Defining mania

Mania is an important component in the symptomatology of bipolar, and is the central characteristic of bipolar one. Someone who experiences mild manic symptoms but not full-blown mania is considered to be bipolar II. But if you experience true mania, you may be diagnosed as bipolar one, whether or not you also experience depression.

Mania – in the context of bipolar mental disorder – has a clear definition, given by the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)-IV.

The definition is this:

Mania is a distinct period of abnormally and persistently euphoric or irritable mood that lasts at least one week (or any duration if the person is hospitalized).  Mood changes are accompanied by at least 3 of the following symptoms (4 symptoms are needed rather than 3 if the mood is “irritable” rather than “euphoric”:

• overly confident self-esteem
• racing thoughts
• distractibility
• risky pleasure seeking
• excessive talkativeness (also called “pressured speech”)
• decreased need for sleep
• and increases in goal-directed activity.

The symptoms must lead to clear impairment in order to count as symptoms. The symptoms can also be caused by substance abuse, but this invalidates the diagnosis of mania- substance abuse is a separate category.

There are some things that need to be kept in mind with the clinical definition of mania. They are this:

the symptoms are, by and large, subjective. (there are entire sections of the local bookstore devoted to improving self-esteem, for example).

The DSM changes over time and is effectively a convention about when to consider someone to be seriously ill enough to warrant intervention

There is, as yet, no known physical, or organic, cause of mania. Therefore, the idea that mania is a specific disorder with specific causes and treatments is simply a hypothesis: an educated guess. (although we believe it is correct)

It is a mistake to conclusively diagnose yourself or someone else as experiencing a manic state based on reading this list.

Finally, the clinical definition does not come close to describing the real-world experience of mania and its consequences. There is no mention of bipolar rage.

Dealing with someone in a manic state can be hard. You can read about how to handle this situation here or about a real life manic episode in the article “The truth about mania.”