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The early stages of hypo/mania


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I've historically been quite bad at identifying mania in its earliest stages. Since I'm going to be in a foreign country next year, I need to get better at this. I wonder if I might not be on the road to elevation now.

At the moment I'm feeling quite happy. I need less sleep than usual, but only by 2-3 hours. I usually sleep 9-10 hours a night, so that leaves me in a normal range still. I've been more social than usual and am hanging out with friends. What's worrying me is that I find myself moved to near euphoria by mundane things. For example, last night I couldn't stop smiling and dancing around simply because I was cooking zucchini sticks. For some reason this felt like an extraordinarily special thing. 

Let me be clear... things are still okay and it's not a forgone conclusion that they'll escalate. But they might. Could this be a kind of pre-hypomania thing? Can you recognize your early stage?

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Personally if I was going anywhere for awhile, I would be on the lookout for any little thing where if the question, "Am I becoming hypo/manic?" even just comes to mind, I would be on the look out for it.

One thing for me that I notice is that I start talking really fast and interrupting people more than I already do, ie finish people's sentences.

Another for me is cleaning and getting "every last spot."  Also being in a good mood, and I also look like I am in a good mood, but overly expressed.

 

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 I agree it's really difficult to know if I am experiencing normal mood fluctuations or if I need to adjust meds. I agree you have to consider any other symptoms you notice in addition to mood. 

 

 

Edited by paintedsky
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I also think that if the question floats across your mind, you should stop and listen to it.

I've been listening to you for quite a while now, and I've noticed that euphoria over little things isn't a good sign for you. Zucchini sticks certainly have a piquant charm, but I don't know that they are extraordinarily special.

 

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I slept in this morning and am thus feeling a little less nervous. The only issue is that I've been having auditory hallucinations but I think that's probably the SZA. Thanks for the comments! I'll still be on the lookout for any escalation. 

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Aura, this is something I've noticed a lot with people who are newly diagnosed with SZA: the assumption that some amount of hallucination, auditory or otherwise, is normal. It isn't. It's a symptom. For anyone who wasn't schizophrenic or SZA, having any kind or degree of hallucination would be terrifying, a sure sign that something was very, very wrong, and would merit an immediate trip to the doctor. 

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1 hour ago, aura said:

I slept in this morning and am thus feeling a little less nervous. The only issue is that I've been having auditory hallucinations but I think that's probably the SZA. Thanks for the comments! I'll still be on the lookout for any escalation. 

Make me worry about you very much, because to me it sounds as if you're accepting a situation that is not healthy. I want to make sure you're thinking about that going forward.

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15 hours ago, Gearhead said:

Aura, this is something I've noticed a lot with people who are newly diagnosed with SZA: the assumption that some amount of hallucination, auditory or otherwise, is normal. It isn't. It's a symptom. For anyone who wasn't schizophrenic or SZA, having any kind or degree of hallucination would be terrifying, a sure sign that something was very, very wrong, and would merit an immediate trip to the doctor. 

Comments like:

Make me worry about you very much, because to me it sounds as if you're accepting a situation that is not healthy. I want to make sure you're thinking about that going forward.

You're right. I'll mention the chatter to my pdoc when I see him on Tuesday. He's generally not treated my hallucinations in the past, though, so I imagine it'll go the same way this week.

Also, I just realized I skipped a day of zyprexa by accident. Maybe that explains the voices.

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