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"Mania is a fascinating thing … it's the brain creating its own hormonal high," says Carrie Bearden, PhD, a clinical neuropsychologist and assistant professor of psychiatry at UCLA. "Most people first become manic in their early 20s, at a time in life when they're not thinking about death, when they feel immortal."
Indeed, some degree of risky business is the hallmark of mania. Erratic driving and out-of-control spending sprees are common. It's a time when flashy business ideas are borne, torrents of phone calls made.
And yet, that's not true for everyone. There are several types of bipolar disorder, and all involve episodes of mania and depression—but to varying degrees.
- With bipolar I, there are severe mood swings.
- With bipolar II and cyclothymic disorder, there are milder versions of the illness.
- Mixed bipolar is both mania and depression at the same time—a dangerous mix of grandiosity, racing thoughts, yet irritable, moody, angry.
However, "that simple euphoria doesn't really last," she explains. "It's not like you can hover there. And that's the hardest thing for people to deal with. Frequently it takes people awhile to realize that they need to be on medication. It's a trade-off of losing some euphoria to become more stable."
