Mental Illness Fellowship Northern Territory

Hi @Galaxyofthelost,

Yep, your own answer sums it up nicely. To extend on that a bit, people who expereince bi-polar 2 and bi-polar 1 both experience periods of clinical depression, the key difference between thebi-polar 1 and 2 relates to the non-depressive phases. People who expereince bi-polar 2 tend to have what they call 'hypomanic phases'. This is different from the 'manic/mania phases' of bi-polar 1.

Some of the key things that differentiate hypomania from mania is the intensity of the hypomanic/manic periods, the presence of delusional or psychotic thoughts and behaviours (more to do with mania), the real-life outcomes of hypomanic/manic periods eg being hospitalised or locked-up/illegal activcies (more to do with mania).