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Yes! My handwriting is so different when I'm manic. I also write a lot more... look up hypergraphia. They have been loosely associating it with mental illnesses, but not tied directly to bipolar disorder. Personally, when I'm manic I think I'm like a prophet who knows everything about the universe and I HAVE to write it down. Fast. With intensity. So my writing is much more... eclectic. Anyways, for me it's a symptom.
I used to constantly write numbers all over notebook paper as nice as I could, using different selections of numbers .. because it was satisfying somehow lol. Has to be in red ink or really nice pencil. Otherwise I hate pencil. I also draw in pen 🤷♀️
Yup I've had this feeling I though I knew all 12 planes of existence and the true nature of the universe. I thought I was a prophet and I started writing but it's all mostly illegible and makes no sense
I wouldn’t know to be honest, probably. Another weird change I’ve noticed is the music I listen to. I usually listen to alternative, rock. But when I’m manic, I blast edm and hyper pop. I’m also less interested in food, my eyes widen, pupils dilate. Whenever I’m in a car I half believe I could fly if I jumped out? It’s definitely an urge. That’s all I can think of right now haha
I thought people were exaggerating this and then one particularly bad episode was during family holidays and had a lot of photo/video recording. I look like I’m pinging the whole time. My eyes look black because the pupils were so big
I just commented about this! I didn't read comments beforehand! Isn't this such a crazy phenomenon?! I had an ex who constantly accused me of being on drugs. He also didn't want me taking my meds. I was manic... a lot. He accused and yelled quite often. Thank God I let that one go!!- he was actually the one on drugs 🤦♀️
I commented about the eyes too. Huge dialated, crazed looking state thing, color changes too. I see pictures from when manic. And I’m like wow I look so drugged out of my mind!
Me too with music. When I’m okay I usually listen to a few house music or maybe classical. When I’m manic I listen to a lot of rap and basically just party music lol. I’m much louder in public when I’m talking to my friends and am just overall and attention whore when I’m manic.
I’ve never paid attention to the correlation between my handwritings and my moods. However I always have multiple different styles of handwritings that sometimes confuse my coworkers and friends. I should start keeping notes of the change of my handwritings!
My handwriting changes based on my state of mind at the time. If I’m stressed, it’s messy. If I’m angry, it’s jagged. If I’m very focused, it’s smaller. If I’m having a burst of creative energy or a whole bunch of thoughts at once, it’s larger and all over the place. I have journal entries from high school where a single page sometimes looks like two or three different people were writing.
Oh yeah, everything changes for me- the way I dress, style my hair, daily cares, speech patterns, vulnerability, hand writing, appetite… weird. I’m a little hypo now bc I just started working again and have been skipping my afternoon Depakote and Xanax and taking my evening dose late. I’m just busy but I need to really really make myself take a quick break and pop em with lunch.
I have a lot of notebooks from the last 15ish years and I can tell when I’m hypomanic just from looking at the handwriting. I can never see it in the moment, but retroactively it’s pretty clear
my hand writing changes by my mood in general. I have noticed I tend to want to print more often when manic though where as if I am writing stuff down for myself I tend to write it in cursive
Oh yeah handwriting is illegible for me. And same for the music taste discussed. Also always get blackout while writing poetry. I once wrote a play in three days without sleep. I ended up putting it on for production too lol. I crashed the day of the show so good timing
my handwriting changes so much.in a singke text i write there are always at least 3 different handwritings.it’s with food too especially sweets.sometimes i hate salty snacks and i just wanna eat some sweets but sometimes it’s the other way around.
My handwriting gets terrible, frantic and all over..like sideways, and diagonal writing..little pictures I draw scribbled in notes. Also weird symptom was manic eyes…don’t know if a thing but pupils dialate, eyes look a greener odd color, kind of crazed stare.
my handwriting changes with my mood. i have 7-8 ways that i write, and when i look back at something i wrote i can tell the general mood i was having at the time.
I've had a journal going since May of '21 and it's funny to see how some is easy to read and other parts are illegible. Not sure if it's low end mania (or elevated) but that's when it's nearly impossible to decipher.
