That sounds like a boxing match. People who have full blown mania have Bipolar I. People who have hypomania have Bipolar II. It’s extremely important that you know what diagnosis you have.
I have quite a few friends with bipolar I. All of them have been in the hospital because of psychotic mania. If you have been hospitalized or you know someone who has been hospitalized for mania- they have Bipolar I.
I have Bipolar II. This means that I have all of the same depression symptoms as Bipolar I, but my mania is milder- which is why it’s called hypomania. Hypomania is so sneaky- it can destroy your life just like full blown mania- but because it’s milder it’s usually seen as a lack of personal control and is often not diagnosed.
Do you have full blown mania or hypomania? I talk about this in all of my books. It’s important to know the difference.
Julie
I have experience a illness/disorder for 3 years now, its something that came about in the realm of a panic attack that compounded for months and years, I have self medicated with street durgs and alcohol, I have also seen more than 3 phy. docs regarding my problems that were not going away, my symptoms initially were deep fear and scared of everything,severe-severe insomina–which at this point disabled me from working or even getting out of bed,I stoped using street drugs, I was put on tons of anti-dep and nothing seemed to help I was always fatiqued and extremely tired–over the next few years my depression symptoms went away, but what stuck out was a that exsisting underline feeling of irritabilty, anxious and the same trend of sleep patterns(severe insomnia)it feels like my engine is always running and I cant shut off,dispite the fatique and lethergy, I couldnt sleep I also cant sleep without being medicine induced.. I was put on 200 mg of seroquel for sleep , also 40mg of buspar for anxiety, 2 antidep.(cymbalta,paxil) I am also on 100mg of Lamictal which I am understanding one thing that seroquel and lamictal together are breaking the ice of my insomnia it has helped me sleep deeper its not the best but its a heck of alot better than I was sleeping, I feel more functional, the lamictal started out great than leveled of and than feel off, but my story of symptoms has probably one question and that is, “could I be Bipolar after these last few years and not known”?
I would like to here from an experience individual that knows about B.P.dD
Thank You,
Rich
my sister suffers from panic attack and the doctor prescribed prozac on her~”-
Hi, This can defintely cause mania and has to be prescribed carefully if she has bipolar. If she doesn’t, anti depressants can be used for anxiety symptoms such as OCD! Julie
I experience both major mania and hypomania.
The hypomania totally kicks butt. It is the most practical, in terms of usefulness, of the two. It is much easier to control and focus the energy on what I need it for. The delusionality and grandiosity aspects are much easier for me to manage and keep a handle on than with full-throttle mania. They are more or less minor background apps that I can ignore. As you say, the hypomania can definitely sneak up on you. I have ramped up into hypomanic states and not really realized I was in them until they were pretty much over with.
If an episode is going to be full out mania it oftentimes will start out as hypomania but the onset is almost instantaneous. I will feel it hit hard. I will usually be in a normal to borderline depressed state and then instantly I will feel absolutely amazing. Everything will be a thousand times better than it was. I am often listening to music when this happens. Suddenly the music will be like auditory orgasm — like somebody pumping insane amounts of energy and pleasure into my brain and body through my ears. If it does start out as hypomania it’s usually only a matter of a day or even a few hours before it become full blown mania.
With full blown mania, in many ways, I am just along for the ride. I do a better job than most of exercising some amount of control over it and even using it to get things done but, it is far more difficult to do so and requires much more energy and concentration to accomplish this. Delusionality and grandiosity are major aspects to contend with. It is very easy to lose yourself in them. The euphoria and ecstasy that goes with full-on mania is also different from that of the hypomania. It can be so intense that it is literally terrifying but it is so wonderful that you can’t really care that you are scared out of your mind by it. The ecstasy can become so intense that you lose consciousness from it.
It sounds strange to say so but, the euphoric stage of full on mania is a very lonely thing. To have such an immense and overwhelming thing happening to you and have no one to help you stay grounded in reality or to make sure you are safe while it’s going on gives you a sense that you are very much alone.
