It is defined as an extremely unstable euphoric or irritable mood along with an excess activity or energy level, excessively rapid thought and speech, reckless behavior and feeling of invincibility.
Kraepelin, however, divided the “manic states” into four forms—hypomania, acute mania, delusional mania, and delirious mania—and noted that his observation revealed “the occurrence of gradual transitions between all the various states.” In a similar vein, Carlson and Goodwin, in their elegant paper of 1973, divided a ...
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.
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?”
Mania has some overlapping signs with personality disorders, like narcissistic personality disorder or borderline personality disorder, but manipulation isn't usually chief among them.
Research has shown that the most common trigger for episodes of mania is sleep loss. This can be in the form of sleep disturbances, disruption, jet lag, and an inconsistent sleep schedule. Sleep disturbances rarely cause episodes of hypomania, but it does happen—particularly in individuals with bipolar I.
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.
A manic episode is characterized by a sustained period of abnormally elevated or irritable mood, intense energy, racing thoughts, and other extreme and exaggerated behaviors. People can also experience psychosis during manic episodes, including hallucinations and delusions, which indicate a separation from reality.
One of the hallmark signs of mania is impaired judgment. This causes you to participate in extremely risky or dangerous behaviors. You do things without even considering the consequences of your actions. Gambling and hypersexuality are some of the risky behaviors linked to manic episodes.
There are three stages of mania: hypomania, acute mania and delirious mania.
Types of Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar I disorder is defined by manic episodes that last at least 7 days (most of the day, nearly every day) or when manic symptoms are so severe that hospital care is needed. Usually, separate depressive episodes occur as well, typically lasting at least 2 weeks.
This is a condition that involves shifts in a person's mood from severe depression to manic phases - with soaring highs, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, racing thoughts, impulsive decisions, reckless behavior, and poor judgment.
The phrase “bipolar meltdown” could refer to a bipolar person having a manic episode or being in a depressed state. These conditions could cause them to lose control of their emotions and have trouble managing them.
You might talk faster than usual, notice your thoughts racing, take on lots of activities, and feel like you don't need as much sleep. A manic episode is a period of extremely energetic, happy, or irritable moods that last for at least a week. Manic episodes are usually a sign of bipolar I disorder.
Some people who live with the depression and mania of bipolar disorder report feeling extreme empathy. On the other hand, research has found that some individuals with bipolar disorder express less empathy than is generally considered common.
In the majority of situations, people who are in a strong dysphoric manic episode can be dangerous, aggressive, and violent. Physical assault and weapons are not uncommon. Many men go to jail because of this behavior when they actually need psychiatric help.
There's little or no self-awareness during mania, so you may not realize the consequences of your actions or how you have affected others until you come out of the episode. When you start to notice these symptoms, seek professional help before you slide fully into a manic episode.