Mania

Mania is most closely associated with Bipolar disorder and can be explained as abnormal and persistently increased goal-directed activity with abnormally high levels of energy, hyperactivity, extreme mood change and in a sense a person being struck by hysteria.

Mania is a persistent elevated expansion of a particular mood which to be categorised under mania should last for a minimum period of 1 week and should be present for most part of the day.

Manic episodes are a result of over activity of dopamine receptor and it ranges from mild, moderate to extreme mania.

3 or more of the following symptoms should be present, for it to be diagnosed as mania

• Inflated self esteem
• Grandiosity or big thoughts
• Becoming more talkative than usual
• Decreased need for sleep
• Becomes easily distracted (attention easily drawn to unimportant happenings, objects)
• Subjective experience that his/her thoughts are racing
• Increase in goal directed activity (socially, at office, school, college or sexual performance)
• Irrelevant non-goal directed activity
• Excessive involvement in activities that have high risk for negative consequences (foolish business investments, sexual indiscretions, unstoppable shopping sprees)

M J, age 35 was brought to the clinic by his wife and brother. He in the waiting area was extremely loud and talkative; he was continuously walking around and fidgeting with the water camper and telephone, even after being told to sit quietly at one place by the staff. His wife and brother state his behaviour to be extremely unusual and hyper in the past couple of months. He sings loudly at unusual times, they state that he has quit his job and says he will open his own business now and become a millionaire very soon. He hardly sleeps at night and has become increasingly aggressive sexually. M J talks more than usual and he often praises and talks highly about himself all the time, his behaviour becomes indifferent when interrupted by anyone.