Richard-absolutely you could have Bipolar that was undiagnosed or overlooked after 3 years. Heck it’s taken my 10 years to finally accept my Bipolar diagnosis as there are so many variables in life between circumstances, situation, environmental factors etc. as to why we don’t sleep or have varying moods and anxiety. I finally realize now though that I do have severe Bipolar 1 with extreme manias.
During my manias I tend to think I am God, or the Second Coming of Christ. I am very grandiose and this I am a genius and that I am invincible. This delusional thinking causes erratic, often dangerous behavior. I drive very fast in my car, blowing through red lights. I often seek street drugs to calm my anxiety rather than take my prescription medications. I don’t listen to others who have my best interest at heart and love me. I think everyone is wrong and I am the only righteous one…afterall I am “God” remember. It is very scary and lonely. I have had over 11 hospitalizations in 9 years. I am still trying my hardest to manage my illness though meds, therapy, and recognizing triggers. Having a support group is key too. Some of my family members have not been understanding so I have had to get support in my local community instead. Education is key and a positive attitude will go along way once you accept you have this illness and realize it can be managed it just takes some hard work and patience.
I’m diagnosed schizoaffective and I’ve had episodes of mania and hypomania. To be honest I wouldn’t even know I’d been hypomanic except that I learned the symptoms and how to spot them. If I didn’t know better I’d have thought the last episode was just me not being able to sleep for days on end, being more excitable than usual and sociable and disinhibited and in a good mood. When I’m manic the mood is much more similar to a drug high than just a “good mood”. Also the racing thougts get so severe there are times I can’t follow what people are saying and they cannot understand me either. I get voices and other psychotic symptoms whether I’m hypomanic or manic, but in full-on mania they are a lot more extreme. As well as hearing voices I sometimes see words coming out of the walls in capital letters and I’ve had some spectacular hallucinations.
BTW I had a query: re bipolar depression. How come in old textbooks (eg Emil Kraepelin) depression is always described with insomnia, especially early morning waking. Yet nowadays many people with bipolar depression say they oversleep (like I do). I cannot understand how depression with hypersomnia was so roundly ignored in times past. Has something changed? Is depression with hypersomnia milder than depression with insomnia so that in years gone by it just wasn’t taken seriously? After all in Victorian times unless your depression was so bad it got you admitted to the madhouse, you probably weren’t seen as mentally ill (and there were no antidepressants anyhow). If you have any answer to this I’d be most appreciative.
You. Hit. The. Nail. On. The. Head.
THANKS.
Hi Julie/ I am so confused right now. I’ve been hospitalized for psychotic mania, twice. I’m the girl who thought that the Big Bang Theory tv show was on just for me to portray different characters in my mind- so glad I can laugh about that now. However, I’ve “caught” myself before going on that upward “high” and went straight to my psychiatrist. He has seen me for years, in and out of hospitalization, but when I come in just feeling great but “too great” to everyone else, he told me I was hypomanic. Wtf am I??? Tripolar???? Help please because I’m managing a “hypomanic” at the moment. The doctor schedules me an appointment the DAY I feel “funny” gives me stronger meds to take for a week or increases a dose of my lithium and backs me off of my antidepressant. Then I go in again in a week to see how I’m doing. But it’s bothering me now that I don’t know what TYPE I am. Please get back when you can I understand you have tons of people to talk to.
If you have been hospitalized for a manic psychotic episode, this is considered full blown mania. This means you have bipolar one. All people with bipolar disorder have hypomania. Only people with bipolar one have full blown mania. I would also suggest that the anti depressant could be causing the mania. I don’t believe in staying on an anti depressant if there is a lot of mania. You can talk with your psych about this. Some people simply can’t take anti depressants. They have to use lamictal,lithium or possibly a low dose anti psychotic for the depression. If you deal with mania or hypomania on a regular basis, meds need to be checked. My book Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder gives a super clear explanation of the illness. I have bipolar two with psychotic features….also known as schizo affective disorder. I only have hypomania. You are doing a great job taking care of yourself! Julie