Some thoughts on hypomania

Dan Silas
Dec 1, 2018
2 min read

Updated: Mar 6, 2019

As much as I love hypomania, I have to realise how destructive it can potentially be, and has been.

Just because the experience feels “good”, doesn’t always mean it is “good”.

“How do you just take off like that?” It’s a question I hear many times after I return from a spontaneous, mania-induced trip.

When I’m manic,

I feel invincible. I feel faster, funnier, livelier and smarter than anyone and everyone.

It sounds pretty good, right?

But the reality of it isn’t quite as it sounds. You see, this is a trap, one which I find myself caught in very easily, and one which I find myself in more often than I care to admit. I hate to admit it, I despise it so very much, the fact that feeling this way is a symptom.

It’s a devastating trap - mania feels good, until it doesn’t.

You’re probably wondering, where's the issue in this?

As many people have asked me,

“Surely you can just take advantage of this mania and hash out a ton of work?”

and whilst some people do this. I can’t. For me, when I’m manic it’s like having a million thoughts racing and jumping about in my head.

This quote by Julie Kraft sums it up quite well: “I was fiery and ferocious, capable of lighting up a room, or just as easily burning it down”.

There’s a certain seduction to hypomania, at least for me. Nothing about hypomania initially feels bad - you feel a sense of invigorating aliveness, I wake up earlier, I have more energy, my thoughts move faster and I feel so connected to my creativity - I can e a s i l y b r e e z e through my day with p l e n t y of energy.

But, come the evening, I still have so much energy,

and sleep?Well, sleep just feels like an interference.

And I suppose this is where the trouble begins.

Elevated energy, risky impulsive behaviours and a decreased need for sleep? It’s a recipe for inevitable disaster.

It’s all too easy to let hypomania g e t o u t o f c o n t r o l. The lure of this new found energy and euphoria; all of your inhibitions disappear and the voice that says, “Hey, that might not be a good idea!” simply doesn’t exist - which leads to some excessive (and terrible)(and destructive)behaviours.

Whilst I’ve gotten better at identifying its influence and taking the appropriate corrective actions - It’s all still relatively new to me.

So, this is the challenge I face: Being self-observant in my actions and emotions and recognising that just because the experience feels “good”, doesn’t always mean it is “good”.