[Gabyunbound]

I've been wondering if there are two (or more?) kinds of psychotic mania: one where one realizes/knows/suspects that they are psychotic/manic and another where you don't know at all and believe 100% (not 80% or 90%) that what you are experiencing is real.

So is there a kind of psychosis and/or mania where you more or less know what's going on and another where you don't? And what kinds of implications does this have as far as behavior as well as treatment?

[~Christina]

I think the vast majority has a bit of self awareness when it first starts...

I usually have great self awareness but a few times I went from 0-100 in a matter of hours.

Before I moved I was seeing my T weekly and it was helpful to go so often as he could sometimes see things I could not.. It wasnt always a med change in need, I mean if I changed or increased meds each time I would have run out of meds to use...

Self care does alot of good if it can be used early... but its not always going to work.

[tecomsin]

Yes I've experienced a lot of variation in the degree of psychotic thoughts... The degree to which I believe them is one factor. A second factor is how much of my time is occupied with the thoughts and a third factor is the extent to which I act or say things based on those thoughts. Since my psychoses are have a big paranoid component whatever I say about the thoughts tends to come out in accidentally as I don't trust anyone. I can however bring myself to discuss the thoughts eventually with my psychiatrist but that is only when the paranoia subsides.

Just as an aside, I think all the negative self-talk and gloom and doom thinking, catastrophizing etc. when I am depressed (this is my usual state now) is also a kind of psychosis but it is not looked at that way.

I've never been manic without a psychosis but have had psychosis without mania.