lighthouses are from you. Are we talking New York or further away? Would you have made such trips with your aunt on a clearly baseline day in the past, for fun, on special occasions? Do you think your aunt is getting manic? A lot of people without bipolar disorder who have spare time, sometimes take short road trips.

I know that for me, I can have an elevated mood that is not always very concerning. You know that there are different levels of hypomania, not to mention different levels of mania. I guess I'm suggesting that you maybe journal what you are doing and things you said out of the normal and then scrutinize them. I call that a "mood check". In my case, I do have permitted "PRN" medications that I can take, when needed. Even before that, if I think my mood is getting elevated I "lay low", as I call it. "Laying low" is important for me because outside excitement or stressful triggers can fuel the fire of any mood elevation that I'm developing.

I hope that if going to see lighthouses is not a drastically wild idea that you enjoy the pleasant day.

[saucygirl31]

to me the biggest tell, aside from feeling rested on few hours, is things look more vivid and I feel like I'm on drugs.

Wasn't hypomanic, just wasn't depressed for a few hours. We didn't even see any lighthouses

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by spikes

Wasn't hypomanic, just wasn't depressed for a few hours. We didn't even see any lighthouses

Just saying hi, Spikes...with a hug...