Originally Posted by
Elizabeth2007 
I have suffered with treatment resistant depression since I was 16. I'll be 40 next year. Last year I finally found a good psychiatrist who helped me get on a medication that saved me from my hell of depression. However he has stated that he believes me to be manic depressive type II, i.e. my mania is aggression, agitation, irritability and anger. I don't disagree.
I see a good therapist now and it is helping a lot. Thing is, when I got sober (I quit alcohol nearly 8 months ago) I went through 3 months of detox and misery. Then .. the anxiety and things like that went away and I stopped needing my anxiety medication. In the last 8 weeks my anxiety, irritability, anger and agitation have gone through the roof. I feel like I'm going crazy.
Hello, Elizabeth. I relate to your situation very much. I'm also BP2 and not very far behind you in sobriety, with 7 months. I've suffered from severe depression for close to 20 years and finally got on medication for the first time this past August.
When I decided to sober-up and get help for my depression and anxiety problems, I was certain that quitting drinking would be the difficult part, and dealing with my mental issues would be the easy part once I got on medication. To my surprise, the opposite has been true. Particularly with regard to hypomania, which I think of as "anxiety."
Like you, I've been experiencing lots of agitation, anger, and irritability for the last few weeks. The medication was helping with the anxiety for awhile, but now it's getting progressively worse. Yeah, I agree, it's kind of scary. I am practically a recluse already. Lately, I've had thoughts of strapping on my backpack and running, running, running to some remote wilderness area and living like a caveman, or at least unabomber. I don't think this is PAWS.
Anyway, Elizabeth, about the rage... Maybe it would be beneficial for you to get a sledgehammer and find some junk in your attic or garage and proceed to smash it to bits. Whatever you do, stay away from the drink. Don't "hulk out" and tear yourself up with alcohol. I made a career out of that for many years.