[Lost alex]

Everyone talks about the main early signs of a manic episode, eg little sleep, hurried speech, getting lots done etc. But does anyone have different traits that they have learnt about themselves and that the professionals may not appreciate as real signs?

For me one of the earliest signs is that I don't seem to need to eat anymore. Never hungry and just forget about it.

Another is that my mind can become very hooked on something unusual, like suddenly being super into this random Portuguese pop singer. I have no connection with anything Portuguese at all. It just happened and became this huge part of my life during the manic episode that ensued.

Anyone else?

[Victoria'smom]

I become hungrier and want to cook.

[fairydustgirl]

its not unusual and it is on the list but it is not talked about much at all...except that it has happened enough times for me that my therapist will explicitly ask me about it. sex...sex sex sex...that is my main symptom when I am manic. my libido goes through the roof and I will be highly interested. to the point of wondering if that homeless guy over there is cute and would like to have a roof over his head for a night. I have NEVER acted on that!
sometimes I wish I spent money because I think I could return a shirt.

[Christopher1990]

smoking, normally I hate cigarettes

I became obsessed with a certain actor. I thought we had a psychic connection, that he was thinking of me and we would randomly meet soon. It's very embarrassing to think about now and I've never told my doctor, or anyone else for that matter.

[jacky8807]

Yup to all of that libido not eating and obsessions

[Secretum]

I start making lots and lots of plans. New organizations and businesses I will start (never have acted on any of these, as I usually return to a normal mood in time to remember that I have absolutely no business experience, haha), new books I will write (I have made significant progress on five books, and actually completed a draft of one novel), exciting things I will do with my life. Should I spend the next year living in a different country every month (yeah, non-manic me is not brave enough to do that!)? How can I make a difference in the lives of people who are in pain?

I also find myself thinking a lot about philosophical questions. What does it mean to "think"? How do you define a person? What happens after death? What happens to the unchosen alternative when you make a decision?

And my cognition fizzles. I understand new concepts more easily, but I make a lot of mistakes in the details, and I get confused often about where I am, or what day it is.

I get hypersexual too.

This thread is reminding me that yes, I am indeed bipolar. (I wonder sometimes when I've been sane for awhile )

[RomanJames2014]

I'm the same! I don't need to eat at all! I also start to find silly things hilarious.

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I stop eating as well, and can lose as much as 5 pounds each week until the episode cycles. I can become very impatient, aggressive, and generally unpleasant, which is not by choice and a source of embarrassment and shame. I can speak and understand Japanese and Korean (I studied both, a while ago), which is no longer easy when I'm not manic. I make a lot of lists to name and prioritize tasks, strategies, and plans. I once wrote that lists were a harbinger of mania.

Another manic trait I thought I'd mention because I hadn't heard of it in others is compulsive crisis prepping.

I live in a catastrophically overpopulated and unsustainable part of the most remote inhabited archipelago on the planet, and when I go high side I can't stop thinking about the day that the ships stop coming. We depend on nearly everything from across thousands of miles of ocean and we're all a day from empty supermarket shelves, we're surrounded by high-value strategic military assets (targets), our police, hospitals, utilities and emergency medical services could easily become overwhelmed in a crisis, and 99.99% of the population hasn't recognized these circumstances or made preparations. They'll glut Costco to buy cases of bottled water at the approach of a significant hurricane, but that's about it. I such complete and widespread normalcy bias is a strong confirmation that things are indeed a bit stupider around here.

[lacerta]

Obsession with applications - either applying to new jobs, courses, uni.

[OctobersBlackRose]

I become more.obsesed with music, sometimes fixating on one hand, and can listen to music for up to 8hrs at a time, especially at night when I'm not sleeping, also I'll listen to their whole discography, buy merch, anything I can get my hands on (the money quickly adds up too), and I buy all their albums etc. I also become obsessed with said members of the band I'm obsessed with (usually the singer), and looking up everything I cam find about them. I start applying for jobs I'm not qualified for, and applying to different schools with no intention to attend once I crash...

[xRavenx]

It's interesting people here are also mentioning they got completely hooked on something during mania, such as a favorite celebrity, etc. This has happened to me where I thought a particular singer and me had a special connection, and I would obsess for hours (and it wasn't during my teen years where it's more common to obsess over celebrities). Looking back, I see a pattern where it would turn into psychotic beliefs. During manias, I notice in general I tend get obsessed with something to the point where it's unhealthy and engage in strange behaviors as a result. Since others here are mentioning such similar experiences, now I realize this must be much more common in mania than I originally thought.

[Lost alex]

I am finding that fascinating too! And it led into psychosis delusional beliefs for me too. I started to think that I WAS this celebrity. That has happened twice in my life and is a very strange thing to understand and explain.

Along with many things both diagnostic and already mentioned....

Talking to strangers (normally very shy and avoid interacting).

Sounds and textures etc. more noticable. Also more likely to annoy me.

Considering buying things that aren't "me" (styles, colors etc.). Hell, shopping at all, lol.

Braver all around. (this sounds good, but can also include/devolve into feeling kind of invincable. Like a wolverine. )

Filter goes away. And lag time between thought and speech. Embarrassing things are said because word choice/order come out with unintended innuendo.

[tanto]

I become aggressive towards my dogs, who are my world. This always happens before I go into a manic episode.