Frustrated Vent

[Delusion]

I personally think hypomanic is the most overused and misused term medicated bipolars use in and off this forum, to begin with it literally means ''less than mania'' and in most medical circles bears that as its basic definition to which doesnt really explain a lot.

Ive seen so many people on here say things like oh ive been rushing around the house all day ive done all the dishes ive dusted the windows its all very exciting im feeling a little hypomanic gosh i really must get my medication tweaked. It winds a lot of people up because these are trivial every day things and are not mania, being in a good mood is not mania, having the energy to get up in the morning after a depressive episode is not mania, people need to learn how to correctly use the term.

So many people talk about things like this like theyre out of the ordinary and every slight change in theyre mood warrants another ''tweaking'' of theyre medication, moods change sometimes we're in good moods sometimes bad but everyone gets like this its not just bipolar sufferers people dont need therapy and diffrent ratios of medication everytime theyre mood fractionally changes.

This isnt something im bringing up due to recent events its been on my mind a while and thought i should let it out to see if it irritates other people. Im not trying to offend or disrespect anyone in particular.

[Alex_X_18]

I didn't even really know the name for it
If thats what hypomanic is then i get it sometimes....
If im not that way normally then im depressed
but,....
Yes its wayyyy diffrent frow full blown mainia
but still it has caused me problems in the past
mostly with my social life........but still I keep tryin
to keep my mood from getting to elevated
sometimes its too late and I start having a panic attack or a manic episode

[HoneyNut]

Hi hell1971,

I just wanted to say I think it's great that you were able to acknowledge you probably overreacted, and realized where that emotion stemmed from.  I think a lot of the time people act, and say without recognizing where it is coming from.  So keep up the good work, because I often struggle with admitting and saying "I'm sorry" when I know I have overreacted, and it was just me being paranoid.

~* HoneyNut

[bernie40]

I really don't understand why people get hung up on terminology.  Does it really matter whether you call something a "hypo", "elevated mood", or "mini mania".  At the end of the day it is a way for an individual to express what is happening to them.

I should also point out that a hypomanic state is relative to the person's "normal" state.  If you were the sort of person who was always feeling full of energy, cleaned your house daily, cooked for the 10,000 etc etc, then hypomania would be something more than an abundance of energy.  On the other hand if your "normal" state is lacking in motivation or energy, inability to focus, then a sudden cleaning frenzy is considered hypomanic.

This forum is not a competition to see who has the worst mood swings or who has the most disturbing manias.  Some people on here are unfortunate to experience full blown mania, some with psychosis.  Others never have full blown mania but experience frequent switches between melancholy and hypomania.  Whichever manifestation of BP a person has, it is very real and criticisms over whether they are using the right terminology or actually experiencing what they feel they are describing is not helpful.

[LeftCoastChick]

I do not think hypomania is overused. I get anxious, break out into sweats, I get dizzy, I can't focus or sit still, I talk too much, I binge spend and eat. My brain won't stop, I get fears of things that I don't in non-hypomanic states. I wish I could clean in a hypomanic state, I really do, but my brain gets so scattered, I can't focus enough to do that.  Those are hypomanic things many of us suffer, and yes I've had my meds upped. I'm calmer and I don't care how much me

Coming in here to rant like that is disruptive and demeaning other peoples' experiences, which you've done in the past and again you're doing it again. Stop judging the experiences of other people, and look at yourself first.

[hell1971]

Sorry I think I over reacted to your post, im sorry

I have just been very fragile and as im the one who seems to constantly have posts with am i hypomanic as i struggle to come to terms with life after a major episode and my new diagnosis I thought you were digging at me. im sorry im just super paranoid and need to recognise that. Anyway just wanted to say sorry.

[freebird227]

Making no refrence to any post because I haven't been here for a while, I have to agree almost 100%. But I think the bigger issue here could be fear based.
Fear that the good feelings of energry aren't going to last
Fear of the mood getting too elevated
Fear when the mood starts to swing back down
To mention a few. I use words like an elevated mood,it could last a day it could last for 2 weeks. What I do know is that it is not in my confort zone,do I enjoy it Why Yes, but I do keep it in front of me because I do know what my mania looks like.
I am usually more aware of my mood elavating when I have been operating below my confort zone, and when it shows up I simply say welcome back and go about my businness.
I had to find a language that worked for me that did not always imply " how sick I am "
I have a lot of respect for my disorder It has no boundries when left unchecked has the ability to distroy my life.

I believe anyone has the right to express how they are feeling using what ever lang. is avaible to them. It's not easy , and i encourage every one to keep posting  Blessed Be

[ILADVOCATE]

Hypomanic is a real term but it can also be overused. Only a psychiatrist can really understand what is going on clinically. It is of concern when people use clinical terms about themselves and assume they know what they mean. Even the terms I use about myself that relate to me, as regards a clinical study, I discuss with my provider first and sometimes I am wrong. I don't claim to have any form of clinical knowledge of course. We all should know when we start to lose judgment its of concern and there are steps before a full blown manic episode. If this happens we should speak to our psychiatrist. Any of us. Including myself. That doesn't mean every day we enjoy life is hypomanic.
  Manic or hypomanic is not a good state and its not "really happy". It shows things are wrong. Also if we have standard life issues we can't assume they'll be medicated away. That's what a talk therapist is for. As my recovery progressed I gained more self awareness and yes the days I ran around the city binge spending on cd's that I thought were "the best day ever" were actually hypomanic. Now I can enjoy a day where things are enjoyable for real. The Mood Tracker should help and we can bring the results to our psychiatrists and have them check it out.

[bastet56]

As a bipolar who used to be a full blown raging manic I understand and use the term hypomanic. I now go thru what would be called hypomanic cycles. I do not tweak my meds because of it. I think what many people are going thru is a scary time of uncontrolled energy and mood that does not reach the full blown manic phase. Never the less, it can be a bad time of fears,racing thoughts, bad judgements, and doubts. It is not fun and it is not imaginary. Just because you do not believe in it does not mean it does not exist. Have some empathy for others.

[hell1971]

TOO LATE I used this term because I dont know what else to say, you may think that its all good, well im telling you its not, I wish I felt good right now but I do not, I feel scared and lonley and dont know what to do, im now in tears and shacking worse than I was before, I am fully medicated and the racing thoughts are not cleaning windows doing the dishes or anything like that, the paranoid thinking is also not fun nor and everyday effent or mood state, my urges are also not pleasuarable especially when they would effect my family unit.. SO THANKS FOR YOUR IMPUT IT WAS NOT VERY HELPFUL TO ME TODAY.