How can you tell the diff. between hypomania and hyperfocus

[hideout]

For example if you are hyperfocusing on some new idea that's come into your head. Alot of things are coming to your over a short period of time and it's very enjoyable.

The two sound very similar to me.

[hsoJ]

Hyperfocus- work on it pretty hard for a bit and the "normal" stuff with life goes on.

Hypomania- an idea comes, you claim it will change your life, others lives and make you very wealthy. you spend days working on it with minimal sleep then it all catches up to you and generally crash(at least, in some circumstances). The obsession with it controls you and, indirectly, those around you. Then [sometimes] there's the paranoia, grandiose/top of the world thing.

The two are KIND OF similar, but in the end, hypomania would be a whole flight of steps beyond hyperfocus... and last longer too.

Now is it easier TO actually hyperfocus during a hypomanic state? I'd assume, possibly maybe. But some people get even more scattered when hypomanic as others become more efficient. Same with hyperfocusing. Sometimes my hyperfocusing can burn a hole right through the wall -- think of an inattentive hyperfocus. And with hyperfocus, you, key word focus. Hypomania can often lead to being very flighty idea'd. Quite the opposite.

Of course, hypomania, in bp1, generally brings about a full blown mania. Which, if you can't tell the difference between mania and hyperfocus... wow... that'd be SOME kind of hyperfocus.

Make sense?

Are you trying to distinguish whether or not you're having a hypomanic episode or not?

[Impromptu_DTour]

Well Hyperfocusing is really quite different than Hypomania. Though they both seem to be 'productive' conditions

Hyperfocusing is essencially just that.. to ultra focus. NOTHING can steer your attention away from this task, whatever task that is.. its very attention, mental oriented.

Whereas Hypomania has very different roots.. Mania comes from the greek word mainomai - which is "to rage or to be furious") is a faily emotionally psychotic state.. Hypomania is catagorized as below that.. but still up the same ladder.

in cases of hypomania, (along with the evident efficiency - which in itself isnt necissarilly productive.. it could be just even more disorganized scattered behavior - not everyone turns into superman) afflicted persons can develope a sense of universal infalibilty.. come up with great ideas, all that.. but something that separates Hyperfocusing and Hypomania, is a definative altered mindset. Visions of grandiose, even the potential to get emotional at the goodness of the ideas you would get.

Hyperfocus is like a bunch of coffee, and no-doz and whatever your magic all nighter study drink is..

Hypomania is a bit more of a percieved "illustriousness" than that

I hope that about sums it up, if im wrong im sure i'll hear about it ;D

I_DTour

[hsoJ]

^^^What dtour said. Better put than mine.

[Impromptu_DTour]

This would be a perfect example of "Hypomania" if i can share a personal experience..

(disclaimer... : ive not been diagnosed as cyclic.. and i dont recall if i have had any definable Manic episodes.. however.. )

I cant even describe the emotional state i was in coming to this point.. however my 28th birthday came, and i hid the fact that it was my birthday from my friends, and to whom who knew that it was, i discouraged them to recognize it.

My reasoning for this was "godly pure".

I am here.. because of my friends and family. Therefore.. i should celebrate THEM on my birthday.. subsiquently I went to Barnes and Nobel and purchased aproximately $300.00 in gift cards, and catagorized my list of recipients into who should recieve "this" value of a g-card, versus it would be wierd to give this person "that" value of a car- .. i had it all figured out.. sure it took me 2 hours and i had to exchange a group of cards.. but whatever!

THese people.. who were in my life.. would KNOW that it is because of THEM that i have a birthday to celebrate..

What makes it different between being overly emotional and appreciative .... and "Hypomanic".. is that after i resolved who got what.. and paid for said $300.00 worth of g-cards... and hand-wrote personal messages for each recipient to ensure that they understood why they were so important to me on an individual level..

I drove home in tears beca - *pay attention to this part.. this is the difference between hyperfocus and hypomanic... -this- is hypomanic..

