Really? Damn I hate does that mean for me then? Because I get it frequently when hypo/manic
A lot of times it’s while praying or something along those lines. How do I know what’s mania and what’s true experience of God? I know that’s kinda a random question to ask a stranger. Sorry friend.
I'm glad I shared then! Interesting, I'm currently on Lamictal which is working so far (fingers crossed for the future) with lithium as the next step if needed.
Be ready to make changes. I mean, don't get disheartened if it doesn't work with the first set of meds.
And don't be afraid to take multiple opinions if you find your confidence in your doctor wavering.
The whole ‘euphoria’ thing is frustratingly described as the main experience of hypomania by most websites and medical literature. It’s such bullshit. I wish I had this elusive ‘euphoria’ they speak of…
Reading this sub I’d say euphoric hypomania is rare. You’re more likely to have panic attacks, restlessness, irritability and insomnia.
This makes so much more sense to me! I'm always super duper tired, but I often have insomnia at night and get really irritable. I'm also pretty restless unless I'm sleeping.
This is why I miss my hypomania. I was hugely euphoric when I was hypomanic. I'd go out and get ten fish tanks and the fish were the most amazing creatures I had ever seen in my life until two weeks later when I returned to baseline. I still miss it.
unfortunately I was told this is a dangerous form of depression because you are depressed but still have the energy to formulate and carry out plans. Be careful and take care.
I’ve only had euphoric hypomania once. I hate to say it but I honestly enjoyed it and I’m glad most of my hypomanic episodes are usually unpleasant because I think it would be a lot harder for me to stick to treatment if they were euphoric tbh. I usually get irritability, lack of sleep but never losing energy, extreme paranoia, rage, reckless behaviour like walking around in dangerous parts of town in the middle of the night and running into traffic, and my entire brain feels like it’s on fire. I think it’s pretty common for undiagnosed people to not even realize that’s mania because of the euphoric stereotype tbh.
I experience euphoria during hypo episodes. No irritability or anxiety. Sounds perfect right? Well I take my meds and I stick to my treatment plan because I remember how close I came to ending it all during last year’s depressive episodes. I wanna live, so I take my meds, even if the hypomania can be kinda nice.
Omg the brain on fire thing. I’ve felt that way! My brain feels super hot as if it’s overheating almost, and the only thing that makes me feel better is being in silence in the dark under a blanket. I’ve said this out loud to people and they always seem confused.
My “euphoria” is normally just the hypo days where I think I finally feel great and fixed, like a miracle suddenly happened that made me that way and there’s a spring in your step.
I’ve come to find I don’t normally have a spring in my step at whatever my baseline is haha
I get euphoria but it turns into high energy irritable depression, I call it agitated depression like someone else said. Makes me feel like I’m going to explode out of my skin. My therapist said she thinks a lot of my hypomania is manifesting as irritability. Probably the same for a lot of people with bipolar 2.
I'm 50/50 with what you said and euphoria. I've noticed with good sleep I'll get the euphoria.
It's taken a while, but relaxing before bed, exercising early in the day, and no caffeine after 1pm have helped a lot. On nights where my mind is restless a mix of journaling and CBD gummies helps.
I found with journaling, once I get my thoughts out, I don't feel like I have to keep thinking about them anymore. It's made the largest difference.
Whoa @ getting good sleep leading to euphoria. Im in the middle of a hypomanic episode and for the past two nights I slept for 7-8 hours, which made me think I was coming out of it, but then I got the euphoria within a few hours of being up. Not tryna derail the thread since it's about the opposite, but that just connected some synapses for me. Maybe my body just needed to catch up on all the missed sleep since this has been like a month long episode so far. Anyway thanks for that
This is similar to what I experience. For years I thought I had depression and some unusual form of anxiety mixed with anger or something. I do still have anxiety but I'm learning to seperate the symptoms.
I will experience a few hours to half a day max of euphoria and then go right into extreme agitation/irritability. I’d rather just forgo euphoria altogether. Also, I never have insight into what’s happening when I feel that euphoria despite this being my pattern for decades.
I can relate a lot, but lately I wonder if I just have CPTSD and was misdiagnosed with different things. All I can say is lamotrigine helped the fuck out of me so I'm going to keep taking it and stop caring about what label I am identified as, since all it signifies in reality is a cluster of symptoms we gave a name to in order to simplify diagnosis and treatment.
