Hypomania

[Iris]

Does anyone here have any experience with this? Someone I care about has been diagnosed with OCD (thoughts) and depression. On occasion there is what I think is hypomania - it can last a day or two and is sometimes related to missed medication. There’s a family history of bipolar disorder.

[MountCleaners]

1. Yeah...

I have bipolar disorder, which means occasional hypomania. It's when you get this wild idea and you're preoccupied by it for a few days. Then it goes away. It's not like full-blown mania. I take a number of medications for it. But you should talk to your loved one about it and s/he needs to get diagnosed and treated by a professional.

[Iris]

2. Thanks

This is helpful. I realized there might be something going on when a similar theme kept popping up and seemed implausible or exaggerated. It comes infrequently so I just realized the pattern of thought. I will mention it before next appt with psychiatrist.

[Tobin S.]

3. Hypomania is not usually a big problem.

People with Bipolar II have more experience with this than those with the more severe Bipolar I. But what your friend might be experiencing is just a side affect to a missed dose. I know that when I miss just one dose of one of my meds I start to feel strange and my thought disorder starts to re-appear.

[Iris]

4. I think you may be right

I just noticed that last time that the reaction to a challenging day resulted in expressed thoughts that are hyperbolic at best

[TexasBushwhacker]

5. My guess is that they are Bipolar II

Which should be treated differently from major depression.

[Iris]

6. That is what a friend suggested could be going on

She has a doctor who explained it only takes manic episode to make that diagnosis

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. For Bipolar 2, only a hypomanic episode

In my case, I spend money and have sex wrecklessly. The thing is, without mood stabilizers, traditional antidepressants can trigger mania. Bipolar 2 usually some kind of combination of meds. BTW, my father was bipolar 1.