blackouts...manic episodes

Is it normal to have blackouts during manic episodes? I stayed awake for 36 hours and there were times I was blacking out.

I have had black outs my whole life. Its a safety mechanism or something. When something is to hard or to bad. Then I have anger black outs too. It might just be me, because I have been through some stuff, therapist says its my brains way of protecting me when I was a kid.

I dissociate when I'm overly manic & without sleep. My mind starts racing, I zone out, & my time/surroundings totally disappear from my memory. The mind is one hell of a drug!

Thanks that makes sense. Some times though I wish I would remember what was going on during those black outs.

Yes, I had blackouts during my episode...I think. I don't know. The whole experience was vividly fuzzy. I don't remember everything, and I don't know if I blacked out or just don't remember.

Hi maniaccreations! I don't know for sure. So why answer, right? Lol. Because of a thought, and a current incident I had. I do not go manic, but I can go very high hypomanic. I suspect I don't remember everything, but I don't know for sure, because someone would have to refer to something for me to realize it was a complete blank to me. And I don't know a ton of people, and the ones I do are probably too busy (and possibly afraid), thinking WTH?! to broach it. (And when I've bought too much, it's always been with my own money, so...)

moremi, I have rage blackouts too. In fact, I had a big rage the other night and an appt. 2 days later, and was talking about it and realized I couldn't account for gaps in what happened between point A to point B, (C and D, etc.) when something clearly must have (what with, for instance, being in different locations! )

That must seem odd, right, maniaccreations? I just said I didn't know, then said I did know. Though I am completely caught up in both states. When (good) hypo, everything I do is so brilliant it needs no explanation (And what? To waste time trying to explain to lesser minds who'd never understand just how brilliant it is anyhow? Lol.) So who knows if there are gaps? Combine that with people tending not to spell it out = not sure.

But of rages? They mortify me. And with things I've destroyed.... those things are pointed out to me, and not nicely. Besides, I can see it for myself afterwards. And not necessarily remember how it got that way. They will sometimes point out things I did/said for which there is no visual confirmation of later. Combine those things = know.

(Hmmm. Don't think the rages are necessarily when way hypo. Big ones especially, like the other night, are a mixed state for me. So not sure if I even answered your question, haha! Sorry! Better go do something not requiring coherent composition now...)

Innerzone, I understand completely where you are coming from. The gaps are there but if there is no one to point them out at that moment then it seems fine for us. Then we go into rages and there are messes to clean up then of course there is someone to point them out. Thanks!

I've done some perfectly awful and embarrassing things when manic that thankfully I don't remember. It seems like there is always someone to tell me about it afterward. Sometimes I have a vague memory other times not. My pdoc says its quite common.