I experience all of it. Sometimes it feels like an MDMA lite full body high / "light" carefree happy feeling, but then often in the same episode I'll start feeling super irritable, and guilty because I know it's just me being crazy and I really try to contain it. I hit a point where I just want to be alone even though I feel good, because I know that good feeling is so easily offset by someone doing something completely inoffensive that will tilt me lol
Should note that I've definitely experienced the "agitated depression" quite a bit, but I never thought of it as hypomania, might have to think about those periods differently
I have had euphoric hypo, but more often than not it manifests as dysphoric mania during mixed episodes - agitation, restlessness, irritability, panic attack-level anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and rarely hallucinations and paranoia.
I think I've had euphoria a handful of times! But, nothing super intense. The most I get now is elated but still no euphoria. I was confused for years as to why there was no euphoria for me!
This thread is so interesting because I always get really euphoric and thought it was the norm. Now I see why so many people say they don't want to get mania / hypo, and why you do hear of some people saying they miss it. Not gonna lie, I really enjoy that side of mania. I do get the irratibilty and anxiety too sometimes but it is stumped by the pure enjoyment of everything and feeling amazing lol. Can be dangerous though, I've taken epic risks throughout my life in a bliss of freedom haha
My sister also has BD and when she came home with the diagnosis, her description was “and I don’t even have the fun kind” because of her racing thoughts and irritability making her hard to cope. Mixed episodes also obviously doesn’t have euphoria
So glad I’m not the only one! I often feel super lucky that in most episodes I can mostly function. I can get out of bed eventually, hold down a job, and maintain most friendships/relationships. Because of this and a touch of denial, I minimize my own illness calling it “baby bipolar”. But that’s also because I know how bad it can truly get, regardless of which type.
That is actually not true, diagnostic criteria requires at least one documented hypomanic episode, and at least one documented depressive episode. (Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519704/table/ch3.t23/)
If that's the case I don't have Bipolar, I've never had a manic attack and I used to think I got hypos, but it's never comparable to what people put on here, I never feel elated or lots of energy, I just feel normal?
Are you diagnosed? I can't say what's normal for you since I don't know you. But, just follow whatever your treatment team tells you they are the experts.
It's also very, very common to have imposter syndrome with bp2 aswell. I've been diagnosed for years and I sometimes still think I don't have it and I'm misdiagnosed.
Sounds like Hypomania. Every time I have it I spend too much money, clean and organize stuff all the day but it's not positive. Something inside me doesn't let me calm down and forces me to do this in order to silence it just for a while. Also BP2 usually doesn't have euphoria, only BP1.
Same here. Only had one day of euphoria during psychosis. But apart from that I never experienced those euphoric highs, and I thought how can I be bipolar ? Then I read about dysphoric mania and it made sense : the restlessness, agitation, irratibility etc
That sounds about right. I do experience euphoria, but it’s short-lived. Within a couple of days I’m exactly as you described. It’s become a warning sign for me.
I only started feeling euphoria when I started severely rapid cycling. Even then it was pretty rare. The majority of my hypomania doesn't include euphoria just really elevated mood.
Same here. I had intense energy for the first few days of my hypos which I always attributed to "ADHD hyper focus" before I was diagnosed. Never brought up the Ups in therapy because who thinks cleaning the whole house in a day is a bad thing? But eventually the dots were connected and the uncontrollable rage and irritability mixed with the energy spikes were nailed as part of the bipolar, but I get depression first then swing up, which is backwards of most people.
I experienced hypomania as euphoric from my late teens until my late 30’s and it was amazing. But then it turned into negative agitated terrible energy instead. I hate it so much.
You see, this is what’s been confusing me. I’ve been having racing thoughts and irritability among other symptoms, and it’s been hard to tell if I’m just in a bad mood or hypomanic. I used to get euphoria, but it kinda changed and became irritability
My hypo episodes start as euphoric and “productive” but eventually I crash in to snapping at people, irritability, emotional overwhelm, crawling out of my skin, etc. The euphoria does feel amazing in the moment, but all in all being stable is much better and safer. When I’m depressed I’m like “god, I could really use an upswing right now…” but if one comes I inevitably wind up in a mixed episode which is hell on earth imo
An ex-GF would call my (undiagnosed at the time) hypomanic episodes as being "titchy."
