What are the early warning signs that you're going up?

As I do with all good moods, I question if it's actually hypomania. I've been feeling better and better for the past couple of weeks, like my mood has really come around. I'm much more outgoing and empathic now, and I feel really good. In addition, I've been sleeping 5-6 hours for over a week now. I still feel tired, but I keep waking up restless at 3 am and I can't get back to sleep.

I feel like this could be mania poking through, but I'm not having racing thoughts or feeling euphoric. Just really good. This is the longest I've been feeling great in well over a year.

What are your warning signs?

Should I call for a med adjustment?

Glad to hear you are feeling good! Being out-going and having empathy is great. I'm excited for you! I get that you're concerned tho. We all want to feel good but no one wants a psychotic mania. What an odd illness this is, where feeling good is alarming! I also get the decreased need for sleep like you, tho you do say you feel tired. I feel getting in touch with your doctor is a good idea, even if you decide together on no med changes, more just to keep your doctor informed and share your concern so you can make a plan, maybe just to keep in touch frequently to monitor the situation. In the meantime: ENJOY!!!

For me I think it's the number of projects of any sort I start. I become quite ambitious, but not financial ambition I'm not in that direction bent. It's more wide-ranging endeavours.

For me
-not sleeping, and not feeling any ill effects other than the hypomania (so not feeling tired or headachey)
-having a shorter than usual temper
-going from one thing to the next without finishing anything

If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't be too worried. Just keep an eye on it and if you start noticing some for sure symptoms or if the lack of sleep is starting to really get to you, give the pdoc a ring. Enjoy feeling good!

Feeling happy and free...then noticing that colors are AMAZING! They seem to have "messages" for me. Music is ECSTATIC to hear! I'm in love with EVERYTHING! And it all feels incredibly fantastic!

Then I notice that I have the idea that I'll stay up all night and make up for it by sleeping all day. Why? because night is magic...it's bewitching!

And I know that I'm special, and was always destined to be. Yet, I love everyone...I see all people as wonderfully interesting and I understand them very well!

And then I start feeling annoyed by things. I catch my skirt on a door handle and hurt my hand by slamming it several times against the door. And people do stupid things! They drive like idiots! My husband never has loved me, but has just used me because I'm nice and loving toward him.

Someone(s) is going to take my cats from me. A terrifying thought.

By now I'm more than angry, I'm in a flaming rage! I am pretty sure that I could actually kill someone because I'm so furious.

My body is exhausted, but my mind is filled with way too much. The anxiety is insane. My whole world feels like it's beginning to collapse...I need help...

I realized i was going up after I shaved my head. First I cut it a little, but last week I shaved it almost bald. I have never done that before. I also bleached it blonde. I like it, but have gone back and forth with the color. I have colored it dark and then blonde every few days. While I like this energy, I don't want the little bit of hair I have to fall out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gevansd I realized i was going up after I shaved my head. First I cut it a little, but last week I shaved it almost bald. I have never done that before. I also bleached it blonde. I like it, but have gone back and forth with the color. I have colored it dark and then blonde every few days. While I like this energy, I don't want the little bit of hair I have to fall out.

Oh, wow. I've been there a few times.

I dunno. I seem to have missed them all last time I was manic.

I can't sit still and keep going until I realize I've been exhausted for an hour.

Interesting, as I just went through this a few days ago, becoming quite hypo out of completely nowhere.

For me, earliest signs are decreased INTEREST in sleep, not just decreased need. I do not want to sleep, because of the tremendous importance of whatever I am doing. Usually, writing. That is one.

Other very reliable early indicators are: music sounding way, way too good; food tasting way too good; visual experiences are heightened; sudden increased sex drive; lots of planning becoems important. All sorts of plans made.

The other thing that happened this week is I experienced passion for music for the first time in years. Passion like I used to have when I played a lot. Almost dug out all my guitars and gear. Just so odd, as I really could not care less about music anymore. It brings me zero enjoyment of any kind ever. Unheard of for me. I normally only have passion for four things these days: my HP, social injustice issues, my writing, and my children. When "new" things pop onto that list, this is another sign that I am flipping.

Sometimes things just go really well for awhile and then I just start to crash. It usually has more to do with when I’m getting my period though.

When my shopping escalates, and I don't feel like going to sleep, I know I'm headed toward a manic episode. I also get really irritable when driving. Lots of honking and giving evil stares. Ha. Tis is happening to me now.

In the past, when I recognize that colors are more vivid than usual and I feel totally invincible, those are signs that I'm getting high.

Wonderful thread. Right now, just considering the adjustments to keep making due with all these stay-in orders. One could get me a little extra money, but had an exaggerated thought right away that it would work out super well and all my money woes would go away.

