Page "Mania" Paragraph 14

Mania is always relative to the normal rate of intensity of the person being diagnosed with it ; therefore, an easily-angered person may exhibit mania by getting even angrier even more quickly, and an intelligent person may adopt seemingly " genius " characteristics and an ability to perform and to articulate thought beyond what they can do in a normal mood.

A very simple indicator of mania would be if a noticeably clinically depressed person becomes suddenly and inordinately energetic, cheerful, aggressive, or " happy ".

Other often-less-obvious elements of mania include delusions ( of grandeur, potential, persecution or otherwise ), hypersensitivity, hypervigilance, hypersexuality, hyper-religiosity, hyperactivity, impulsiveness, talkativeness, an internal pressure to keep talking ( over-explanation ) or rapid speech, grandiose ideas and plans, and decreased need for sleep ( e. g. feeling rested after 3 or 4 hours of sleep ).

The afflicted person's eyes may look, as well as feel abnormally " wide " or " open ", rarely blinking ; this sometimes contributes to clinicians ' misconception that a manic patient is under the influence of a stimulant drug when the patient is either not on any mind-altering substances, or is in fact under the influence of a depressant drug in a misguided effort to stave off destructive and unwanted manic impulses.

In manic and hypomanic cases, the afflicted person may engage in out-of-character behavior, such as questionable business transactions, wasteful expenditures of money, risky sexual activity, recreational drug abuse, abnormal social interaction, or highly vocal arguments uncharacteristic of previous behaviors.

These behaviors may increase stress in personal relationships, lead to problems at work and increase the risk of altercations with law enforcement.

There is a high risk of impulsively taking part in activities potentially harmful to self and others.