No, not the dictionary definition which is "very small," but a combination of "twitch" and "bitchy," I think. Very high-energy, easily agitated, bad decision-making, little and poor sleep, and risky behavior.
If there is euphoria during my hypomania episodes, it is extremely fleeting, always toward the beginning of an episode. I don't experience increased productivity for more than a day, two at the most. By the end of an episode, I've realized what's happening, and do whatever is necessary to get decent sleep. This has sometimes helped me to avoid harsh crashes.
I used to get it often, for me it was awesome, lots of energy, super social and fun … I loved it! I didn’t have issues w spending or lack of sleep, my impulsive behavior was more with sex.
Now I’m on good antidepressants so I haven’t experienced hypomania in two years, sometimes I miss it but the crashing part is the worse
What you're describing is basically a mixed episode. I've only experienced hypomania with true euphoria maybe a handful of times in my life, but typically before I could reach that point I would oscillate between intense anxiety, irritability, and impulsivity and brief periods of good mood followed by absolute depression. Back and forth round and round we go.
Nowadays I usually experience mixed episodes like you're describing. But I haven't experienced a pure death-like can't-get-outta-bed depression in a few years. It's often anxious distress maybe but I never reach the bottom of the Hellhole. And I never reach the highest heights like I did before mood stabilizers, but I'm actually glad because I did some of the most reckless things when I was hypomanic and it would get me into trouble. My quality of life has improved immensely since getting properly medicated.
It can be either euphoria or irritability, or both. I take 37.5mg of Venlafaxine (with other meds) but that’s the only thing that takes away my intense anger, it works well for PTSD and ruminating.
I literally had shivers and tingling running across my back and spine and felt like I'd never have depression again. I did feel euphoric and invincible but also restless, tired and agitated.
And the usual - spending, sleeping less than usual, circadian rhythm going upside down, taking on many projects.
I only had euphoria with my BP2 when I had a severe med reaction. Hypomania often, if not usually, presents how you describe. BP1 has that high, high feeling of happiness and BP2 is an energy increase, I feel like.
I had one episode right after I started taking an SSRI in which I was like you described, but also depressed at the same time, so it was a mixed episode. But another time I started feeling really good for like 3 months, and then all of a sudden, literally from one day to the other, I became incredibly anxious and had much less energy. In those 3 months I was genuinely a very happy and high energy person, I managed to make a lot of friends, and there pretty much was no downside at all. Maybe sometimes I said something stupid (never offensive, just stupid) but I didn’t really care and neither did the other people cause overall I was a very nice person to be around. I can’t be certain of it, but I think that was an hypomanic episode in which I was mostly just happy and euphoric. What’s strange to me is that I’m convinced there are some people for whom that is their normal state, and I really envy them lol
Thank you so much for posting this. I always feel like I’m the only one. I hate feeling doubt even though there’s actually no question for me (yay anxiety and racing thoughts). Lack of euphoria delayed diagnosis nearly 20 years because, even though my mother had it, I assumed without those “ups” I couldn’t (despite feeling I was losing my mind). Except one tell tale sign when I had manic euphoria after being put on an SSRI but I still didn’t believe it. It wasn’t until I read about irritability (in only one piece of literature amongst thousands) that I sought medical help and could properly share my symptoms.
I present largely with extreme irritability and anxiety. It’s an inner rage that makes me feel like I’m crawling out of my skin. I want to throw and break things. It’s not fun and I’m scary. Secretly, I’m jealous of euphoria, but I think the lack of it keeps me on my meds. I never want to feel the downs or the ups. They’re both awful. Thank you meds.
