>Mania lets one live at a greatly accelerated rate...It often gives me a deep understanding of how people work
My friend experienced this for the first time recently and can relate, although she does not think it helped her understand people better.
However, the burst of confidence, creative (and sexual) energy did lead her to more prosocial behaviours but in retrospect she was as awkward as ever, without the usual stabilizers of self-consciousness and social anxiety. My friend did some silly things, has regrets and may have overwhelmed people, but she does not think it was necessarily pathological.
My friend got really scared of herself when she realized what she was doing. She felt like she was experiencing the energy of a stimulant high for a few weeks, despite being sober.
My friend is not sure if it was worth it, nor did she prefer it to being depressed, because of that fear of herself.
The mood swings in general give me insight into internal state. Mania does not.
Mania gave me the energy to do a lot of things I would never have done or experienced without. The variety of lived experience means I know what many people’s jobs are and the general strategies used to do them.
The combination makes understanding people easier.
But mania isn’t worth it. It is a terrible monster I never want to see again. One episode broken me so completely I lost all self-identity.
Mania is often accompanied by quite a few negative aspects:
- Irrational, grandiose ideas (i.e., delusions)
- Increased susceptibility to believe ideas (e.g., more likely to fall for a spam marketing scheme)
- Hallucinations
- Impulsive and/or risky behaviors
- Easily distracted
- Difficulty sustaining attention
I imagine the parent commenter more likely experiences hypomania associated with bipolar II disorder rather than the mania associated with bipolar I disorder. The former is much less likely to exhibit the listed negative symptoms and general disinhibition tends to be lesser as well.
I’m pretty firmly diagnosed Type 1. My psychiatrist said I’m “high functioning”.
I’ve had many manic episodes lasting 9 months, with a least two psychotic breaks. The latest lasting 4 months. Still managed to work in an office as a developer throughout it.
My friend experienced this for the first time recently and can relate, although she does not think it helped her understand people better.
However, the burst of confidence, creative (and sexual) energy did lead her to more prosocial behaviours but in retrospect she was as awkward as ever, without the usual stabilizers of self-consciousness and social anxiety. My friend did some silly things, has regrets and may have overwhelmed people, but she does not think it was necessarily pathological.
My friend got really scared of herself when she realized what she was doing. She felt like she was experiencing the energy of a stimulant high for a few weeks, despite being sober. My friend is not sure if it was worth it, nor did she prefer it to being depressed, because of that fear of herself.