Medications are typically needed to stop manic episodes. These can Include mood stabilizers like lithium, depakote, and lamotrigine, or antipsychotics like risperidone, aripiprazole and olanzapine. Antidepressants are not used in treating acute mania, as they typically worsen the condition.
High levels of stress. Changes in sleep patterns or lack of sleep. Using recreational drugs or alcohol. Seasonal changes – for example, some people are more likely to experience hypomania and mania in spring.
Thus, when the term “manic episode” is used it may refer to any one of the three stages of mania: hypomania, acute mania, or delirious mania. Manic episodes are often preceded by a prodrome, lasting from a few days to a few months, of mild and often transitory and indistinct manic symptoms.
A portion of the bipolar population becomes “controlling.” This at first can show up as a talkative and outgoing, but soon suggestions and discussions become manipulative. Examples of controlling statements include: “Why would you do that?” “Does that really make sense?”
Manipulation isn't a formal symptom of bipolar disorder, although some people with the condition may exhibit this behavior. In some cases, manipulative behavior is a result of living with another mental health condition, such as personality disorders, substance use disorders, or trauma.
Your loved one with bipolar disorder can't control their moods. They can't just snap out of a depression or get a hold of themselves during a manic episode. Neither depression nor mania can be overcome through self-control, willpower, or reasoning.
Early signs (called “prodromal symptoms”) that you're getting ready to have a manic episode can last weeks to months. If you're not already receiving treatment, episodes of bipolar-related mania can last between three and six months. With effective treatment, a manic episode usually improves within about three months.
Mania in particular tends to trigger aggressive emotions and anger. The racing thoughts and high energy levels you experience can leave you feeling angry, irritable, and frustrated. Those angry emotions, in turn, can cause aggressive and inappropriate behaviors.
Violent behaviour is relatively common in bipolar disorder and usually occurs during acute manic episodes1-5. The relationship between violence and psychotic symptoms has been widely described6-14.
The vast majority of people with severe mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder, are not violent. However, there's a moderate link between violence and bipolar disorder.
You may find yourself believing strange things about yourself, making bad judgements and behaving in embarrassing, harmful and sometimes even dangerous ways. Mania can make it difficult or impossible to deal with life in an effective way.
That is, patients with manic symptoms had lower empathy for other people's pain compared to non-manic patients due to specific processing deficits.
Its common for people experiencing mania to have a lack of insight about their episode. If I do realize that Im feeling irritable or angry for no particular reason, I may cancel plans, isolate myself and become emotionally unavailable. Its a coping mechanism, a maladaptive one, but a coping mechanism just the same.
During manic episodes, people experience euphoria, high energy, and racing thoughts. They're easily distracted, unusually irritable, and prone to risky behavior like shopping sprees and reckless driving. They'll often find themselves talking quickly about many things at once and will go without sleeping.
Psychosis — experiencing hallucinations and delusions (in the most severe manic episodes).
The defining characteristics of mania include increased talkativeness, rapid speech, a decreased need for sleep, racing thoughts, distractibility, increase in goal-directed activity, and psychomotor agitation.
Signs of A Bipolar Meltdown
The extreme mood swings that occur in bipolar disorder are accompanied by changes in sleep patterns, eating habits, emotions, and behaviors. People with bipolar disorder can experience periods of mania and depression, and the timing of these episodes can be difficult to predict.
But don't argue or debate with a person during a manic episode. Avoid intense conversation. Don't take comments or behavior personally. During periods of high energy, a person often says and does things that he or she would not usually say or do.
Symptoms of a manic episode may include a heightened sense of self-importance and grandiosity. These also feature in narcissistic disorder. Narcissism is not a symptom of bipolar disorder, and most people with bipolar disorder do not have narcissistic personality disorder.