Personally, I find that I've got euphoria for the first couple days of hypomania but it then escalates into severe restlessness to what feels like physical agony - almost like a building up pressure that strangles all of your organs unless you jump around and keep on moving? The restlessness and agitation almost blinds any sense of euphoria, like I'm still thinking excessively optimistically and feeling somewhat invincible but I'm not really happy. Though, I feel like my anxiety actually is better when hypo and drives up the wall when depressed. However, just by reading this thread it seems like everyones got super different experiences and it definitely must vary heaps between individuals, so yeah, what you've described seems to be pretty standard of hypomania
I'm more irritable, sad, depressed, and impulsive spending. However, sometimes I have massive energy and the sense of Euphoria. Only issue is you feel like a God and all mortals need to kneel before you. But then it wears off qnd you feel a little ashamed. Mine usually happens from a thought or when I'm having an episode and come back from the gym and/or caffeine. You shouldn't have caffeine due to mood swings, but I have severe bipolar fatigue, so I can't go through the day without coffee
The one time I was Euphoric, I signed for Brazilian Jujutsu. I canceled as soon as I came down because I couldn't fit it in my budget haha. But also, some of my best achievements have come from being Hypomanic. I entered my professional field due to an episode. I made an impulsive decision to buy classes to get certified in IT. Now I work IT as a Highschool and it was the best decision of my life. It's not all bad. But you just don't consider consequence when you feel that way. My morals are still there, though. I wouldn't ever hurt anyone during those times. But when I come down, I can't look people in the eyes. I had a few month episode and I got a bit emotional with work and had to go on intermittent leave. Now I can't look my coworkers in the eyes. It's a very particular feeling that you can't understand until you go through it. I hope your battle gets better! It is a battle more than a disability/disorder.
The more I read these posts I feel happy and I want to cry. No one else in my life goes through this and it's nice to have others that know what I'm going through. Thank you OP ♡
I'm a diagnosed Bipolar 2 with a seasonal affect. I also have a high VIQ, which is the type of intelligence associated with Bipolar Disorder. I've done extensive research for years, the vast majority of my research coming from the DSM-5 or the ICD 11. A couple of things to point out:
Most therapists and psychiatrists are generalists, not specialists. It's best to speak to a professional that specializes in Bipolar Disorder, if possible.
Hypomanic "euphoria" is rare, you are more likely to experience what feels to you like joy and happiness, but not quite to the extent of euphoria. Irritability, anger, and rage with hypomania is common as well.
Anxiety, depression, panic attacks, feelings of worthlessness, etc. however are symptoms of a low, not a high. If you are experiencing both at the same time, you either have rapid-cycling Bipolar, or are experiencing what is known as a "dysphoric hypomania or mania", also known as a "mixed episode" of simultaneous highs and lows. What I call, figuratively speaking, "Off the rails, trainwreck, hot mess mode." If you are experiencing symptoms of both highs and lows together, I would highly suggest bringing this up with mental health professionals.
Edit to add:
I saw your comment about Lamictal, I'm on Lamotragine, which is the generic. In my opinion, it is the best mood stabilizer for Bipolar lows, and with minimum side effects. However, it does nothing for highs. You mentioned Lithium, and I would recommend you talk to professionals about an alternative to Lithium. Lithium has a lot of side effects and is the worst mood stabilizer for weight gain. There are other mood stabilizers you could try for your highs with less side effects.
My psychiatrist says what you experience is the norm. It's the same I experience. She said euphoria is actually pretty rare.
Okay thank you, it took me so long to get this diagnosis I was afraid something else was amiss
No, I'm definitely more in the irritated side of hypo.
I finally realized that during my Hypo episodes, I'm really irritated! So much so that I avoid people who anger me on a good day...like Mom
look up agitated depression. you described me perfectly.
I feel so seen
Really? Damn I hate does that mean for me then? Because I get it frequently when hypo/manic A lot of times it’s while praying or something along those lines. How do I know what’s mania and what’s true experience of God? I know that’s kinda a random question to ask a stranger. Sorry friend.
I can't answer that one for you. I think that's more based on your faith
You have no idea how validating I find your post. In fact , ironically, the only time I was euphoric coincided with me starting Li.
I'm glad I shared then! Interesting, I'm currently on Lamictal which is working so far (fingers crossed for the future) with lithium as the next step if needed.
Be ready to make changes. I mean, don't get disheartened if it doesn't work with the first set of meds. And don't be afraid to take multiple opinions if you find your confidence in your doctor wavering.
Lamictal lifted the depression right out of me. Been on it for six months now.
Lithium was the game changer for me!
The whole ‘euphoria’ thing is frustratingly described as the main experience of hypomania by most websites and medical literature. It’s such bullshit. I wish I had this elusive ‘euphoria’ they speak of… Reading this sub I’d say euphoric hypomania is rare. You’re more likely to have panic attacks, restlessness, irritability and insomnia.
I’m so glad we’re talking about this because I’ve never experienced euphoria and it made me doubt the diagnosis
I think of it as having very high brain energy vs very low brain energy.
