hypomania Archives - Natasha Tracy Bipolar Expert

Do You Really Have Bipolar, Not Depression? Soft Signs of Bipolar

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jun 7, 2021

Have you ever wondered if you really have bipolar disorder and not major depression? Did you know there are signs that can point to bipolar disorder outside of what we normally consider to be the diagnostic symptoms of bipolar disorder? And did you also know that few doctors take these types of signs into account? If you feel like you have bipolar disorder but have been diagnosed with major depression, you’ll want to know about these signs because diagnosis directly affects treatment, and treatment directly affects you getting better.

Severe Agitation – Bipolar Symptom or Medication Side Effect?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Mar 21, 2018

I am suffering from severe bipolar-related agitation. Or is it severe medication-related agitation? This is the question. Technically, it’s mostly a question for your doctor, but it’s one I struggle with, too. On one level, it doesn’t much matter what’s causing the agitation as it’s happening and that’s that; and on the other hand, I think it’s important to know what’s driving the agitation – a bipolar symptom or a medication side effect?

I Know I’m Hypomanic, Depressed or Mixed but I Can’t Help It

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Nov 30, 2016

Many of us have the insight to know when we are manic, hypomanic or depressed or in another bipolar mood state but, unfortunately, even though I might know I’m hypomanic, depressed or mixed, I can’t necessarily help it. I wish I could. I wish that knowing what my bipolar disorder was doing would somehow alter it, but it typically doesn’t. I just can’t help it when I’m hypomanic, depressed or in a mixed mood – even when it’s clear to me.

Win a Paperback Copy of “Lost Marbles” — GoodReads Giveaway

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Nov 14, 2016

If you’re on my mailing list you head last week that a GoodReads giveaway was started. Right now I’m giving away three paperback copies of Lost Marbles: Insights into My Life with Depression & Bipolar.

Eight Ways to Calm Down a Hypomania – Self-Help for Hypomania

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Nov 10, 2015

After a stressful day, I’m hypomanic and it brings to mind my self-help tips for how to calm down a bipolar hypomania. These tricks might not be available or work for everyone, but here’s what I do to calm down my hypomania.

Time It Takes to Recover from Depression after Hypomania

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jun 5, 2015

As I wrote about on HealthyPlace this week, right now, I’m recovering from a depression after a hypomania. It’s been 11 days and I haven’t returned to my (admittedly, rather sucky) baseline. My point in that piece was that the depression after a hypomania is so much worse than an average depression. My point here, though, is that the time it takes to recover from a depression after a hypomania never passes quickly enough and I tend to beat myself up about it.

Am I Feeling Better or am I Hypomanic?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | May 30, 2013

This is an interesting question that was recently posed to me by a reader: Am I feeling better, or am I feeling hypomanic? Feeling better, of course, is the goal. Feeling hypomanic, of course, is not. One can be something to celebrate while the other can be something to be afraid of. So how does one tell the difference between plain wellness (or happiness) and hypomania?

Motivation and Bipolar Disorder

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Feb 20, 2013

The way I see it, bipolar disorder presents a problem with motivation (you know, among all the other bipolar problems). Many people in acute bipolar moods suffer from too much, unrestrained motivation or no motivation at all. Either way you slice it, it’s a bitch.

What Does Bipolar Hypomania Feel Like?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Nov 2, 2012

Hypomania. People haven’t generally heard of that word, but once they have, they want to know, what does bipolar hypomania feel like? This is a reasonable question with a completely unreasonable answer.

What is Bipolar Hypomania?

Hypomania can occur in many illnesses but it is a diagnostic feature of bipolar II. People with bipolar II experience hypomanias as opposed to the manias of bipolar I. I generally shortcut the definition and simply say that hypomania is like mania light.

Bipolar hypomania is not life-threatening by definition. Mania, on the other hand, is. In fact, to me hypomanias are little more than a bother. Well, a bother with the positive side effect of being a very fast way to get work done. Usually, but not always. Bipolar moods and their impacts tend to be unpredictable.

This is not the case for everyone, however. Hypomanias can jump in and destroy your life quite nicely, thanks. They remove judgement and create a sense of hypersexuality for many. This leads to, say, jumping the bones of the person next to you, over and over. Or spending money that you don’t have on Versace handbags. Or gambling away your rent money. Or writing an endless stream of gobbledygook and posting it on the internet making you seem a little, um, nutty, all the while insisting that it was genius. Or being so angry that you scream at the flies (not to mention people) that dare annoy you by entering your apartment. And other things. All of which have a habit of harming relationships and lifestyles.