Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder Mania

Signs of Abnormally Elevated Mood Associated with Manic Depression

Mar 14, 2008 Tami Port

Mania isn't the same as being in a really great mood. This abnormally elevated emotional state can include racing thoughts, pressured speech, and extreme irritability.

What Is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic-depressive illness, is a mood disorder of extremes. The emotional highs of mania and lows of bipolar depression can be severe and often significantly interfere with a person’s ability to function.

These aren’t the typical ups and downs that everyone goes through. The mood swings of bipolar disorder extend far beyond the norm. Left untreated, this mental illness can profoundly affect a patient’s quality of life; destroying relationships, resulting in unemployment, financial ruin and even suicide.

What Is Mania?

In order to be diagnosed as bipolar, the DSM (the main diagnostic manual used by mental heath professionals) says that a person must have at least one manic episode not involving drug or alcohol abuse, medications or other medical disorder that may have caused the symptoms.

Being manic is not the same thing as feeling extremely happy. Mania is an abnormally elevated mood that can include racing thoughts, fast or pressured speech, and irritability.

Symptoms of Bipolar Mania

The following are possible symptoms of mania that are evaluated for the clinical diagnosis of a manic episode:

• Distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive or irritable mood lasting at least one week or requiring hospitalization
• Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
• Decreased need for sleep
• More talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking
• Flight of ideas or subjective experience that thoughts are racing
• Distractability
• An increase in goal-directed activity (socially, at work, school or sexually) or psychomotor agitation
• Excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for negative consequences

Managing Symptoms

Medications that can help regulate mood are certainly a vital part of managing the symptoms of this mood disorder. However, there is far more to controlling bipolar mood and its manic episodes than just complying with a prescribed drug regimen.

Stress, illness, change of season, and being overworked or sleep deprived are just of few of the things that can precipitate a manic episode. Therefore, managing stress and getting a sufficient amount of sleep may help reduce the likelihood of a manic episode.

Bipolar Information

For more information on manic depression see the mental health website Psychology Prof Online and the Manic Depressive Blog, written by a psychologist who has bipolar disorder.

This article is only meant to provide information of symptoms that are associated with bipolar disorder. Do not use this information for self-diagnosis. Only a trained mental-health professional can diagnose mental illnesses including manic depression or bipolar disorder.

Additional Sources

Ramirez Basco, Monica (2006). The Bipolar Workbook: Tools for Controlling Your Mood Swings, Guilford Press.

Mondimore, Francis Mark (1999). Bipolar Disorder: A guide for Patients & Families. Johns Hopkins Press.

The copyright of the article Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder Mania in Personality/Anxiety/Mood Disorders is owned by Tami Port. Permission to republish Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder Mania in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Racing thoughts of bipolar mania.

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Comments

Jun 10, 2009 6:14 PM

Guest :

I have been reading all info on the symptoms of bipolar. There has been no mention of screaming, name calling and violence during these episodes towards their mates or the ones close to them. Their mates are the great love of their lives for awhile. Then slowly it turns to hate, even violence toward them. She is bipolar, but we do not know how to deal with this. This part of bipolar is never mentioned. I would like to know if this is an isolated case.

Jun 10, 2009 6:34 PM

Tami Port :

In response to the comment from June 10: Since bipolar disorder involves a difficulty in regulating mood, outbursts and violence can certainly be part of how the disorder manifests. Someone who is having a full-blown manic episode can even exhibit psychosis. Is the woman that you speak of under psychiatric care? Is she on medication? Is she getting treated for the disorder? Although even if she is, treatment doesn't necessarily mean that all symptoms disappear. Symptoms are just less extreme when the disorder is well managed.

If you want to get some insight into what it means to be bipolar, take a look at some of the many blogs out there that are written by people with the disorder. The link below is to a blog by a psychology professional who is bipolar. It really provides some good info on what it is like to have the disorder:

http://manicdepressivemoodie.blogspot.com/

Jul 24, 2009 6:29 PM

Guest :

Hi- I have been researching with nothing to show for... I'd like to find info on what are the "causes" or commom triggers for mania when you have bipolar. My dad ( I am a grown adult) says there is no reason for me to be manic- after i told him i needed to take it easy on a trip to see them because i just made a trip to the ER because I was very manic. How do I explain. is there a good site, that explains this, not just the whole disease, but how and "whys" if any of mania. thank you, if anyone has any helpful tips to offer. becuse it seems impossible to show a "broken brain!?" unless it is cut and bleeding.

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