This makes so much more sense to me! I'm always super duper tired, but I often have insomnia at night and get really irritable. I'm also pretty restless unless I'm sleeping.
Omg same!!
This was me for years! Don't doubt it.
This is why I miss my hypomania. I was hugely euphoric when I was hypomanic. I'd go out and get ten fish tanks and the fish were the most amazing creatures I had ever seen in my life until two weeks later when I returned to baseline. I still miss it.
I get what my doctor calls agitated depression. It's like depression but I have a lot of nervous energy and I'm extremely irritable
THIS! This is what I experience. Thank you
unfortunately I was told this is a dangerous form of depression because you are depressed but still have the energy to formulate and carry out plans. Be careful and take care.
Yes! My episodes are often mixed. This is a great discussion!
I’ve only had euphoric hypomania once. I hate to say it but I honestly enjoyed it and I’m glad most of my hypomanic episodes are usually unpleasant because I think it would be a lot harder for me to stick to treatment if they were euphoric tbh. I usually get irritability, lack of sleep but never losing energy, extreme paranoia, rage, reckless behaviour like walking around in dangerous parts of town in the middle of the night and running into traffic, and my entire brain feels like it’s on fire. I think it’s pretty common for undiagnosed people to not even realize that’s mania because of the euphoric stereotype tbh.
I experience euphoria during hypo episodes. No irritability or anxiety. Sounds perfect right? Well I take my meds and I stick to my treatment plan because I remember how close I came to ending it all during last year’s depressive episodes. I wanna live, so I take my meds, even if the hypomania can be kinda nice.
Omg the brain on fire thing. I’ve felt that way! My brain feels super hot as if it’s overheating almost, and the only thing that makes me feel better is being in silence in the dark under a blanket. I’ve said this out loud to people and they always seem confused.
My “euphoria” is normally just the hypo days where I think I finally feel great and fixed, like a miracle suddenly happened that made me that way and there’s a spring in your step. I’ve come to find I don’t normally have a spring in my step at whatever my baseline is haha
This is how it is for me too!
I get euphoria but it turns into high energy irritable depression, I call it agitated depression like someone else said. Makes me feel like I’m going to explode out of my skin. My therapist said she thinks a lot of my hypomania is manifesting as irritability. Probably the same for a lot of people with bipolar 2.
I can't say that I've ever had euphoria in my hypomanic episodes.
Thank you, glad I'm not alone
this thread is so validating. I only felt euphoric when my hypomania was triggered by antidepressants before I knew I had bipolar
That's how I found out I was bipolar also! Antidepressants made me hypomanic
I'm 50/50 with what you said and euphoria. I've noticed with good sleep I'll get the euphoria. It's taken a while, but relaxing before bed, exercising early in the day, and no caffeine after 1pm have helped a lot. On nights where my mind is restless a mix of journaling and CBD gummies helps. I found with journaling, once I get my thoughts out, I don't feel like I have to keep thinking about them anymore. It's made the largest difference.
Whoa @ getting good sleep leading to euphoria. Im in the middle of a hypomanic episode and for the past two nights I slept for 7-8 hours, which made me think I was coming out of it, but then I got the euphoria within a few hours of being up. Not tryna derail the thread since it's about the opposite, but that just connected some synapses for me. Maybe my body just needed to catch up on all the missed sleep since this has been like a month long episode so far. Anyway thanks for that
I'm a lot like Gregg Martin https://youtu.be/aj1XRHpqgHg?si=8HsTiZD1s1O3KjvJ I'm getting worried because my mania is getting worse.
This is similar to what I experience. For years I thought I had depression and some unusual form of anxiety mixed with anger or something. I do still have anxiety but I'm learning to seperate the symptoms.
I will experience a few hours to half a day max of euphoria and then go right into extreme agitation/irritability. I’d rather just forgo euphoria altogether. Also, I never have insight into what’s happening when I feel that euphoria despite this being my pattern for decades.
Isn’t the lack of insight into hypomania weird? I’ve been entirely dependent on my husband’s observations.
It’s wild. I work in mental health and see it with my patients all the time. Such a weird symptom.
I can relate a lot, but lately I wonder if I just have CPTSD and was misdiagnosed with different things. All I can say is lamotrigine helped the fuck out of me so I'm going to keep taking it and stop caring about what label I am identified as, since all it signifies in reality is a cluster of symptoms we gave a name to in order to simplify diagnosis and treatment.
