Perhaps you would have come across some people that are at the peak of their mood swing and their mood and behavior go from one extreme to another. Today, we’ll discuss what is mania; its symptoms, causes, and treatment.
What is Mania?
Mania is the state of abnormally irritable, expansive, and elevated mood comprising impaired judgment, grandiosity, overoptimism, agitation, overactivity, and excitement. Symptoms of manic episodes outline the dangerous behavior sometimes, extreme, and a phase of exaggeration.
Mania has links with bipolar disorder. But it’s important to mention it here that people can experience manic episodes without having these disorders. When the episode occurs, then there are various factors that play their contributing roles like a medical condition or the impact of the substance use.
Symptoms of Mania
The symptoms of manic episodes largely overlap and are less severe than the hypomania state. The difference is that a hypomania state doesn’t have an association with psychotic symptoms, and it is not severe enough to impair your judgment, disturb the functioning of your life, or require mandatory hospitalization.
The symptoms should persist for one week at least, disturb the functioning of your life, and require hospitalization in order to fall under the category of mania. Some of the main symptoms of mania are as follows;
Risky Behavior
Risky behaviors have links with manic episode and their outcome is highly painful and negative. It comprises of following;
- Harming yourself
- Substance use behavior like taking more than recommended drug dosage and sharing needles
- Engaging in the risky behavioral activity like unprotected sex
- Excessive spending
Higher Libido
Libido is the higher sexual desire and drives along with sexual distress, and it is there in the manic episode. On the surface, it may seem positive and harmless, but it results in the form of sexual indiscretion and risky sexual behavior of endangering yourself and jeopardizing relationships.
Wired/Jumpy Feelings
The manic episode has associated with feelings of tirelessness, high activity, energy, irritability, and anxiety. It can also occur in the form of repetitive behavior. People perform various activities to soothe their tension like achieving goals, multitasking without completing them, pacing, scribbling, hand fidgeting, foot-tapping, or finger tapping.
High Activity/Energy
Agitation and psychomotor activity are the traits of manic episodes and they result in the form of result-driven and goal-oriented activities like sexual, work, academic, or social life. The higher activity or energy would cause sleep disturbance issues.
Euphoria
Euphoria seems like expansive and elevated emotions comprising excitement, hopefulness, and excessive happiness. However, Euphoria is the symptom of a manic episode, and they aren’t the result of medication effect, drug abuse, or the consumption of the substance. After experiencing a depressive episode, euphoria seems like a relief, but good feelings would aggravate to the level of uncomfortable and uncontrollable.
Fast Speech/Talkativeness
The speech of some people becomes quicker and faster than their natural speed in the manic episode. Other people can also notice irregular speech patterns. Speaking loudly than your casual tone is the other symptom of a manic episode.
Limited Sleep
Your sleep duration would drop significantly in the manic episodes. When your sleep disturbance issue increases, then it would aggravate the severity and symptoms of mania. However, sleep disturbance doesn’t always mean manic episodes. If someone is having issues with sleep, then there could be other problems with it.
Racing Thoughts
You should keep in mind when your thoughts are distracting you, becoming repetitive, and racing. If others inform you that they can’t follow and keep up with your thoughts anymore, then you should be careful.
Causes of Mania
Researchers don’t know the exact and precise cause of mania, and they believe that a combination of various factors could cause it, and they’re as follows;
Brain Differences
The structure of the brain of people with mental illnesses and bipolar disorder is completely different from people who do not have this condition. According to a study conducted in 2019, 73 people participated in the study and it showed that the connectivity and activation of the amygdala are different in people with bipolar disorder. Amygdala deals with the fight-or-flight response, emotions, and memory.
Environmental Changes
Stressful environmental changes like illnesses, financial problems, family conflict, breakup, and losing a job could trigger manic episodes and their symptoms.
Family History
If your siblings or parents are experiencing manic episodes, then you’re at the risk of developing it in your lifetime.
Some of the main physical conditions that have got association and links with mania are as follows;
- Stroke
- Sleep Deprivation
- Drug Use
- Side Effects of Medication
- Lupus
- Encephalitis
- Dementia
- Childbirth
- Brain injury
- Brain tumor
- Misuse of Alcohol
Treatment of Mania
Some of the main treatment plans for mania are as follows;
Medication
Your doctor would prescribe you the medication relevant to your condition and the underlying cause of it. Not all types of medicines are appropriate for all types of mental issues. For instance, SSRIs are a very good antidepressant medication to manage the symptoms of depression. You have to be careful about its usage because it could trigger manic episodes and aggravate the mood cycle. Some of the main medicines for mania are as follows;
- Benzodiazepines
- Sleep Aids
- Antipsychotics
- Mood Stabilizers like Lithium
Psychotherapy
The focus of therapeutic treatment is to teach the patients healthier coping mechanisms in order to manage their illnesses. It would help patients to better deal with the triggering stressful events. Some of the main types of therapeutic treatments to deal with bipolar disorder relevant to manic episodes are as follows;
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
- Group or Family-based Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Conclusion: What is Mania? Symptoms, Causes, Treatment
After an in-depth study of what is mania; its symptoms, causes, and treatment; we have realized that mania severely impact your life in a negative way. If you’re experiencing its symptoms, then you should consult with your therapist in your area.
Ahsan is an accomplished researcher and has a deep insight in worldly life affairs. He goes Live 3 days a week on various social media platforms. Other than research writing, he’s a very interesting person.
