What Happens During A Manic Episode?

Published on July 27th, 2018

Updated on January 3rd, 2024

Manic episodes can cause alarming behaviors in a person. They cause unusual behavior patterns that a person in a manic episode may not realize, even when those behaviors scare or confuse loved ones. A person who is experiencing a manic episode may be at risk of engaging in unsafe or unhealthy activities, so it is important to know the signs if you believe that you or someone you care about may be having a manic episode.

A manic episode is a condition in which a person experiences a high in mood. The high in mood can cause a person to be more excitable, energetic, and more easily agitated than their usual selves. During a manic episode, a person will not act like their usual selves. They may experience racing thoughts or a steep boost of motivation. People experiencing a manic episode may become reckless, and even act impulsively or without inhibition.

What Causes A Manic Episode?

Manic episodes are most often associated with bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a condition that causes mood swings that shift between highs and lows in mood. It is also possible to experience a manic episode and not suffer from bipolar disorder. Conditions that may cause a person to experience a manic episode besides bipolar disorder include:

What Happens When A Person Is Having A Manic Episode?

A manic episode can cause unusual behaviors that are noticeable to loved ones. It can also cause recklessness and irritability, along with other symptoms. The high in mood that comes from a manic episode can last anywhere from a few days to several months.

When a person is suffering from a manic episode, they may resist hearing reason or accepting the need for professional treatment. Changes brought about by a manic episode can be unpredictable, but knowing the signs can be helpful. Signs that someone is experiencing a manic episode include:

High Energy And Restlessness

A person who is experiencing a manic episode may feel very energetic and restless. They may be more animated and talkative than usual. The restlessness and high energy may present themselves as constant fidgeting or moving around a room or being irritable and confrontational.

Being More Talkative Than Usual

A person experiencing a manic episode may ramble. Their ramblings may be nonsensical and can become so intense that it frightens friends and family. The rambling may involve a flight of ideas or difficulty sticking to one subject.

Obsessive Or Racing Thoughts

A person experiencing a manic episode may be having obsessive or racing thoughts. These thoughts may not be based on reality, and the train of thought may be nonsensical or grandiose. The racing thoughts can impact an affected person’s ability to focus.

Setting Unrealistic Goals

A person who is experiencing a manic episode may set unattainable or unusual goals. The affected person may express intense enthusiasm and commitment to achieving these goals in the moment, but the ambition behind the goals may be inflated or unrealistic, causing it to fade away as the episode declines.
Paranoia

People who are experiencing a manic episode may become paranoid. They may think people are trying to harm them in some way. This may cause them to be unreceptive to people trying to help them and be become suspicious of efforts to help. Someone who is experiencing a manic episode may even become aggressive toward people who express concern for them.

Delusions Of Grandeur

A person in a manic episode may also have delusions of grandeur. These delusions may suggest a sense of invincibility, inflated sense of importance, or sense of superiority. They can result in impulsive or reckless behavior.

Interrupted Sleep Schedule

A manic episode will affect a person’s sleep cycle, causing them to sleep very little. A person may go for entire days without sleeping during a manic episode.

Impaired Decision-Making Skills and Reckless Behavior

A manic episode can impact decision-making skills. People who are experiencing a manic episode may engage in unhealthy, impulsive, or reckless behaviors. This is due to their lowered inhibitions and impaired decision-making skills. A person may make unsafe and impulsive decisions, resulting in behaviors that may not be in their character. Such decisions may include:

Using drugs
Engaging in promiscuous or dangerous behavior
Picking fights with people
Having unsafe or irresponsible sex
Reckless driving
Engaging in life-threatening activities

Impaired decision-making skills may be due to an exaggerated sense of confidence. People experiencing a manic episode may not be concerned with the harm that can come to them, and often believe there is no risk of getting hurt when engaging in reckless behavior in the moment. This often causes tension with the affected person and concerned loved ones, along with innocent bystanders.

Psychotic Symptoms

During a manic episode, a person can experience symptoms of psychosis. Psychosis refers to when a person in an impaired mental state loses touch with reality. A manic episode can cause psychotic symptoms, like:

During a manic episode a patient can experience psychotic symptoms, like:

Hallucinations. Seeing or hearing things that are not there or do not exist. Symptoms of hallucinations include having imagined sensations throughout the body. Some examples are voices telling you unsettling things or seeing shadows or people who are not actually there. Hallucinations can also cause people to smell things that are not real or feel things that are not there.
Delusions. False or imagined perceptions of reality. Signs of delusions include paranoid behavior. Delusions also include grandiose beliefs in self. Delusions can cause the beliefs of being betrayed by people close to them, that someone is trying to stalk them, capture them, or harm them.