I drove home in TEARS with 300.00 in gift cards recalling the words on every note, every box already folded before i left the parking lot.. .. in tears because If the World.. would understand that we should not expect people to celebrate US on our birthday.. we should celebrate EVERYONE in our lives.. if we could flip this whole.. "i get gifts on MY birthday".. to "i will GIVE gifts on my birthday... " and even if it started small.. if that took off..

Then holy **** me.. and the spaceship i crashlanded on.. this world would be immmmmmmmeeeeeediately a better place.

I shouldnt have even drove.. i was litterally in tears, touched deeply - on a soul level - by how "great" of a person I was. And how if everyone else in the world felt like how i felt.. than ya. Highway to Perfection.

I still plan on doing this.. even if im not as psycho-emotionally attatched to it as i was.. its still a ****ING fantastic idea.. (And it is!! And EVERY single one of you people on your next birthday should do the same! Maybe not to the value of 300.00 ish dollars.. but take your closest friends.. give them something small.. $5 g-cert here.. something there.. whatever.. instil a sense of "Oh.. . . I_DTour gave ME (and all of HIS friends) something for HIS birthday.. should i give all of my friends something for MY birthday??)

Just breath.. and think about that for a second.. and transpose that on Every facet of your life..

Whether or not this is Fantastic Economical Birthday Marketing at its ... FINEST... .. at its ****ING finest!! (Its BRILLIANT!!) It still stands to this.. that, my friend, is the definition of a Hypomanic episode.

"Hyperfocusing"? LOL!!!

Hyperfocusing has NOTHING on that..

I was .. an example that NEEEEEDED to be followed (in my own mind) of a Perfect Human Being.

Cleaning every spec of dirt off of your Black Shoes..
.... Thats Hyperfocus

What I just described...
.... Thats Hypomanic

I_DTour

[NeuroParty]

Love this description, Impromptu.

[Impromptu_DTour]

Originally Posted by NeuroParty

Love this description, Impromptu.

Thank you I personally delivered every one of those things with a speech too.

LOL!!

Love it..

I_DTour

[hsoJ]

Wow! I'm pretty sure everything has been covered here. In awesome detail, might I add.

[hereditary]

Originally Posted by Impromptu_DTour

My reasoning for this was "godly pure".

I am here.. because of my friends and family. Therefore.. i should celebrate THEM on my birthday.. subsiquently I went to Barnes and Nobel and purchased aproximately $300.00 in gift cards, and catagorized my list of recipients into who should recieve "this" value of a g-card, versus it would be wierd to give this person "that" value of a car- .. i had it all figured out.. sure it took me 2 hours and i had to exchange a group of cards.. but whatever!

Hahahah this sounds EXACTLY like a good friend of mine, she is bipolar. I often wondered (back before I knew this) if we were on a very similar wavelength, given the number I times I came to visit her, sometimes only a few days since the previous visit, to find entire bookshelves built, cabinets repaired, photographic murals hanging on walls, and other things. I am prone do these kind of things with my hyperfocus spells - but more often than not it starts and dies in the planning stage, this was full execution to the last detail.

But like you said, I eventually came to realise all these things were much more emotionally/spiritually driven than mine were (mine were just boredom/initiative driven) and hers were always MUCH more on the artistic and creative side than mine were, which tended to be more on the mechanical, logical and structural side. But the two states *do* seem similar from a fixed external perspective I would agree.

Thanks for the post DTour, great read and a great insight

[gnbeg]

Originally Posted by hideout

For example if you are hyperfocusing on some new idea that's come into your head. Alot of things are coming to your over a short period of time and it's very enjoyable.

The two sound very similar to me.

Hyperfocus... I just get intense or obsessed about something. Can be good, can be bad (e.g. anxiety). Can consume me so much that it can be dangerous, e.g. I can be dangerous when driving and hyperfocussing.

