What Are Manic Episodes?
Manic episodes are a period of elevated mood and high energy. That sounds pretty nice, as long as you stop reading at that sentence. But manic episodes can be upsetting and frightening for the person experiencing them, and often for the people around them. People experiencing mania may experience delusions of grandeur or persecution. They’re likely to become hyperactive, hypervigilant, hypersensitive, and impulsive. Many also become hyper-religious –completely overtaken with an obsession with piety. People with mania may feel increased self-esteem - but not healthy self-esteem. This veers into grandiosity. Sufferers become more talkative, or feel pressure to keep talking. Which is unfortunate, because mania can make your train of thought somewhat loose and very rapid.
People with manic episodes tend to pursue activities so quickly and intensely that they become painful – such as spending wild amounts of money in a shopping spree, or becoming hypersexual to the point of pain. As you can imagine, people in manic episodes don't generally get much sleep, and that sleep loss can get so intense that it actually triggers psychosis. Psychosis brings a whole slew of other complications into the picture. People experiencing psychosis exhibit severe symptoms like hallucinations or delusional beliefs. Their thought, speech, and motor behavior can become disorganized. Someone experiencing psychosis isn’t quite living in the same world that we are, which can make it distressing to deal with – and to experience.
Image: Ehimetalor Unuabona, via Unsplash.
Did you know...
- Starting to feel claustrophobic? The smells of apples may help keep your claustrophobic feelings at bay according to a 1995 study by Dr. Alan Hirsch. Green apples, specifically, helped people change their perception of their space. Maybe they thought of expansive apple orchards? Cucumbers and barbecue made the feelings worse.
- Just saying the words "thank you" can measurably improve your mood. Researchers can actually measure happiness and changes in brain structure when people practiced regular "grateful thinking." This included things like writing thank you notes, writing gratitude journal entries, mindfully counting their blessings, and thanking friends. It may be helpful in overcoming depression!
- Are you currently or often tired? As contradictory as it may sound, one of the best things you can do is exercise! It gives you more energy by improving your blood flow and increasing your oxygen throughout your body. You don't need to do much; a brisk walk is all it takes!
- Do you know what the strongest muscle in your body is? No, it’s not your biceps or your thighs. It’s actually in your head. The masseter is a muscle in the jaw that is used when chewing. When all of the muscles of the jaw work together, they can exert a force as strong as 200 pounds on the molars. That’s some serious pressure.
- Does your job make you stressed? We all know that stress is psychologically bad for you, but it also has an effect on…your allergies? A Harvard Medical School study has shown that stress causes your allergies to become worse because your body's defense response loses efficacy when repeatedly triggered by stress. Then, when you really need to physically fight something off, you're less able to!