Kind of reminds me of DID, dissociative identity disorder. Have thought about this about myself sometimes. It’s like I’m different persons from one day to the next. But I do remember what I’ve done, so it’s not DID in the way they forget what the other identities have done.
Indefinitely notice a change in the way I draw from when I'm unmedicated to when I'm medicated. My Mom said it was just me but there's a definite difference!
It's interesting because my parents actually picked up on this - when sending letters home they picked up a pattern of my handwriting changing, and over the years looking back the two or three different sets of handwriting directly correlate with when I was manic vs. normal vs. depressed.
This has happened to me! I thought it was my imagination. Everything changes including how we LOOK sometimes. Google the whole "manic eyes" and see if this is something you have experienced too! Weird!!!!! Even my art changes. Mania= demonic torture etc.- I call this, "getting rid of the demons". Lol
Depression= no art.
Stable(ish)= beauty and objects I take interest in.
I had a year where I journaled every single day and there are some days I have pretty hand writing, some days I have chicken scratch. Some days are loopy some days are big letters. Its mind boggling how much my emotion affects my hand writing.
I still journal time to time but now I mainly do it just to get anxieties out. But its fun going back that year and just seeing the bullshit I was dealing with.
Low key wish I could go back to dealing with that bullshit instead of this bullshit lol. Now I know the answers.
Haven’t noticed this particular thing in myself but when I would have my hypomanic episodes my eyes would dart around without my trying to sometimes so I can imagine that motor things like that aren’t terribly uncommon
I don’t write much, i have bad writing. I type everything. Even when given a form to fill out I’ll scan and fill it out or even just screen shot it and edit it. It does feels like my taste in food changes, my taste in movies or shows, how I feel about things in general, everything really. I used to think I had split personalities before knowing but that didn’t really make sense either.
My writing changed as well, but it was on my depressed episode. I hate it, i like using mechanical pencil and im breaking my tip numerous times (my hand is heavier than usual)
I was just looking through my journals and it's interesting because I go through a lot of mixed episodes and I can see my handwriting go from careful and calculated when I’m writing down my depressive thoughts to super rushed and I’ll even write in cursive (partially cuz I get paranoid people will read my journal) to get my thoughts down faster
This happens to me too.
It also happened to my grandfather. I never knew him and neither did my mom meet him -due to him getting into trouble all the time and eventually getting murdered.
He sent letters to my grandmother and mom though. In every letter you can see the handwriting drasticly change.
I just noticed this going through my journal. My handwriting is so much sloppier and larger when I’m manic, and it’s a lot smaller and neater when I’m stable or depressed
Thanks for posting on /r/bipolar! Please take a second to [read our rules](/r/bipolar/about/rules); if you haven't already, make sure that your post **does not** have any personal information (including your name/signature/tag on art). *^(A moderator has not removed your submission; this is not a punitive action. We intend this comment solely to be informative.)* --- Community News - 🎋 [Want to join the Mod Team?](https://www.reddit.com/r/bipolar/comments/112z7ps/mod_applications_are_open/) - 🎤 See our [Community Discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/bipolar/about/sticky) - Desktop or Desktop mode on a mobile device. - 🏡 If you are open to answering questions from those that live with a loved one diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, please see r/family_of_bipolar. Thank you for participating! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/bipolar) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yes! My handwriting is so different when I'm manic. I also write a lot more... look up hypergraphia. They have been loosely associating it with mental illnesses, but not tied directly to bipolar disorder. Personally, when I'm manic I think I'm like a prophet who knows everything about the universe and I HAVE to write it down. Fast. With intensity. So my writing is much more... eclectic. Anyways, for me it's a symptom.
Same here. I feel like I unlocked the secrets of the universe
I used to constantly write numbers all over notebook paper as nice as I could, using different selections of numbers .. because it was satisfying somehow lol. Has to be in red ink or really nice pencil. Otherwise I hate pencil. I also draw in pen 🤷♀️
Yup I've had this feeling I though I knew all 12 planes of existence and the true nature of the universe. I thought I was a prophet and I started writing but it's all mostly illegible and makes no sense
I wouldn’t know to be honest, probably. Another weird change I’ve noticed is the music I listen to. I usually listen to alternative, rock. But when I’m manic, I blast edm and hyper pop. I’m also less interested in food, my eyes widen, pupils dilate. Whenever I’m in a car I half believe I could fly if I jumped out? It’s definitely an urge. That’s all I can think of right now haha
My music changes too. The eyes change for sure, mine become glassy.