Example: I hyperfocus about Karate. I enjoy it so much, but I get so intense about progressing in my knowledge. I am constantly thinking about moves, forms, etc. My intensity annoys those around me. At times I miss out on the fun of learning due to my intense focus.

Example: I hyperfocus on relationship issues. I said something wrong, what will the other person think of me? I sent an email that I wish I hadn't sent. I had an argument with my wife. These anxieties can consume me, I can think of nothing else. These types of anxieties can send me downcycle.

Hypermania... upcycle, most of the time not a huge deal for me. It's the depressed downside that is a bigger issue for me. Upside I have more energy, more willing to do stuff, socialize, more talkative. Occasionally, I get into trouble with spending, doing stuff without thinking it through, starting projects that have little chance of being completed. Make promises that don't get fulfilled. Down cycle, I'm obviously depressed, want to be alone, no energy, etc

Just thinking about what I wrote above. Wow. I've come a long way in recognizing what's going in inside.

[hideout]

Thanks for the posts. I've been on strattera for about two months - the first two weeks I was as high as a kite coming up with new ideas etc., socializing greatly increased. Then really really angry for a few days while still having a clear state of mind. The depressed with a cloudy head and no clarity in thinking.

The same thing has happened again - last week was my 8th week and got into the same kind of form - now I'm in angry mode again. I am serious angry - full or red rage with my housemates because of the state of the house. I cleaned the whole kitchen last week and the sink was full of sh*t again two hours later - cleaned that up and the sink was full of sh*t the next day again. Left it and now the everything is dirty again. A new fella has moved in that we knew already. The day b4 yesterday he said he was going up to clean his room and one of the lads said oh you'd want to see my room - absolutely spotless in a boasting way - I saw red but said nothing. I left the bins for them to clean up btw when I was cleaning the kitchen. Yesterday the new fella was in the kitchen and mister. I've a spotless bedroom came in and started cleaning up - all he did was empty the bins and I was in the other room and heard him giving out about the state of the place. Grrrrr - this sly *****er - what the hell is he at? I went out to the hall to be sure I could hear him if he said anything again (he couldn't see me) but he didn't say anything else. I was waiting for him to say something - I was going to go in and punch him as hard as I possibly could. I think them messing up the kitchen has set it off. I dunno I'm in some mess now and red with rage.


I was going well and then this had to happen - now I'm half afraid to argue with them because I do fall into depression I'll need them and I'm afraid of falling into depression. I have tried to speak with them as adults about it before but they just couldn't give a *****. They have no respect for themselves and because of that no respect for me.

If I could get stable then I would have confidence to change things and move in with someone else but I need to give one of these guys a serious piece of my mind first because he thinks that I'm messy just because I might leave my plate lying around (because the sink is full I can't be bothered emptying it). He's just so stupid he fails to realize that this is the reason my plate is there - he doesn't put two an two together.

The odd time he will clean up the living room and thinks he's great then but has only cleaned the kitchen once in the last few months - he's never cleaned the fridge and while the living room takes 10mins to do the kitchen takes 40mins. If I said to him "Sure I cleaned the kitchen" he's say and sure didn't I clean the living room - he's such a thick fool. I cleaned the living room last night so he can't play that one this time the sly fe*cker. It's just digusting now the way he is trying to put these ideas into the new guys head.

[Impromptu_DTour]

well. I know that when i was on Strattera, i also became dangerously irritable. I was only on it for about a month and a half or so, and had to talk to my doctor to take me off.

In your case of course i cant say that it is the strattera, but in my case it was. I might have a chat with your doc and see what he/she thinks.

[hideout]

I rang the doctor last week anyway and said that since starting on Strattera my mood has jumped and then I've gone back to the way I was - depressed all the time. I also said that this has happened a few times before starting the strattera.

He did not seem to be interested in questioning details of this jump in mood etc. and wants me to continue the strattera for another week anyway which will make it 10 weeks, then try increasing dose to 100mg (on 80 at the moment). Then after that trying Ritalin.