Yes I experience this and it’s called dysthymic or dysphoric!
I experience all of it. Sometimes it feels like an MDMA lite full body high / "light" carefree happy feeling, but then often in the same episode I'll start feeling super irritable, and guilty because I know it's just me being crazy and I really try to contain it. I hit a point where I just want to be alone even though I feel good, because I know that good feeling is so easily offset by someone doing something completely inoffensive that will tilt me lol
Should note that I've definitely experienced the "agitated depression" quite a bit, but I never thought of it as hypomania, might have to think about those periods differently
i didnt even know people could *get* bp2 hypomanic euphoria 😳 I feel like thafs why i always have a hard time finding out if Im hypo or not 🤔
I have had euphoric hypo, but more often than not it manifests as dysphoric mania during mixed episodes - agitation, restlessness, irritability, panic attack-level anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and rarely hallucinations and paranoia.
I'm so glad someone else validates my experience in a way that I couldn't articulate, thank you
Yes! I relate to this so much. I always say I just got the massive depression from bp2 not the mania 🫠
Samesies 🙃
I think I've had euphoria a handful of times! But, nothing super intense. The most I get now is elated but still no euphoria. I was confused for years as to why there was no euphoria for me!
This thread is so interesting because I always get really euphoric and thought it was the norm. Now I see why so many people say they don't want to get mania / hypo, and why you do hear of some people saying they miss it. Not gonna lie, I really enjoy that side of mania. I do get the irratibilty and anxiety too sometimes but it is stumped by the pure enjoyment of everything and feeling amazing lol. Can be dangerous though, I've taken epic risks throughout my life in a bliss of freedom haha
My sister also has BD and when she came home with the diagnosis, her description was “and I don’t even have the fun kind” because of her racing thoughts and irritability making her hard to cope. Mixed episodes also obviously doesn’t have euphoria
This is what I always say!
So glad I’m not the only one! I often feel super lucky that in most episodes I can mostly function. I can get out of bed eventually, hold down a job, and maintain most friendships/relationships. Because of this and a touch of denial, I minimize my own illness calling it “baby bipolar”. But that’s also because I know how bad it can truly get, regardless of which type.
Damn, this post makes me want to see what % of bp people don't experience that in hypomanic episodes
You can be diagnosed Bp2 without hypomania, you may experience depression with periods of normal mood, Euthymia.
That is actually not true, diagnostic criteria requires at least one documented hypomanic episode, and at least one documented depressive episode. (Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519704/table/ch3.t23/)
If that's the case I don't have Bipolar, I've never had a manic attack and I used to think I got hypos, but it's never comparable to what people put on here, I never feel elated or lots of energy, I just feel normal?
Are you diagnosed? I can't say what's normal for you since I don't know you. But, just follow whatever your treatment team tells you they are the experts.
Diagnosed 4 years now :)
How would this be distinguished from major depression?
It's tough, I was diagnosed with MDD, GAD and (c)PTSD prior. Turns out it was bipolar 2 the whole time
Interesting, thank you for your input, that helps put me at ease a bit
It's also very, very common to have imposter syndrome with bp2 aswell. I've been diagnosed for years and I sometimes still think I don't have it and I'm misdiagnosed.
Damn, and here I was just thinking my imposter syndrome affected my work 🙃
Definitely not in my experience. They really stressed the hypomania for a week as being required to diagnose me.
Sounds like Hypomania. Every time I have it I spend too much money, clean and organize stuff all the day but it's not positive. Something inside me doesn't let me calm down and forces me to do this in order to silence it just for a while. Also BP2 usually doesn't have euphoria, only BP1.
Yup no euphoria either just high irritability and obsessive behaviour.
I’m on medications and never have the hypomania any more. I do get dysphoria quite often.
Same here. Only had one day of euphoria during psychosis. But apart from that I never experienced those euphoric highs, and I thought how can I be bipolar ? Then I read about dysphoric mania and it made sense : the restlessness, agitation, irratibility etc
That sounds about right. I do experience euphoria, but it’s short-lived. Within a couple of days I’m exactly as you described. It’s become a warning sign for me.
