from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Press Release March 13, 2012
Bipolar disorder always includes both episodes of mania—high mood, grandiose thoughts and erratic behavior and episodes of depression.
Persons experiencing a manic episode feel terrifically elated, expansive, or irritated over the course of a week or longer and would also experience at least three of the following symptoms:
1) grandiose ideas and/or self-esteem in overdrive
2) a need for far less sleep than usual
3) an irrepressible need to speak
4) distractibility and racing thoughts
5) agitation or increased activity that may be directed toward a goal
6) an overpowering urge to seek pleasure that may be expressed in sexual sprees, overspending or a variety of schemes, often with disastrous consequences.
