Recently, my psychiatrist told me I had a manic episode, but reading about it I have a hard time figuring out what qualifies as mania and what doesn’t.
So my question to the Bipolar folk out there (if it is ok to ask), is what does a manic episode look like to you? What is normal for mania and what is not?
My mania is pretty low key, might even be hypomania rather than full blown mania. I get symptoms like:Spending money I normally wouldn't(but, like, money I would save, not money that should go to a bill or something),
Caving to urges even when I know it is a bad idea (like eating something I am craving that I know will upset my stomach, sleeping with someone I don't know well and wouldn't normally but not unsafely, snapping at someone I know has an explosive temper)- doing what I want but would normally talk myself out of as long as it's not a dangerous risk,
Forgetting to eat until it makes me sick,
Unable to sleep more than 4 hours at a time,
More anxiety /panic attacks,
Feeling like I am moving very fast even when I know I am not(this is uncommon),
Feeling like the world is moving faster than I can keep up with(also uncommon),
Trouble keeping my focus on one thing,
Not finishing movies or episodes in one sitting,
Getting much more done than usual,
Finding myself unwilling to take breaks,
Having less patience than usual,
Doing many more different things than usual (normally I will do one chore completely after work like wash all the dishes, when I'm manic ill put in a load of dishes and then take the trash out rather than hand washing what was left. Or I will do one craft project until it is done but when I'm manic I may have 3 or 4 projects I'm working on),
Having an overwhelming desire to talk out my feelings and frustrations when I normally would just sum things up,
Not finishing what I start,
Being much more social than usual,
Finding myself telling people about the same frustration several times (uncommon).
Usually my symptoms aren't enough for most people to notice, just me and those who know me best like my best friend. I very rarely do anything of real consequence like spending rent money or starting fights with my family. Mostly, it just seems like I have a lot of energy and am more efficient than usual. I'm an introvert but when I'm manic I crave social interaction that is focused on me, the opposite of what I usually want. I get a lot done when I'm manic, but I also leave quite a bit unfinished.
Although I do not have bipolar disorder, I’ve witnessed a manic episode as hyperactivity mainly, irritability, decreased appetite, insomnia. But there’s MANY more signs, these are just ones I’ve noticed are common in patients.
In some ways I'd much rather be manic than depressed, it feels good until you crash!!! I tend to become rather excited or hyper, and I will not watch my money as carefully as I should or buy something where a few days later, I'm saying to myself- why did I buy that??? But I think so called normal people do similar things sometimes, you just have to watch that you don't go off the deep end and go on some crazy spending spree and lose your savings or do some heavy gambling, stuff like that.
Stuck
Are you still struggling with the cost of living 😕 
Slowly losing faith again…
