My first manic episode took place in Miami. A city that I grew up in and had a large number of friends in. All of them were exposed at some point in time to the symptoms of the episode. I was convinced that I had psychic powers that could be used to help the CIA so I quit my job and described my reasons for quitting in the resignation letter. Boy, I bet my employer got a great laugh out of that. I then became convinced that I was being followed by drug dealers. I drove to the airport and got on the first plane that was leaving town. While on the plane I convinced the passenger sitting next to me to drive me to a hotel. I checked into a hotel and then roamed the streets of the city all night long. I had enough money for one night at the hotel. I had round trip ticket so I gave a pair of earings to a cab driver so I could get back to the airport. Once I got back to Miami I enlisted in the Navy in order to escape the drug dealers. The Navy recognized pretty quick that my elevator didn't go all the way to the top. They released me from service. I held to the embarrasement for a long, long time. I left Miami and moved out West it took 14 years for me to feel comfortable enough to see Miami again and to even contact some of the people that witnessed the manic episode. I wanted to disappear from the map too. Thank you for sharing your story. It helps so much.