BP and Vacations/trips

I don't know if this is in the right forum or whatever, but a lot of times I get where I'm super motivated to go on a trip and I make all these arrangements. Then right before I leave, I get extremely depressed, like "What the hell am I doing? This is is so stupid..."
I'm leaving for a camping trip tomorrow with some friends, and at first I was really excited, but now I'm kind of dreading it. This happens literally every time...even if it's just a short trip.

Is this something that's common with BP?

My medication keeps me in the neutral zone between manic and depressed. Planning or taking trips usually happens in the neutral zone but I can get a little wired up when I'm in the airport rushing between flights. Long before I was diagnosed Bipolar, I always found the day before the last day of a trip I became a little depressed and all I wanted to do was be at home. The last 24 hours was difficult.

So no, I don't go from excited to dreading a trip in the last couple of days before I depart. I hope that helps. It will be interesting to see what others have to say.

Interesting! I usually feel depressed the night before a trip, thinking "What am I doing, I'd rather just stay home in bed and wallow in self-pity". I'll still go, mostly because the money's already spent and I don't want to explain to friends and family the reason not to go. Trouble is when the trip actually starts. I always get hypomanic. It hasn't been a problem, at least for now, but I always have elevated mood, little need for sleep and food, and many other signs that point to hypomania. It's different from the happiness I felt during trips when I was a kid. I only started noticing this in the past couple of years, I'd say.

I am also interested in hearing from others!

I tend to like to take off places when my mood is high and usually dont plan this but at times have and if my mood crashes before I head off i no longer look forward to it- but usually my mood remains elevated and I am super excited. so sometimes I can identify with what you are saying as my mood crashing but usually I remain excited about it as my mood tends to stay elevated. Once I get travelling my mood def stays elevated esp if there is a long haul flight involved.

Cracked

While I'm generally happier with 'strict' planning*, with trips it's quite the opposite. If I know I need to leave to somewhere at certain point in future, I'll be anxious&reluctant to leave - usually getting hardly any sleep before the due time. Doesn't matter if it'd be trip to somewhere I'd like to visit or not, it just stresses me out. Part of that is my anxiety issues with traveling, other part probably BP or personality disorder related then. :p

Leaving with <2 hours warning only leaves the anxiety part, which is usually easily dealt with some anxiety medication for longer trips, or just suffering through it for short trips.

So knowing myself I'm very reluctant to have just a couple of days' trip, because traveling is the most stressful part, and I'd rather spend some time inbetween to recover from it..

(*well, some planning, at least)