Exercise and Hypomania

The few times I've experienced hypomania, I've found that running has helped too. One would think a hypomanic person would run faster but the opposite proved true for me. I think I was expending so much energy just being hypomanic, that when it came time to run, I was exhausted. But I didn't skip my runs. They helped calm me in fact. That rhythmic trotting for thirty minutes focused my mind and centered me if only temporarily. While I didn't get any faster during my hypomanic episodes, I definitely found running to be just as therapeutic as during my depression phases.

Running isn't easy for me. It isn't natural. It's even clunky and awkward at times. But it is vital to my well being. No matter how fast or how far I run, I know that at the end of the run, I'll feel a lot better than I did when I began. And that's why I run. Not to feel good in a new dress, but to feel good inside my own skin. That's why I run. I run for me.
- See more at: http://ibpf.org/blog/running-bipolar%E2%80%94-effort-chase-away-darkness-and-manage-mania#sthash.VxTPdMeS.dpuf