List of recent symptoms

Since my last post, things have changed quite a bit. I went from feeling utterly and completely manic to losing all motivation - my energy level has been sapped. I am experiencing anhedonia at it's finest. Below, I am outlining an approximate timeline of my symptoms for my future reference:

Beginning the first week of January - lack of concentration, unable to focus on 1 thing at a time (jumping around a lot), hyperverbal, unable to access full memory (couldn't find the words I wanted to speak, short-term memory loss, etc.), sleeping fewer hours than normal, emotional lability, and excessive spending.

Beginning the third week of January - a stretch of several days of lack of sleep due to night terrors, return of PTSD flashbacks, hyperarousal, increased anxiety, increased irritability (easily agitated, short temper, explosive and overreacting), a buzzing sensation in my head. Returned a lot of recent purchases only to make more purchases. Unable to focus on a movie or TV show (did not watch TV because I was always busy working with my hands), a sense of general restlessness. Increased desire to control my environment and clean and organize - accomplished a lot of projects around the house that I had been putting off for months. Involved in a car accident (ran over 2 small trees) due to distractability which caused significant damage to my car - followed by an episode of vertigo the same day causing me to sleep for 6 hours straight during the middle of the day.

Beginning the last weekend of January - low mood, loss of motivation, anhedonia, low energy level, excessive sleeping, lethargy, and lack of self-care including hygeinic activities. Still able to accomplish small tasks such as doing the dishes and brushing my teeth. I did finally take a shower last night and felt much better emotionally. Still able to self-regulate and managing irritability without exploding. Poor dietary choices but eating excessively and out of boredom. Was able to pay attention enough to watch a few episodes of a new TV show.

Today, I was able to motivate myself to blog. I am just bracing myself for a deep depression and preparing for a week of no activity.

Hopefully this information will resonate with some of you out there who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I will attempt to blog again when things improve.