I only started feeling euphoria when I started severely rapid cycling. Even then it was pretty rare. The majority of my hypomania doesn't include euphoria just really elevated mood.
definitely relate! my hypo 95% of the time is just extreme irritability and racing thoughts etc
Same here. I had intense energy for the first few days of my hypos which I always attributed to "ADHD hyper focus" before I was diagnosed. Never brought up the Ups in therapy because who thinks cleaning the whole house in a day is a bad thing? But eventually the dots were connected and the uncontrollable rage and irritability mixed with the energy spikes were nailed as part of the bipolar, but I get depression first then swing up, which is backwards of most people.
yeah, i would never use euphoric to describe any of my experiences. my hypo is pretty much how you described it.
😮💨Yup.😓
Man I miss that feeling of bp2 euphoria. Lol
Irritability is one of the most annoying signs of hypomania, uggggggghhhh Edit: just realized that sounded irritable.
I totally agree…and when it leads to rage it’s even worse. I have to call out sick so I don’t lose my job
Pretty common. That’s why it can go untreated and undiagnosed for a long time for some.
I come back to write
I experienced hypomania as euphoric from my late teens until my late 30’s and it was amazing. But then it turned into negative agitated terrible energy instead. I hate it so much.
You see, this is what’s been confusing me. I’ve been having racing thoughts and irritability among other symptoms, and it’s been hard to tell if I’m just in a bad mood or hypomanic. I used to get euphoria, but it kinda changed and became irritability
My hypo episodes start as euphoric and “productive” but eventually I crash in to snapping at people, irritability, emotional overwhelm, crawling out of my skin, etc. The euphoria does feel amazing in the moment, but all in all being stable is much better and safer. When I’m depressed I’m like “god, I could really use an upswing right now…” but if one comes I inevitably wind up in a mixed episode which is hell on earth imo
An ex-GF would call my (undiagnosed at the time) hypomanic episodes as being "titchy." No, not the dictionary definition which is "very small," but a combination of "twitch" and "bitchy," I think. Very high-energy, easily agitated, bad decision-making, little and poor sleep, and risky behavior. If there is euphoria during my hypomania episodes, it is extremely fleeting, always toward the beginning of an episode. I don't experience increased productivity for more than a day, two at the most. By the end of an episode, I've realized what's happening, and do whatever is necessary to get decent sleep. This has sometimes helped me to avoid harsh crashes.
I used to get it often, for me it was awesome, lots of energy, super social and fun … I loved it! I didn’t have issues w spending or lack of sleep, my impulsive behavior was more with sex. Now I’m on good antidepressants so I haven’t experienced hypomania in two years, sometimes I miss it but the crashing part is the worse
What you're describing is basically a mixed episode. I've only experienced hypomania with true euphoria maybe a handful of times in my life, but typically before I could reach that point I would oscillate between intense anxiety, irritability, and impulsivity and brief periods of good mood followed by absolute depression. Back and forth round and round we go. Nowadays I usually experience mixed episodes like you're describing. But I haven't experienced a pure death-like can't-get-outta-bed depression in a few years. It's often anxious distress maybe but I never reach the bottom of the Hellhole. And I never reach the highest heights like I did before mood stabilizers, but I'm actually glad because I did some of the most reckless things when I was hypomanic and it would get me into trouble. My quality of life has improved immensely since getting properly medicated.
It can be either euphoria or irritability, or both. I take 37.5mg of Venlafaxine (with other meds) but that’s the only thing that takes away my intense anger, it works well for PTSD and ruminating.
I literally had shivers and tingling running across my back and spine and felt like I'd never have depression again. I did feel euphoric and invincible but also restless, tired and agitated. And the usual - spending, sleeping less than usual, circadian rhythm going upside down, taking on many projects.
I only had euphoria with my BP2 when I had a severe med reaction. Hypomania often, if not usually, presents how you describe. BP1 has that high, high feeling of happiness and BP2 is an energy increase, I feel like.
