What exactly defines mania?

What exactly defines mania?
Is it rage, elation, confusion or all? And how do you recognise a "manic episode"?

I don't know if i have Bipolar or not, but i think i may be jumping to conclusions because of my extreme changes in mood.
I really don't know. :/

Answers please? lol. xxx

All kinds of answers here , plus click on the "Quizzes" link on the ribbon bar and there's a mania quiz for you to take.

The bipolar spectrum is a broad one and the severity of symptoms or even the constellation of them can be vastly different between people.

Good luck.

CB

Thanks CB,

I scored 47 on the bipolar quiz. Moderate to severe symptoms. but somehow, i still doubt myself? maybe i'm jumping to conclusions about my mood-swings.
Maybe i'm "looking" for a disorder that's not there..
But i don't know.
Maybe i'm just in denial or something, hoping the test is wrong, and i'm just an up and down person.
*shrugs* I don't know.

Time will tell i guess. :/

Kelly.

I would encourage you to meet with a psychiatrist for an evaluation. I am the queen of denial myself , but I regret letting it slide till I felt really, REALLY horrible and then having to take that much longer to start feeling better.

I actually only have had an official bipolar dx for about a year -- was classed as just depressive before that. It is a hard one to accept. For me, it's because depression has become mainstream -- everybody knows about it or has had it and they know how to handle it. If you tell people you're bipolar, they get that "Ewww. You're really crazy" look and shy away. I find it a much harder dx to admit to. Still, it can be controlled with the right help.

Hope you feel better soon.

Candy

Websters Dictionary definition:

MANIA: a type of affective disorder characterized by euphoric mood, excessive activity and talkativeness, impaired judgment, and sometimes psychotic symptoms, as grandiose delusions.

I've been in this phase before many times (more than I can count) then there's the ugly side opposite of 'Mania'.

Kelly,

When I'm manic nothing seems impossible, I can do anything I put my mind to. (this is usually remodeling/redecorating the house in my case). Very little sleep but you don't feel tired. Every cupboard and closet in my house is reorganized. HOPEFULLY I don't crash in the middle of these projects because if I do, none of them are going to be finished.

I kind of go around in circles a bit (your mind is racing). For example when take everything out of the Linen closet in the bathroom, I have to take everything out of the one downstairs, and the kitchen drawers as well (everything has to be matched up). Logically, now when I am not manic I realize that it's a better idea to start with one closet or cupboard and complete it then move on to the next. When I'm manic, the livingroom, kitchen, and dining room become staging areas so I can see everything and sort easily. Common sense does not really apply when you're manic.

Hm.
I'm not entirely sure now.
When i feel i'm in a "possible manic" episode, I have the following feelings:
1. Mind racing like mad - 1001 thoughts going on at once.
2. Unexplainable energy - i've danced for 6 hours straight in the past.
3. Happiness, Anger and confusion are experienced at the same time.
4. I get a sudden sort of.. craving for exercise lol?
5. I seem to be in the mood for chucking everything old out, and starting again.
6. Alot of anger is involved. Anger at the cruelty in the world, and injustice.

Thing is, I don't always feel as though "nothing is impossible."

What I don't "get" is that I don't often get the manic episodes.. the majority of the time i'm severely depressed.. but every now and then i'll have a good day or two.. I also tend to become quite impulsive on these rare occasions.

But saying that, I don't know whether it IS a manic episode, or just mind-racing anger.

Ohhh i'm clueless. Clueless and useless.

I don't get the "nothing is impossible" either, but I get all the rest, plus people have to ask me to slow down when I talk because I become incomprehensible from talking too fast.

Like I said earlier, the bipolar spectrum is broad. I'm usually more depressed too, or used to be -- the last year or so I've been way more on the manic side. Google "bipolar II."

You still need to see a pdoc for a valid diagnosis -- we're not doctors here but can share our experiences.

Good luck.

But if i mention anything to a pdoc, won't he/she think I'm over-reacting or something? I don't think I'm confident enough to approach a pdoc about it...

I don't know...

It's like talking to any other doctor. If you had bronchitis, you would mention your hacking cough, etc to your GP so he could figure out how to treat it. Psychiatrists are medical doctors just like GPs, they just work on the mind instead of the body.

I never thought of it like that.
thanks.

Kelly. x

You're welcome. My first pdoc used to tell me that when I complained about having to take meds and see a shrink, so it comes from experience.

Seriously -- I bet everybody here understands the stigma and the feeling like you're crazy and whatnot. The other little gem he told me is, if you think you're crazy, by definition, you're automatically not. It's the people who are crazy who think they're just fine who are in trouble!

Pdocs are there to help you just like GPs are. Nothing to be afraid of, particularly since they can start you on the road to feeling better.