And like that, my mood followed that thought. Situation dire, mood up? And another part of me asked—whoa, what thought is that? Who are YOU? Turns out that part wants to prove my parents, society, anyone wrong to cast doubts on my abilities.

A couple of days ago I caught myself being a little irritable, also my sense of smell seemed heightened. The start was an idea new to me and just riffing, jamming, delighting in it. Ottessa Moshfegh commented in an interview that her writing process involved discovering the key sentence in the piece. When drafting she keeps returning to that sentence, feeling and listening to it, getting cozy with its DNA, and from there she writes likes she's composing music. She doesn't think over much about character or plot but keeping returning to the DNA of the story as revealed by that pivotal sentence.

Ha!? I thought, I can apply that ... here in my life, and here, too. And over there. Is this my portal to freedom? If this is The Key it could work out super well …
Revu2

Had several out of the ordinary happy moments today and could feel the up draft of emotion. Had to slow everything down, take a short meditation break, or it is meditation brake?

What helped calm me: breathing, finding a chore to do (looked for something) and recall all the work that led up to today. Part of the work was waiting out some good news which arrived this morning.

Also, reminding myself the game wasn't over so I needed to "stay in play." R

My title for this post is a riff on the ace designer Raymond Loewy's More Advanced Yet Acceptable. This is where he wanted his designs to fall that he pitched to clients.

my MAYA is knowing my emotions and moods like to rise over fast. I remind myself that I can only let in as much as I can absorb. When it feels too much I reminds myself to step away and try things like I listed in my previous post.
R

Feeling Euphoric, talking fast, taking on multiple projects, little sleep, increased confidence, and more outgoing/social. I've learned to recognize my triggers and before my last episode I even scheduled LOA at work, found a dog sitter, set up an admission date at the hospital to monitor and adjust my meds but unfortunately I crossed into full on psychosis/mania the day before my check-in date and was sent to the wrong hospital (the worst one in the area). Even through hypomania feels great, I know that it is a early signs of a full blown episode.

Even through hypomania feels great, be careful and take care of yourself before it turns for the worse.

@Jennyanydots: Even through hypomania feels great, be careful and take care of yourself.

Yes, from watching a BBC documentary narrated by Stephen Fry I found my way to that very question. Mr Fry asked 9 or so bi-polar folks, "If you could take something and stop the manic swings, would you?" 8 of 9 said no, they enjoyed the great feelings that much. I was amazed. I guess they don't lose much when manic. In my case, I've suffered too much from my manic states, so I took it on to find "something" for myself.

I have a thread on psychcentral to write about my something.

This week, I got myself deep into the circumstances that once fired off the terrific feelings. For every seeming spike in mood or emotion I used the inner speech tools I've pains-takingly worked out over the past 6 or 7 years. For example, when feeling great before I would egg myself on. Now I say, take a moment, feel good, let it go, and we're going to take a break soon as it's safe. Now, put down the controls and you won't hurt yourself.

Before: If I could keep going and do this again and again I'll end up orbiting the moon in no time.
Now: Calm down. Consider all the hard labor you put in to get here, and how hard it will be to sustain this before we can ever think of increasing it.

Before: Ah, this will show them (my family, my enemies, "the world")
Now: Relax—no one is watching, no one really cares.

Ah, man, talking to myself really crashes the Mania Party — and that's what I need to do.
Revu2

Some days a feeling shifts. E B White's title The Hour of Letdown inspired this note. Riffing on it, or as I call it, doing my own cover, I'd like to comment on the hour of let go.

I've returned to the arena which sparked my succeeding-triggering m&ni& because I don't want to die with that defeat or stain on my conscious.

It's a game with many many ways to get entangled and also many ways one might win. I'll call it Gioco, game in Italian, or directly, G.

See my note a couple of replies back on MAYA. I have a MAYA meter in my spleen area. There much of my adult life. Facing a difficult challenge as I approach the playing table it knots up. What is it telling me? I step away, it eases. I try something else, more knots.

And so we play a game of colder, warmer. It is this, less-yes. How about this way? A little tighter, so no.

Today, after puzzling about G last night, I came to the table and all was ease. Was that it? What I did last night? All quiet. Huh.

Now what? This inner success, for a moment, needs a small ritual. I must hold my "implications mentality" in check (that fired off my m&ni& fired in the past). I must continue—more advanced, gut check, adjust, for ever. MAG CAFE.

I'll meet myself at the Mag Cafe for my hour of let go. R

Spending lots of money, feeling euphoric, not sleeping much, hyperactivity, coming up with lots of new projects to start, oh and doing risky stuff, and thinking about stopping all my meds

For me its euphoria while i am driven/focused. I start to multitask a lot. Eventually this ramps up and ill go out drinking. Not a good combo. Meds help the most. Exercise and anything else that gets you 8 straight hours of sleep. I saw the Stephen Fry documentary too. I wish it only stopped at hypomania.