What Is Mania?

Hallmark Symptom of Bipolar I Disorder

Bipolar mania is a state of mind and mood most commonly characterized by excessive energy, along with other symptoms such as extravagant behavior, rapid speech, reckless spending, and hallucinations. A person who is experiencing bipolar mania is having a manic episode, as opposed to a hypomanic or depressive episode. There are certain symptoms that separate mania from hypomania, such as the following:

• Mania must last for at least one week or require hospitalization.

• There must be a "sustained and abnormally elevated, expansive or irritable mood" throughout the episode.

• The episode causes problems in one's social life or work.

• Psychotic features (see below) may be present.

Everyone has times when they are exhilarated, especially talkative, generous or outgoing, or irritable, and these moods can last quite some time (imagine a woman excitedly getting ready for her wedding). In mania, such a mood is exaggerated beyond what most people would experience and more than likely has no relationship to anything going on in the person's life. This is why the word "abnormally" is part of the definition of a manic episode.

For more, see What is an Episode?

Shared Symptoms of Mania and Hypomania

Mania and hypomania share many common symptoms. These include:

• Not needing much sleep.

• Fast talking that may be difficult for others to understand.

• Behaving inappropriately - for example, making crude remarks at a dinner party.

• Spending recklessly, such as buying a car when the person can't possibly make the payments.

• Grandiose thinking - for example, believing you are better than anyone else at doing something, or that you can accomplish a difficult task in hours instead of week.

• Hypersexuality, such as making unusual sexual demands of your partner; making inappropriate sexual advances; spending a great deal of money on phone sex, internet pornography, or prostitutes; or having affairs.

• Racing thoughts, where thoughts move at a rapid speed that may be uncomfortable.

• Unusual irritability, excitement, hostility or aggression.

• Dressing and behaving flamboyantly.

• Being easily distracted, such as jumping from one subject to an unrelated subject while speaking to someone.

For more, see Symptoms of Mania.

Psychotic Features of Mania

As mentioned above, there are certain symptoms that separate mania from hypomania, and thus determine whether a patient has bipolar I or bipolar II disorder. One such symptom is psychotic features, which include:

• Hallucinations
• Delusions
• Paranoia

If a person with bipolar disorder is experiencing any one of these forms of psychosis along with a cluster of the other manic and hypomanic symptoms, then mania, not hypomania, is present and the diagnosis will most likely be bipolar I disorder (other factors may lead to a different diagnosis, such as schizoaffective disorder).

For more, see Psychotic Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder.

Mania and the Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis

A person can be diagnosed with bipolar I disorder if they experience both manic episodes and depressive episodes. There is also a subtype of bipolar I disorder in which depressive episodes are not experienced.

As noted above, certain symptoms must be present in order for mania to be diagnosed. If those symptoms are not present, but other manic symptoms are, the patient may be experiencing hypomania, leading to a diagnosis of Bipolar II disorder.

Manic Doesn't Mean Maniac

Experiencing mania does not automatically mean that a person will be violent or dangerous, but in some cases, this can happen. A particular cluster of symptoms might make a person a reckless and dangerous driver. Delusions and hostility could cause someone to write threatening letters or publish lies about another person on the internet. Hallucinations, delusions or paranoia, alone or in combination, could lead someone to jump off a roof, start a fire, or attack another person. It all depends on not only which symptoms are present, but what form they take.

The vast majority of people who experience mania never cause physical harm to anyone. On the other hand, manic symptoms can and all too often do lead to financial hardship, wrecked relationships, job loss, and other events that can have disastrous long-term effects. Mania needs to be treated to minimize potentially devastating symptoms.