Monday, March 25, 2024

Can You Have Mania Without Bipolar

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Learn More About What Mania Is What Causes It And How You Can Tell If You Have It

Unipolar Mania | Can you Be Manic and Never Depressed?

Mania is an extreme, elevated mood state. Someone in a state of mania may describe their sensory experiences as more vivid and pleasant and experience increases in energy and alertness.

Typically, mania is a symptom of bipolar disorder, a condition characterized by periods of mania called manic episodes that experienced periodically. In the past, people referred to bipolar disorder as mania disorder, since mania is one of the primary signs of bipolar disorder. While mania commonly occurs with bipolar disorder, other conditions and factors can also trigger episodes of mania.

Monitoring Mania Or Hypomania

Management of mania is a constant cycle of experiencing episodes, learning and adjusting coping strategies each time .

Triggers and symptoms are unique to each person, so pinpointing and learning what applies to you can be difficult. But, this work is beneficial as it will help you before or during an episode.

Bipolar Disorder In Children And Teens

Bipolar disorders are most common in older adolescents and teens, but children can also be diagnosed with the disorder at a younger age. While not nearly as common in children as it is in adults, research studies have revealed that bipolar disorder affects as many as 3% of all children and up to 7% of children receiving outpatient psychiatric care. Bipolar disorder has been diagnosed in children as young as 5. When young children experience symptoms, this is called early-onset bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is more likely to affect the children of parents who have the disorder. When one parent has bipolar disorder, the risk to each child is l5 to 30%. When both parents have bipolar disorder, the risk increases to 50 to 75%.

Bipolar in kids also causes distinct mood episodes from mania or hypomania to depression. However, because kids and adolescents can act out, have difficulty in school or at home, and display some of the symptoms of bipolar disorders, like restlessness, impulsivity, risky behaviors, and an inflated view of capabilities, even when they dont have the disorder, it can be difficult to diagnose.

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Coping With Manic Episodes

Beyond medication and therapy, a few relatively simple lifestyle changes can help in the management of manic episodes. Here are some to consider.

  • Make time for exercise.Do your best to get some sort of physical activity daily.
  • Stick to a well-rounded dietand avoid skipping meals.
  • Focus on proper sleep hygiene, including keeping a consistent sleep-wake cycle .
  • Start a journal.You may consider keeping a notebook to record manic and depressive symptoms. Pay special attention to triggers, like a job change, a breakup, a move, or even situational triggers like staying out late, listening to loud music, starting a new project, or going on vacation.
  • Stay on track with doctor appointments, as well as prescribed medication.

Talk to your health provider about which complementary techniques might work for you.

Bipolar Disorder Can Be A Challenging Illness To Manage

Bipolar Disorder

One way you can help to stay healthy is to learn more about when your symptoms tend to develop and what this looks like for you. This knowledge is invaluable to helping you to plan for future mood changes. You can use problem-solving strategies to determine ways you can help prevent symptoms from becoming full blown. Knowing what triggers or sets off your symptoms and learning to recognize early signs can help to smooth down bumps on the road.

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Myth #: Euphoric Mania Is Better Than Dysphoric Mania

I want the world to learn more about dysphoric mania. Also called mixed mania, dysphoricmania is usually irritated, aggressive and physically uncomfortable. I see it far more than I used to and believe this rise comes from the incorrect use of antidepressants, supplements, steroids and party drugs that adversely affect the brains of people with bipolar disorder.

There is a woman behind me as I sit outside at my favorite restaurant who has a laugh like a machine gun. She opens her mouth wide and a laugh right up there with Woody f*$)#*ingWoodpecker comes flying out. I want to shut her up by any means possible. Someone needs to godo it. I pay my taxes. I pay for this food Im eating. Im not going to sit here and let that #c$with a laugh like a dock worker on crack ruin my ^$#%+ evening.

Dysphoric mania is mean and very active. Im a writer and I still couldnt make up a paragraph like the one above! When Im in a dysphoric manic episode, I change more than with any other episode.

Lets contrast this with a euphoric entry:

My god Im happy. I cant believe how well everything is going since I moved here. We all went to karaoke the other night and I had to pinch myself everything was so perfect!!!!! I am loving life these days. The writing is going smoothly, friends are good and I met a new guy Im seeing tonight. rEv ReV REVVVV! I can be happy damn it. That depression is not going to get me. YES!

There is no good mania.

Can Mania Or Hypomania Be Prevented

Mania and hypomania, as well as bipolar disorder itself, cant be prevented. However, you can take steps to lessen the effects of an episode.

Maintaining your support systems and working with a mental health professional are two methods to lessen the possibility of an episode, as well as manage one if it occurs.

Above all, if you have a treatment plan, its important to stick with it. Take your medications as prescribed and keep an open line of communication with your doctor. Working together, you and your doctor can manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life.