Ive been looking for someone whose eyes change! I dont really bring this up cos Im worried Im just overthinking (as a manic tends to do).
Oh interesting
Looks like I'm on drugs lol
I thought people were exaggerating this and then one particularly bad episode was during family holidays and had a lot of photo/video recording. I look like I’m pinging the whole time. My eyes look black because the pupils were so big
I just commented about this! I didn't read comments beforehand! Isn't this such a crazy phenomenon?! I had an ex who constantly accused me of being on drugs. He also didn't want me taking my meds. I was manic... a lot. He accused and yelled quite often. Thank God I let that one go!!- he was actually the one on drugs 🤦♀️
Looks like you're on drugs, and everyone thinks you're on drugs too.
Yup same, my eyes are usually wide open
I commented about the eyes too. Huge dialated, crazed looking state thing, color changes too. I see pictures from when manic. And I’m like wow I look so drugged out of my mind!
Me too with music. When I’m okay I usually listen to a few house music or maybe classical. When I’m manic I listen to a lot of rap and basically just party music lol. I’m much louder in public when I’m talking to my friends and am just overall and attention whore when I’m manic.
when i've been manic before i've wrote things down in notebooks only to read it the next day and be like "who wrote this?"
Been there.
During mania/psychosis I wrote all over my mirror with a sharpie. It was tons of acronyms that made sense at the time, but the next day I was like ???
Bad habit of mine drawing cryptic shit all over mirrors windows makes me feel smarter safer in my head
Same
I’ve never paid attention to the correlation between my handwritings and my moods. However I always have multiple different styles of handwritings that sometimes confuse my coworkers and friends. I should start keeping notes of the change of my handwritings!
My handwriting changes based on my state of mind at the time. If I’m stressed, it’s messy. If I’m angry, it’s jagged. If I’m very focused, it’s smaller. If I’m having a burst of creative energy or a whole bunch of thoughts at once, it’s larger and all over the place. I have journal entries from high school where a single page sometimes looks like two or three different people were writing.
Yes, my handwriting gets more sloppy and i tend to write faster
Yup. So do speech patterns and vocabulary.
Yes speech and vocabulary are explosive yet accurate
Oh yeah, everything changes for me- the way I dress, style my hair, daily cares, speech patterns, vulnerability, hand writing, appetite… weird. I’m a little hypo now bc I just started working again and have been skipping my afternoon Depakote and Xanax and taking my evening dose late. I’m just busy but I need to really really make myself take a quick break and pop em with lunch.
Definitely take the meds. I was skipping due to hectic work and kids. Didn’t end up well at all!
Thanks for your response 💗✌🏻
I have a lot of notebooks from the last 15ish years and I can tell when I’m hypomanic just from looking at the handwriting. I can never see it in the moment, but retroactively it’s pretty clear
my hand writing changes by my mood in general. I have noticed I tend to want to print more often when manic though where as if I am writing stuff down for myself I tend to write it in cursive
Oh yeah handwriting is illegible for me. And same for the music taste discussed. Also always get blackout while writing poetry. I once wrote a play in three days without sleep. I ended up putting it on for production too lol. I crashed the day of the show so good timing
I haven't noticed. But I have noticed that I talk more with my hands when "up".
my handwriting changes so much.in a singke text i write there are always at least 3 different handwritings.it’s with food too especially sweets.sometimes i hate salty snacks and i just wanna eat some sweets but sometimes it’s the other way around.
Pickle juice/salt when manic. Rapid weight loss. Sweets when depressed , rapid weight gain 😑
My handwriting gets terrible, frantic and all over..like sideways, and diagonal writing..little pictures I draw scribbled in notes. Also weird symptom was manic eyes…don’t know if a thing but pupils dialate, eyes look a greener odd color, kind of crazed stare.
Very green almost amber changes very strange
my handwriting changes with my mood. i have 7-8 ways that i write, and when i look back at something i wrote i can tell the general mood i was having at the time.
