Ironically, when a person with bipolar II actually does go into a depressive cycle, the symptoms are usually atypical, the very opposite of what one assumes depression is. Instead of a loss of appetite, there’s compulsive and binge eating. Instead of insomnia, there’s sleeping too much (hypersomnia). Instead of detachment from emotion, there is exaggerated vulnerability to feeling hurt when faced with rejection and criticism (interpersonal sensitivity). Instead of feeling better as the day goes on, as in most depressions, the individual feels progressively worse throughout the day.
