Mania & Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a diagnosis given to individuals who suffer from a mental illness that causes them to experience mood swings. Someone with bipolar disorder will go from the depths of depression to the heights at the other end of the scale, called mania. When a person is manic, she may display a wide range of symptoms during these episodes which can cause her to make poor decisions and engage in risky types of behavior.

Euphoria

• The manic phase of bipolar disorder brings a person into a state that borders on euphoria. He will have an increased energy level and may become extremely restless. This feeling is the equivalent of being "high," in some cases. The person will be in an overly optimistic mood despite the reality of a situation. This manic mood may last for a day, weeks, and even months before the person returns to a "normal" state of mind or shifts to the other end of the spectrum, which is depression.

Unrealistic ideas

• Someone who is manic has a difficult time with focus and concentration. However, this will not prevent her from coming up with grandiose ideas that cannot possibly come to fruition. A sign of a manic individual is when she begins to talk rapidly as if the thoughts are racing about in her head. She will go from one idea to another without considering the feasibility of any of them. Manic people are easily distracted and have totally unrealistic feelings about their own abilities.

Poor judgment

• While in the manic phase, a person is capable of incredibly poor judgment. He may go on spending sprees, for example, without any thought to the consequences. She may laugh at completely inappropriate times, have an increase in sexual drive, and may abuse drugs such as cocaine, sleeping pills, or consume alcohol in excess. These episodes can lead to aggressive behavior that can cause the person to do things she would never normally do, such as attempt to have sexual relations with close friends.

Hypomania

• Hypomania describes a form of mania that is much less extreme than the behavior described above but is still significantly different from what the individual normally is like. While mania is defined as lasting at least a week, hypomania is diagnosed when it lasts at least four days. People can function while in a hypo-manic state and some are actually more efficient when this occurs.

Types

• Bipolar disorder is categorized into two major types, with both types based on the manic episodes. With bipolar I disorder, a person has at least one manic episode but does not necessarily have to suffer from any bouts of depression. If someone has depression and then at least one episode of hypomania, he is diagnosed with bipolar II disorder. Depression normally will last much longer than the episodes of hypomania with this kind of bipolar disorder.