Mania

Mania, abnormal mental state characterized by an elevated or irritable mood, exaggerated self-importance, racing thoughts, and hyperactivity. People with mania typically feel intoxicated with themselves and with life. They may display an indiscriminate enthusiasm for manipulating people, spending money, and pursuing sexual adventure. Manic people may also display impatience or hostility toward other people. If frustrated, they may physically abuse their friends, children, or spouse.

Mania has many other characteristics. People with mania often have inflated self-esteem and self-confidence, and assume they have more wit, courage, imagination, and artistry than everyone else. Severe mania may include delusions of grandeur, such as the belief that one is chosen by God for a special mission. Mania typically involves a decreased need for sleep, so manic people often wake up early in a highly energized state. Mania makes people extremely talkative. Their loud, rapid-fire speech sometimes continues unabated without regard for others. Mania also involves a flight of ideas, racing thoughts that cause speech to go off in many different directions. People in a manic state become easily distracted by irrelevant sights, sounds or ideas, which further disrupts thinking and speech.

People with mania may also devise grandiose plans or engage in reckless self-indulgence. For example, they may invest indiscriminately in risky projects, get involved in many different social activities, flirt to the point of indecency, and intrude in other people’s private lives to the point of being obnoxious. Manic people display many signs of impaired judgment and self-destructive behavior. These signs include taking airplane trips all over the country, gambling to excess, buying outrageously expensive gifts, engaging in reckless sexual behavior, and abusing alcohol or other drugs.

Most people who experience episodes of mania also experience spells of severe depression. This pattern of mood swings between mania and depression defines a mental illness known as bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive illness. In bipolar disorder, episodes of mania usually begin abruptly and last from several weeks to several months. Mild manic episodes can last a year or more. Depression may follow immediately or begin after a period of relatively normal functioning. Manic episodes may require hospitalization because of impaired social behavior or the presence of psychotic symptoms (see Psychosis).

Mania may result from other conditions besides bipolar disorder. Medical conditions, such as a brain tumor or an overactive thyroid gland, can cause manic symptoms. Certain medications, such as steroids and antidepressants, can also cause mania.