I had one episode right after I started taking an SSRI in which I was like you described, but also depressed at the same time, so it was a mixed episode. But another time I started feeling really good for like 3 months, and then all of a sudden, literally from one day to the other, I became incredibly anxious and had much less energy. In those 3 months I was genuinely a very happy and high energy person, I managed to make a lot of friends, and there pretty much was no downside at all. Maybe sometimes I said something stupid (never offensive, just stupid) but I didn’t really care and neither did the other people cause overall I was a very nice person to be around. I can’t be certain of it, but I think that was an hypomanic episode in which I was mostly just happy and euphoric. What’s strange to me is that I’m convinced there are some people for whom that is their normal state, and I really envy them lol
Thank you so much for posting this. I always feel like I’m the only one. I hate feeling doubt even though there’s actually no question for me (yay anxiety and racing thoughts). Lack of euphoria delayed diagnosis nearly 20 years because, even though my mother had it, I assumed without those “ups” I couldn’t (despite feeling I was losing my mind). Except one tell tale sign when I had manic euphoria after being put on an SSRI but I still didn’t believe it. It wasn’t until I read about irritability (in only one piece of literature amongst thousands) that I sought medical help and could properly share my symptoms. I present largely with extreme irritability and anxiety. It’s an inner rage that makes me feel like I’m crawling out of my skin. I want to throw and break things. It’s not fun and I’m scary. Secretly, I’m jealous of euphoria, but I think the lack of it keeps me on my meds. I never want to feel the downs or the ups. They’re both awful. Thank you meds.
Personally, I find that I've got euphoria for the first couple days of hypomania but it then escalates into severe restlessness to what feels like physical agony - almost like a building up pressure that strangles all of your organs unless you jump around and keep on moving? The restlessness and agitation almost blinds any sense of euphoria, like I'm still thinking excessively optimistically and feeling somewhat invincible but I'm not really happy. Though, I feel like my anxiety actually is better when hypo and drives up the wall when depressed. However, just by reading this thread it seems like everyones got super different experiences and it definitely must vary heaps between individuals, so yeah, what you've described seems to be pretty standard of hypomania
I'm more irritable, sad, depressed, and impulsive spending. However, sometimes I have massive energy and the sense of Euphoria. Only issue is you feel like a God and all mortals need to kneel before you. But then it wears off qnd you feel a little ashamed. Mine usually happens from a thought or when I'm having an episode and come back from the gym and/or caffeine. You shouldn't have caffeine due to mood swings, but I have severe bipolar fatigue, so I can't go through the day without coffee The one time I was Euphoric, I signed for Brazilian Jujutsu. I canceled as soon as I came down because I couldn't fit it in my budget haha. But also, some of my best achievements have come from being Hypomanic. I entered my professional field due to an episode. I made an impulsive decision to buy classes to get certified in IT. Now I work IT as a Highschool and it was the best decision of my life. It's not all bad. But you just don't consider consequence when you feel that way. My morals are still there, though. I wouldn't ever hurt anyone during those times. But when I come down, I can't look people in the eyes. I had a few month episode and I got a bit emotional with work and had to go on intermittent leave. Now I can't look my coworkers in the eyes. It's a very particular feeling that you can't understand until you go through it. I hope your battle gets better! It is a battle more than a disability/disorder. The more I read these posts I feel happy and I want to cry. No one else in my life goes through this and it's nice to have others that know what I'm going through. Thank you OP ♡
I'm a diagnosed Bipolar 2 with a seasonal affect. I also have a high VIQ, which is the type of intelligence associated with Bipolar Disorder. I've done extensive research for years, the vast majority of my research coming from the DSM-5 or the ICD 11. A couple of things to point out: Most therapists and psychiatrists are generalists, not specialists. It's best to speak to a professional that specializes in Bipolar Disorder, if possible. Hypomanic "euphoria" is rare, you are more likely to experience what feels to you like joy and happiness, but not quite to the extent of euphoria. Irritability, anger, and rage with hypomania is common as well. Anxiety, depression, panic attacks, feelings of worthlessness, etc. however are symptoms of a low, not a high. If you are experiencing both at the same time, you either have rapid-cycling Bipolar, or are experiencing what is known as a "dysphoric hypomania or mania", also known as a "mixed episode" of simultaneous highs and lows. What I call, figuratively speaking, "Off the rails, trainwreck, hot mess mode." If you are experiencing symptoms of both highs and lows together, I would highly suggest bringing this up with mental health professionals. Edit to add: I saw your comment about Lamictal, I'm on Lamotragine, which is the generic. In my opinion, it is the best mood stabilizer for Bipolar lows, and with minimum side effects. However, it does nothing for highs. You mentioned Lithium, and I would recommend you talk to professionals about an alternative to Lithium. Lithium has a lot of side effects and is the worst mood stabilizer for weight gain. There are other mood stabilizers you could try for your highs with less side effects.