[nandm]

Hi Noro.

Speaking from a the perspective of a person with both bipolar type II and PTSD I can say there is a definate difference between mania and anxiety, at least for me. Please realize I am not a doctor, just sharing my personal experience.

I experience anxiety around the PTSD and mania with the bipolar type II. Anxiety for me presents itself in isolation, difficulty breathing, excessive sweating, feeling of the walls closing in, heart palpitations, and the feeling of needing to run away. On the other hand mania is a much more pleasant feeling although at times agitation and impatience can be part of it. When I am in a hypomania I feel more confident, have energy, have more difficulty sleeping (sometimes can be awake for days), my brain just seems to click faster, I am more creative (I can not seem to do my oil paintings unless I am in a mania state), I just in general feel more on (if that makes any sense).

Hope my experience helps you in some way.