I think how some people define "mania" can be a little... squishy. lol A definite indicator of mania (for me) is the lack of sleep. I could hypothetically be getting 2 or 3 hours of sleep a night for weeks and still feel amazing if I'm in a manic state.

And I don't believe you need a full manic episode to have a bipolar diagnosis. Hypomania is a softer version of mania where you'd just be very rushy, thoughts racing, can't keep things straight, start things you never finish, call people at all hours and be VERY EXCITED ABOUT YOUR NEW AND WONDERFUL IDEAS.

You get the idea.