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Symptoms Of Mania And Hypomania

While they vary in intensity, most of the symptoms of mania and hypomania are the same. The key symptoms include:

  • having higher-than-normal energy levels
  • taking on multiple projects with no way of finishing them
  • having decreased inhibitions
  • having increased sexual desire
  • engaging in risky behavior, such as having impulsive sex, gambling with life savings, or going on big spending sprees

During a manic or hypomanic phase, you may not be able to recognize these changes in yourself. If others mention that youre not acting like yourself, youre not likely to think that anythings wrong.

Signs And Symptoms Of Bipolar Disorder

How to manage bipolar disorder – 6 Strategies

Bipolar disorder can look very different in different people. The symptoms vary widely in their pattern, severity, and frequency. Some people are more prone to either mania or depression, while others alternate equally between the two types of episodes. Some have frequent mood disruptions, while others experience only a few over a lifetime.

There are four types of mood episodes in bipolar disorder: mania, hypomania, depression, and mixed episodes. Each type of bipolar disorder mood episode has a unique set of symptoms.

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Symptoms Of A Mixed Episode

A mixed episode of bipolar disorder features symptoms of both mania or hypomania and depression. Common signs of a mixed episode include depression combined with agitation, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, distractibility, and racing thoughts. This combination of high energy and low mood makes for a particularly high risk of suicide.

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What Are The Long

Bipolar disorder is a life-long and often recurring illness. You may need long term support to help manage your condition.

What medication options are there?

Your doctor will look at what medication worked for you during episodes of mania or depression. They should ask you whether you want to continue this treatment or if you want to change to lithium.

Lithium usually works better than other types of medication for long-term treatment. Your doctor should give you information about how to take lithium safely. If lithium doesn’t work well enough or causes you problems, you may be offered:

  • Valproate,
  • Olanzapine, or
  • Quetiapine.

Your doctor should monitor your health. Physical health checks should be done at least once a year. These checks will include:

  • measuring your weight,
  • checking your liver and heart, and
  • checking your pulse and blood pressure.

What psychological treatments are recommended?

You should be offered a psychological therapy that is specially designed for bipolar disorder. You could have individual or group therapy.

The aim of your therapy is to stop you from becoming unwell again. This is known as relapse. Your therapy should help you to:

If you live with your family or are in close contact with them, you should also be offered family intervention.

Family intervention is where you and your family work with mental health professionals to help to manage relationships. This should be offered to people who you live with or who you are in close contact with.

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Bipolar Spectrum Disorders: M M D D

Like other areas of medicine, psychiatry is constantly undergoing changes in the face of new treatments and new ideas.

The basic concept of a bipolar spectrum is more than a century old, having been proposed by the original founders of modern psychiatry. It gained new life in the 1970s after a leading psychiatrist proposed classifying mood symptoms as follows:

  • Upper-case “M”: Episodes of full-blown mania
  • Lower-case “m”: Episodes of mild mania
  • Upper-case “D”: Major depressive episodes
  • Lower-case “d”: Less-severe symptoms of depression

Under this proposed classification, people are described by the combination of their manic and depressive symptoms. This system has not entered mainstream or standard use, however. This past decade has been a period of renewed interest by some psychiatrists in exploring whether the bipolar spectrum may exist as a scientifically valid diagnostic concept. Whether a bipolar spectrum exists and how important it might be continue to be examined by researchers and, meanwhile, debated among psychiatrists.

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How Are They Diagnosed

What Is Bipolar Disorder? Its Symptoms &  Treatment Available

If you believe you may be dealing with symptoms of mania, hypomania, or bipolar disorder itself, its a good idea to talk with your regular doctor first. During your appointment, your doctor will likely take your medical history and do a physical exam.

Its important that you tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications and supplements you take, as well as any illegal drugs you may have taken.

If your doctor suspects you are indeed dealing with mania or hypomania, they will likely refer you to a mental health professional for an actual diagnosis.

Diagnosing mania and hypomania can be complicated. For instance, you may not be aware of some symptoms or how long youve been having them.

Also, if you have depression but your doctor is unaware of your manic or hypomanic behavior, they may diagnose you with depression instead of bipolar disorder.

In addition, other health conditions can cause mania and hypomania.

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Is It Possible To Be Hypomanic And Depressed At The Same Time

Certainly! Some studies, the most common mood state in bipolar disorder is a mixture of hypomanic/manic and depressed symptoms. In fact, the classic picture of bipolar disorder having a course alternating between the poles of high and low moods is an over-simplification. The very name, bipolar disorder is probably less accurate than the older term, manic-depressive disorder. How can this be?

Although bipolar disorder has been classified as a mood disorder, ample research shows that the core symptom of hypomania and mania is not high mood, but rather hyperactivation. The mood, as many people have experienced, can either be elevated or irritable. But what always appears in manic or hypomanic episodes is a sense of being sped up physically and/or mentally. Racing thoughts, pressured speech, decreased need for sleep, starting lots of projects, and impulsive decision-making all derive from being overly activated, overly driven. Many times this sense of hyperactivation is pleasantwhen one is feeling particularly on my game the person is self-confident, more likely to act decisively, and often more likely to take risks. However, sometimes being hyperactivated simply is a sense that ones motor cannot be turned off. This can lead to restless irritability, especially if one is confronted by reality or other individuals that do not match expectations. Thus what is common in mania or hypomania is the sense of hyperactivation, or being driven, but the mood can be variable.

