Symptoms of Bipolar Mania?
Question by Candy: Symptoms of Bipolar Mania?
I think a family member of mine has bipolar maybe bipolar mania. What’s the difference between them and how does it make a person act. The person also smokes crack I was blaming their personality on it but when their not high off smoking crack their personality is still the same and maybe worse.
Best answer:
Answer by Captain Awesome <3
Google it.
I did-
“Mania is a hallmark symptom of bipolar disorder. To be more precise, mania is a cluster of symptoms that are associated with one aspect of bipolar disorder. An episode of mania can quickly spiral out of control, causing a great deal of disruption and mayhem for the individual and his or her loved ones. As such, it is important to be familiar with the warning signs of mania.”
Answer by Kate
It is extremely difficult to diagnose mania in the presence of a drug addiction, and many professionals will not diagnose the condition until the patient has been in rehab for a certain amount of time so that their true moods can be assessed.
Crack cocaine can produce effects that are similar to a manic episode:
– High energy
– Decreased need for sleep
– Pressed, rapid speech
– Psychomotor agitation (not being able to sit still)
– Racing thoughts
– Irritability
– Hallucinations (often tactile, such as the feeling of bugs crawling under the skin)
Other symptoms of mania that aren’t necessarily associated with crack (though could be) include:
– Impulsivity (spending sprees, unprotected sex, etc.)
– A rush of creativity or productivity, taking on lots of new projects, being abnormally productive at work or home
– Delusions, of persecution or grandeur (usually grandeur, like thinking they’re God)
– Full blown psychoticism; having totally lost contact with reality, severe delusions and hallucinations, potential for violent or self-injurious behavior.
You can see just how many of the symptoms look very similar to either condition, so it’s really hard to say the difference. But mania isn’t a personality setting, it’s a mood swing. A person with bipolar disorder oscillates between two ‘poles’ or varying ends of the mood spectrum. People with bipolar disorder who have manic episodes also have major depressive episodes, and periods of normal mood in between. If your relative has also had major depressive episodes, and also has periods of normal mood, then they very likely have bipolar disorder. A person usually has to have had BOTH a manic and depressed episode to be diagnosed with bipolar I disorder.
So if their personality is always “cracked out” even when they aren’t high, it’s hard to say. They need, first off, to stop smoking crack. Have they ever been to rehab? Has your family ever attempted an intervention? If worst comes to worst, call the cops and tell them that this person has crack cocaine in their house. The police will arrest them, and they will likely be sentenced to jail time AND 30 days in a rehabilitation facility. This seems like a cold thing to do, but if it means the difference between dying on crack or possibly getting clean, I think it’s worth it.
Once the person is off drugs, they need to be evaluated by a mental health professional, a psychiatrist or psychologist. That person can tell if they have a truly abnormal mood disorder, or if it was just the drugs making them behave strangely.
Good luck. I also have a relative who struggles with crack addiction, so I know just how hard it is to watch them live like that.
Edit: Gardensallday has a good point, check the laws in your area. In my state (Florida) it’s on a case by case basis. First-time offenders might not receive any jail sentence, only 30-90 days in rehab, while repeat offenders can receive jail sentences.
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