Hi, cat mom of 5. I am a rat mom of 2 :-) LOL
I also have BP 2.
You can read the online definition of hypomania, but people with BP 2 can have different severities and frequencies.
Some can tolerate antidepressants without getting hypomania and some can't. I can tolerate an antidepressant with a small dose of mood stabilizer. My hypomania is milder than some others on the board. I was misdiagnosed as well. When I experience hypomania, I get an elevated mood, sometimes shop more, tend to get excited and talk a lot, have loose lips and say things I probably shouldn't, and I usually make bigger than usual plans, such as getting a 2nd master's degree or something like that. When I get hypomania, it usually doesn't interfere with sleep except sometimes falling asleep takes a lot longer. When I get depressed I get early morning wakening with anxiety. I do experience depression a lot more frequently than hypomania which is typical of BP 2.
I encourage you to discuss the diagnosis with your psychiatrist as it wasn't explained well to me either which led me to not believe in the diagnosis for years and not get treatment until last year. There are also mixed dates and rapid cycling which you can read about online. It may take a while for your diagnosis to absorb and to make sense. It did for me anyhow. Best wishes and welcome to the group!

Hello I’m Kayla! Welcome to the group I think you’ll find this group beneficial. I’m Bipolar 1 but getting a new diagnosis is scary there are two books I suggest. “Bipolar disorder for the newly diagnosed” you can find that one at your local library, the other is “Bipolar 101” you can find that one at books a million. Dealing with it for me is a everyday struggle.. and try to find healthy ways to come — like going to the gym or eating healthy (: - message me if you need anything
xx Kayla

Mania usually has psychosis and delusions and/or voices at times. Hypomania is a milder version. I’ve had both. With years of dealing with it, I can now recognize when hypomania is taking flight and can usually nip it in the bud with therapy/med to prevent it from rising. It took some time but glad for the awareness now.

Welcome! I’m a cat mom of 1.

Welcome to the board Cat.... This is from the Mayo clinic.... Bipolar one is more on the manic side and two is more on the depressive side with the manic symptoms milder as Sensitivehobolady wrote

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bipolar-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355955

Every doctor will tell you something different trial and error is really the only way to come to an odds with this thing we call the brain

Hi Cat, I was just recently diagnosed with BP2 as well and have been trying to educate myself on the disorder. I was misdiagnosed a couple of years ago and put on antidepressants and anti anxiety meds that almost destroyed me. Luckily I found my way to an amazing psychiatrist who got me off those meds and properly diagnosed me.

For me, hypomania is like having my brain step on the gas pedal full throttle. I am actually really efficient and get a lot done, however, my body crashes afterwards and crashes hard. Makes sense since my brain and body is working 150% for a couple weeks. I’d go through cycles where I was hypomanic for a couple weeks then crash hard then slowly recover, just to start the cycle all over again.

Hypomania is a less severe form of mania it can have the same symptoms as mania but last less time than bp1 mania from what I've read. You can find a lot of infor on it online I like mayo clinic and nih they are credible sites.

Found this article from Harvard

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/what-is-hypomania