Can You Manage Bipolar Disorder Without Medication

Many people want to know, Can you manage bipolar disorder without medication? The answer to this is both simple and complex. Managing bipolar disorder without medication is possible for a few, but not many. Read below about possible options for managing bipolar without medications .

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What Is A Manic Episode

A manic episode is characterized by a sustained period of abnormally elevated or irritable mood, intense energy, racing thoughts, and other extreme and exaggerated behaviors. People can also experience psychosis during manic episodes, including hallucinations and delusions, which indicate a separation from reality.

Track Your Moods And Triggers

How To Tell what Mania and Hypomania Really Look like

Keeping a journal helped Joyce of Sioux City, Iowa, figure out her typical triggers.

I write down how I am feeling so I can look back and reference other entries to look for common themes, she says.

Journaling helped her identify behaviors to address, such as waiting calmly at traffic lights, being patient with others, and handling comments that irk her whether aimed at me or not, she reports.

After three decades of living with bipolar, the 61-year-old has a handle on the emotional and physical signals that tell her its time to redirect her energy. When she feels her temper heat up, she gets down to her favorite music, including disco tunes like Chics 1978 hit Le Freak.

My therapist told me to put on my favorite music and dance when I am feeling rage. I had to laugh at the suggestion at first, but it works, and the only one who can see me is my cat.

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How Do Doctors Treat It

Although there’s no cure for bipolar disorder, treatment can help stabilize moods and help the person manage and control symptoms. Like other teens with long-lasting medical conditions , teens with bipolar disorder need to work closely with their doctors and other medical professionals to treat it.

This team of medical professionals, together with the teen and family, develop what is called a treatment plan. Teens with bipolar disorder will probably receive medication, such as a mood stabilizer, from a psychiatrist or other medical doctor. A psychologist or other type of counselor will provide counseling or psychotherapy for the teen and his or her family. Doctors will watch the symptoms closely and offer additional treatment advice if necessary.

Science Suggests An Overlap Between Hyperfocused Adhd And Unipolar Mania

Mania is is a mood state characterized by an elevated/euphoric, expansive, or unusually irritable mood lasting for at least one week and that is not the result of substance use. The irritability can also manifest itself as an increased impatience with others, heightened sensitivity to criticism , or passive-aggressive behavior .

When occurring as a component of bipolar I disorder , at least three symptoms from distinct triads among the following seven groups must also be present :

heightened levels of energy a decreased need for sleep or frequent awakenings increased physical activity/feeling jumpy

abrupt changes of mind frequent shifts from one topic/task to another

distractibility by irrelevant stimuli difficulties concentrating on essential tasks

hyperfocus on non-essential tasks excessive and idealistic planning of future conduct psychomotor agitation or restlessness

poor judgment reckless behavior

In bipolar II episodes of hypomania are present typically lasting at least one week. Hypomania is a milder state of mania in which the symptoms are not severe enough to impair daily functioning but are nonetheless observable by others.

Unipolar Mania?

The diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder include symptoms of mania as well as symptoms of depressions–usually occurring at different times. Given this, it remains an interesting question what we should say about observed instances of unipolar mania.

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What Are The Symptoms Of Hypomania

Symptoms of a hypomanic episode are the same but less intense than mania. Hypomanic symptoms, which vary from person to person, include:

  • Having an abnormally high level of activity or energy.
  • Feeling extremely happy, excited.
  • Not sleeping or only getting a few hours of sleep but still feel rested.
  • Having an inflated self-esteem, thinking youre invincible.
  • Being more talkative than usual. Talking so much and so fast that others cant interrupt.
  • Having racing thoughts having lots of thoughts on lots of topics at the same time .
  • Being easily distracted by unimportant or unrelated things.
  • Being obsessed with and completely absorbed in an activity youre focus on.
  • Displaying purposeless movements, such as pacing around your home or office or fidgeting when youre sitting.
  • Showing impulsive behavior that can lead to poor choices, such as buying sprees, reckless sex or foolish business investments.

The Three Symptoms Below Represent The Side Of Bipolar Disorder We All Know Is There But Rarely Want To Let The Public Know Exists

What is Bipolar Disorder: Get the Facts

I know how important it is to protect the reputation of bipolar disorder in the general public. We dont want people thinking we are dangerous, scary, crazy people who cant be trusted. But I do feel we need to own up to the fact that certain mood swings DO cause the behaviors we want to sweep under the carpet. The three symptoms below represent the side of bipolar disorder we all know is there but rarely want to let the public know exists. This is only an opinion, of course, but Im truly interested to know if you feel the same.

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