Mania

From Drug Rehab Wiki

Mania is extreme excitement, characterized by an elevated mood, and mental and physical hyperactivity.

The word is most frequently associated with bi-polar disorder, a mental illness which can have two stages. In the first stage, the patient feels depressed and suicidal. His physical and mental energy is low, he may remain in bed rather than go to work or school, and he loses enthusiasm for everyday activities. He may have feelings of worthlessness, be unable to concentrate or make decisions, and have weight loss or weight gain, thoughts of death and suicide, and insomnia.

In the manic stage, however, the opposite occurs. The person is feeling "on top of the world," his mind is racing with new insights and plans for the future, and he has so much energy he can go without sleep. Often people with bipolar disorder will do things they later regret during mania, such as going on spending sprees or having indiscriminate sexual relations. After the mania ends, they "crash" psychologically and sink into depression, thus beginning the cycle anew.

People can be diagnosed with bipolar disorder and never experience a manic episode. Bipolar disorder is a chronic, lifelong disease that can be controlled with medications and psychotherapy.

Some people induce artificial states of mania by abusing stimulant drugs, especially methamphetamine. Afterwards, they can also experience a "psychological crash" and become depressed, leading to a cycle of addiction to stimulants.