Beatlemania: Bipolar Boot Camp, Part 4
Beatlemania - I remember it well. That could have been me in 1963 at The Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto at my first and only Beatles concert. Girls behaving in ways that under normal circumstances would be totally out of character and down right embarrassing!
Mania, that is pretty much what people think of when they think of the word 'mania'. They think of out of control behavior, not normal, not natural.
Mania, that is pretty much what people think of when they think of the word 'mania'. They think of out of control behavior, not normal, not natural.
The Webster Dictionary defines mania as:
| 1. | Violent derangement of mind; madness; insanity. Cf. Delirium. | |
| 2. | Excessive or unreasonable desire; insane passion affecting one or many people |
What about those of us with a form of bipolar disorder? When we experience mania is it that extreme as well?
It can be but certainly not all the time.
Last week we had a ‘Depression Drill’ where we reviewed the symptoms of depression.
This week we are having a ‘Manic Drill’ where we will review the symptoms of the manic side of bipolar.
Bipolar is a two part mental illness, the depression part and the manic part. It is good to have a solid understanding of each and how they affect you.
Here is a list of manic symptoms from The Mayo Clinic:
Both a manic and a hypomanic episode include three or more of these symptoms:
- Abnormally upbeat, jumpy or wired
- Increased activity, energy or agitation
- Exaggerated sense of well-being and self-confidence (euphoria)
- Decreased need for sleep
- Unusual talkativeness
- Racing thoughts
- Distractibility
- Poor decision-making — for example, going on buying sprees, taking sexual risks or making foolish investments
Make a copy of this list and keep it handy. If you experiencing some of these symptoms it may mean that you are heading for a manic episode. It has been my experience that if I become manic at all, there is only one way to go when it is over and that is down to a deep depression episode.
But if I recognize manic in the early stages, I can try to bring it to a halt so it doesn’t get too extreme. If I succeed at that then the depression which follows may be less extreme as well.
Now, I am going to suggest that you do the same thing with this ‘Manic Drill’ as we did with the ‘Depression Drill’ last time. Do a ‘cost/benefit analysis’ on your responses to your manic symptoms.
For instance, one of my manic symptoms is to become energized and busy and motivated. How do I respond to that? Well often if I am coming out of days and days and days of feeling down and unmotivated, then I am sure that this is just ‘normal’ and I enjoy feeling motivated and getting things done and I go with it!
The benefit of that is that I get a lot done and feel productive and have something to show for my efforts. It feels great.
The cost is that I get more and more energized all the time, higher and higher and I crash in no time and am worse than ever.
You will get the most out of this ‘Bipolar Boot Camp’ if you take each of these manic symptoms, and write down how you respond to them when you experience them. Then make a cost/benefit analysis of your response. There is a learning curve in this that is indispensable. Trust me, you will be better for this!
WHAT ABOUT YOU? How are you feeling today? Are you just reading this or are you going to try it out?
Don't give up! There is hope for depression.
