toobjunkey

Is it still hypomania if the episodes *never* involve the "high risk" factor? When I become (what I believe to be, and my psych says is likely) hypomanic, I find myself absolutely becoming impulsive, but the things I'll do involve broaching conversations with friends I haven't spoken to in weeks/months/years, deciding to make a trip to the zoo or take a walk, deciding at 3 PM to make a semi elaborate dinner, and I even made a small music label for creating/distributing CDs & tape cassettes of friends' music and my own.

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Every decision I've made in these episodes has been one that I can look upon fondly. My psych said that everything else lines up with hypomania, especially the "spark of god" feeling of confidence I get with it, but she also said it is odd that in my ~decade of having it I've never done anything properly detrimental to myself as a result of these episodes. I understand that these episodes should be avoided in a general health sense, but when their results, tangible and otherwise, always seem "good" it makes it hard to want to get rid of them.

I really appreciate the response, and that I got multiple responses too. Y'all covered a lot more ground than I was hoping/expecting, thank you very kindly :)

I'd began to have some self doubt about my diagnosis or as though it's just a matter of when, not if, before it becomes full blown mania with the high-risk & negative decisions. It's assuring to know that it's a known thing, and that as long as I'm diligent and mindful about my self-care, it's not necessarily a ticking time-bomb.

Thank you for the in depth reply! My curiosity is due to seeing so much sentiment (in general, and the bipolar subreddits) about how mania and hypomania are only ever masquerading as "good" things, and that there are almost always negative consequences that won't become clear until after the episode.

It's a little reassuring to know that it's not entirely uncommon, as I was beginning to feel a little out of place whenever (hypo)mania and its consequences were discussed due to my overly positive experiences with it. I'm going to consider keeping a mood journal, because I only recently became aware of how things can pendulum back and forth. I'd gladly get rid of my few & far in between hypomanic episodes if it means getting rid of the much more often occurring depressive/anxious periods.

I'm glad to hear there's others in a similar boat! I only started seeking mental health help and got my diagnosis earlier this year. I was beginning to feel a little out of place when seeing (hypo)mania discussions because people would talk about how they'd fucked up something major in their life during an episode. Meanwhile I'd be thinking about an episode where I made chicken piccata, made a song and art collage, then re-connected with a friend I hadn't spoken to in 8 months all in a couple days after a 3 week stretch of moderate depression.