I guess mania differs from person to person. I went to a BP support group and asked a $1 million company president if his mania was counterproductive - he said he loved it because he got more work done.

I suppose one problem with mania is poor decision-making, impulsivity and inappropriate behavior.

Now they are coming up with all sorts of disorders. You've seen that commercial regarding uncontrollable laughter and the disorder associated with it? My jaw dropped after seeing that.

Society sets the standard for happiness to a degree. Alan Watts (philosopher) talks about the mentally ill in society and how they have become outcasts in the modern world. He said that in the East the mentally ill aren't considered outcasts: people consider them touched by God and persons not to be ashamed of.