I have bipolar disorder, which means occasional hypomania. It's when you get this wild idea and you're preoccupied by it for a few days. Then it goes away. It's not like full-blown mania. I take a number of medications for it. But you should talk to your loved one about it and s/he needs to get diagnosed and treated by a professional.

This is helpful. I realized there might be something going on when a similar theme kept popping up and seemed implausible or exaggerated. It comes infrequently so I just realized the pattern of thought. I will mention it before next appt with psychiatrist.

People with Bipolar II have more experience with this than those with the more severe Bipolar I. But what your friend might be experiencing is just a side affect to a missed dose. I know that when I miss just one dose of one of my meds I start to feel strange and my thought disorder starts to re-appear.

I just noticed that last time that the reaction to a challenging day resulted in expressed thoughts that are hyperbolic at best

Which should be treated differently from major depression.

She has a doctor who explained it only takes manic episode to make that diagnosis

In my case, I spend money and have sex wrecklessly. The thing is, without mood stabilizers, traditional antidepressants can trigger mania. Bipolar 2 usually some kind of combination of meds. BTW, my father was bipolar 1.