What is Mania?
Mania is a condition where a person has abnormally elevated and extreme changes in mood or emotions. The energy and activity levels can also alter depending on the mood. Others quickly notice the highly energised level of mental and physical activity.
Mania is a psychological condition that makes a person experience unreasonable euphoria, including intense mood hyperactivity or delusion.
Mania is a symptom of bipolar disorder. This mental health condition can be dangerous for various reasons. People may have difficulty falling asleep or eating food during a manic episode.
There are high chances that they engage in risky behaviours and harm themselves.
Abnormal behaviour is when a person behaves over the top and is noticed by other people.
Manic episode
A manic episode is a particular duration of time when a person can experience one or more symptoms of Mania. In severe cases of manic episodes, they may require hospitalisation.
What are the specific triggers of manic episodes?
Manic episode triggers are unique to every individual. It is important to monitor the mood and track how they feel before and during an episode.
Identifying the triggers can help a person prepare for the episode and minimise its effect.
Some of the common triggers include
- A stimulating environment with a lot of noise, bright lights and a crowd.
- Life-changing events like marriage, job loss or divorce.
- Sleeplessness
- Use of substances, recreational drugs or alcohol.
After a manic episode, a person can
- Feel happy or embarrassed about the way they behave.
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Having clear memories of what happened during the episode
- Exhausted and sleepy
- Be depressed.
What are the symptoms of Mania?
Patients with mania can exhibit extreme excitement or euphoria and display other intense mood swings. Usually, they are hyperactive and can experience multiple hallucinations or delusions during an episode.
Some patients can also feel highly anxious and shuffle quickly from manic to feeling depressive.
During a manic episode, a person can feel they have tremendous energy. Sometimes they believe that everything in the world is moving faster.
Patients with mania can have racing thoughts and fast speech. Some of the commonly exhibited symptoms of mania are as follows.
- High level of energy
- Feeling excessively happy and euphoric
- Sleeplessness
- Having a high level of self-esteem
- Talkativeness
- Racing thoughts
- Easy distraction
- Displaying restlessness
- Showing impulsive behaviour.
Some of the psychotic symptoms of a manic episode are as follows.
Hallucinations
Hallucination is when a person can see, smell, taste and feel things that are not present.
Delusion
Delusion is false beliefs or an idea a person can interpret with incorrect information. Delusions can lead to misconceptions.
What are the possible causes of Mania?
Like other mental disorders, the exact cause of Mania remains a mystery. However, various factors can contribute to the mental health condition differing from person to person.
Some of the common causes include
- Family history. If a person in the family has a bipolar illness, then there is an increased chance of another person in the family developing mania. Even though this is not definite, genetics can play an important role in causing this mental disorder.
- Chemical imbalance in the brain can also contribute to developing Mania.
- Certain side-effects of a few medications, specifically antidepressants, alcohol or recreational drugs, can cause Mania.
- Life-altering events like the marriage or death of a loved one can cause trauma leading to Mania.
- Childhood abuse and a traumatic situation can also cause Mania.
- Stress management, lack of sleep and other mental disorders like post phantom psychosis, brain injuries, tumour and stroke can cause Mania.
- Some people are prone to this mental health condition as they have an underlying medical condition or a psychiatric illness like bipolar disorder.
The cause of Mania can be a trigger or a combination of various triggers in people.
Diagnosis of Mania
A doctor or health care provider will question a patient's medical history and lifestyle.
They can prescribe a blood test or body scan to rule out other underlying health conditions that can resemble the symptoms of Mania.
The provider can refer the patient to a mental health specialist if no diseases are diagnosed.
A physician or a psychiatrist evaluates a patient by asking questions and knowing about their symptoms.
Some of the direct observations made by a psychiatrist can indicate a person has a manic episode. The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders underscores the criteria for a manic episode. The episode must occur for at least a week or less than a week of hospitalisation.
A person may experience three or more of the following symptoms.
- Easy distraction
- Engaging in risky or impulsive behaviour
- Racing thoughts
- Changes in the sleep cycle
- Obsessive thoughts
A manic episode can disturb a person's life, negatively affecting relationships at work or school.
Most manic episodes require hospitalisation to stabilise a patient's mood and prevent self-harming activities.
Treating Mania- Can Mania be treated?
Hospitalisation and medication
Hospitalisation is second to none if the symptoms are severe and are accompanied by psychosis.
Hospitalisation will help a patient prevent self-harming activities. Usually, medications and psychotherapy are prescribed to manage the symptoms of Mania effectively.
If a patient is diagnosed with Mania, a healthcare provider can prescribe antipsychotic medication. Mood stabilisers are prescribed to manage symptoms that occur as a part of mood disorders.
A doctor also prescribes antidepressants to manage the sad episodes.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy involves various techniques to identify the triggers of Mania. A mental health professional will talk with the patient to identify and work through the factors that can trigger the mental health disorder and make a person feel uncomfortable.
Cognitive behavioural therapy
Cognitive behavioural therapy is a helpful tool in helping a person to change their incorrect perceptions about themselves and the world around them.
Support group
Seeking support can be helpful as the patient can interact with people with similar medical experiences and find ideas for coping with the health condition to lead a productive life.
Can Mania be prevented?
The prescribed medications and psychotherapy can help prevent manic episodes. Patients with this mental health condition can also benefit from group therapies. It is impossible to cure Mania entirely, but with the help of therapy and proper treatment, the symptoms can be managed and help a person lead a productive life.
To sum up
A psychological condition, Mania, can cause a person to experience euphoria for no reason. Manic episode is a common symptom of bipolar disorder and can be dangerous if left untreated.
Proper treatment and support can help people with these mental health conditions lead productive lives.
