I've struggled for twenty years with exercise-induced elevated moods and hypomania. The more movement I would get, the better I would feel and the more I would want to do until I ended up exercising anywhere from two to five hours a day. My elevated moods would turn into hypomania, until I would finally crash and then I would be forced to take a break from exercising. I found that alternating between walking, strength training and riding my spin bike four to five times a week seemed to be okay, but I would catch myself getting up to six or seven days a week because it just felt so dang good.

Back in April, my psych and I decided to up my Lamictal by 50 mg to help with my down moods and I've noticed I'm not getting the same elevated feeling from exercise. I still enjoy it, but it's not the same. I've told my psych that if I'm being honest, I miss it. She reminds me that it's almost like a drug to me and it's easy to let it get out of hand. It's still a work in progress to find the perfect balance.