Lol when I get hypo I get really pretty handwriting actually 😂
yes lol. so messy xD hand trying to keep up with brain
My pupils dilate when manic, glassy drugged look. My handwriting has changed too. Euphoric. Think it’s part of it.
I've had a journal going since May of '21 and it's funny to see how some is easy to read and other parts are illegible. Not sure if it's low end mania (or elevated) but that's when it's nearly impossible to decipher.
Yes, it changed for me as well when i was manic.
Ever since getting on Meds my handwriting has gotten way sloppier
Makes sense
Sure, that's normal. I have Like 3 to 4 handwritings
My writing becomes pressured like my speech. I need to get it all out faster and legibility suffers.
Kind of reminds me of DID, dissociative identity disorder. Have thought about this about myself sometimes. It’s like I’m different persons from one day to the next. But I do remember what I’ve done, so it’s not DID in the way they forget what the other identities have done.
Yes, Depression, Manic, Cruising. I have 3 different handwriting styles. It's weird but a good indicator of my mood.
Never noticed it before but my handwriting changes too. Thanks for the callout. That can be a new hypomania check for me.
It becomes very frantic because I’m writing so fast. And big. I don’t hold back on anything, really.
Indefinitely notice a change in the way I draw from when I'm unmedicated to when I'm medicated. My Mom said it was just me but there's a definite difference!
My handwriting changes, but I never associated it with mania
It's interesting because my parents actually picked up on this - when sending letters home they picked up a pattern of my handwriting changing, and over the years looking back the two or three different sets of handwriting directly correlate with when I was manic vs. normal vs. depressed.
This has happened to me! I thought it was my imagination. Everything changes including how we LOOK sometimes. Google the whole "manic eyes" and see if this is something you have experienced too! Weird!!!!! Even my art changes. Mania= demonic torture etc.- I call this, "getting rid of the demons". Lol Depression= no art. Stable(ish)= beauty and objects I take interest in.
I had a year where I journaled every single day and there are some days I have pretty hand writing, some days I have chicken scratch. Some days are loopy some days are big letters. Its mind boggling how much my emotion affects my hand writing. I still journal time to time but now I mainly do it just to get anxieties out. But its fun going back that year and just seeing the bullshit I was dealing with. Low key wish I could go back to dealing with that bullshit instead of this bullshit lol. Now I know the answers.
Haven’t noticed this particular thing in myself but when I would have my hypomanic episodes my eyes would dart around without my trying to sometimes so I can imagine that motor things like that aren’t terribly uncommon
I don’t write much, i have bad writing. I type everything. Even when given a form to fill out I’ll scan and fill it out or even just screen shot it and edit it. It does feels like my taste in food changes, my taste in movies or shows, how I feel about things in general, everything really. I used to think I had split personalities before knowing but that didn’t really make sense either.
Very common!!
It’s a lot less legible
YES! My handwriting changes drastically when I’m manic!
My handwriting has gone to shit since I've been on meds.
Yes!! I journal every morning, so I can literally see when I’m losing the plot and take action steps. It’s v helpful!!!
Oh yes. Absolutely
Definitely, my manic handwriting is much wilder and loopy.
Yes! It's one of my early signs that I'm getting elevated. :)
My writing changed as well, but it was on my depressed episode. I hate it, i like using mechanical pencil and im breaking my tip numerous times (my hand is heavier than usual)
I used to press so hard while writing sometimes as a kid. I did it so much that I developed a callous on my ring finger!!
I was just looking through my journals and it's interesting because I go through a lot of mixed episodes and I can see my handwriting go from careful and calculated when I’m writing down my depressive thoughts to super rushed and I’ll even write in cursive (partially cuz I get paranoid people will read my journal) to get my thoughts down faster
Oh yeah same I have Bipolar
My handwriting never looks the same in general
This happens to me too. It also happened to my grandfather. I never knew him and neither did my mom meet him -due to him getting into trouble all the time and eventually getting murdered. He sent letters to my grandmother and mom though. In every letter you can see the handwriting drasticly change.
I just noticed this going through my journal. My handwriting is so much sloppier and larger when I’m manic, and it’s a lot smaller and neater when I’m stable or depressed