Hyper? Fear of mania.

[KitahD]

So...another symptom that has me worried. If I'm happy or energetic, I worry it's mania. Mania in my mind = bipolar. Anyone else?

[jayj404]

I used to be that way even when I didn't have anxiety, and I don't have bi-polar disorder for all I know. You should be fine unless you feel happy when you should be feeling sad. If something really bad happens and you feel happy, then that's a problem.

[Perses]

My sister is bipolar -- a classic case, and we were lucky that she was diagnosed at age 18, although it still took us years to finally discern what her problem was. She was hospitalized several times, in the pysch ward.

Having witnessed my sister's mania episodes, I will tell you that it's not just feeling happy or energetic, the person feels invincible, has no inhibitions. She was completely convinced that nothing bad could happen to her, in fact, she had no concept of limitations. For example, my sister wandered around bad neighborhoods, stayed out until 3am dancing in the park, ignored traffic rules, spent thousands of dollars buying clothes and shoes. Thought she was getting married, believed she was an angel. She left the stove burning, lit candles. So, in essence, Mania is the opposite of anxiety. She feared nothing, didn't care what others thought, completely convinced that she could do anything.

My sister now takes lots of medications to keep her mood stabilized, and, hasn't had to be hospitalized for 7 years. She's doing great.

[jessed03]

It must be a pretty common symptom for a lot of people -- the fear of being manic. Anxiety can make you race at 150mph and do stuff you consider weird. It can also make you feel very 'mad'.

If you read the symptom list of mania, and check them against the symptoms of extreme anxiety, I think many people could match a fair few off.

It was always a big worry for me too -- but I always suffered with severe insanity anxiety, so mental ailments were always my poison. I too begun to seriously think my buzzed, hyped up persona, full of mood swings and highs-to-lows, was something a little sinister, like mania, hyper mania, or bipolar II...

Until I visited my clinic, and met someone with the condition I thought I had, and as Perses said, there are profound differences in the flesh! My anxiety seemed extremely tame in comparison sometimes.

I think you're down in the dumps so long, that when you feel good,or happy, or excited, the jump feels extreme. You've gone from something like -20 mood, to +15, and that jump feels weird. I guess that's where the mania fear comes from. It feels unusual-ish to be feeling like that, after being in darkness. It's unlikely to be something you've ever experience prior to anxiety, jumping from varying mood levels so rapidly!

Not to forget, with anxiety your Serotonin is all over the place.it can mimic to a very slight degree; ecstasy, whereby your brain can just drain up wrong amounts, leaving you with bizarre, excited, even euphoric feelings.

Yep, euphoria was one of my anxiety symptoms. Not bad right? Sadly it was followed by a crippling low. Ah, the joys of brain chemistry haha!

So, you're likely to feel many strange and unusual things as you work through the condition, and you know, they are all quite normal!

But they most certainly aren't bipolar :)

Which is a nasty, nasty condition at times! I'm glad to hear your sister has it under control Perses. Long may it stay that way!

[Chris80]

I kinda get your fear here. Whenever I am happy or laughing with friends I straight away panic. My psych thinks it's because it is a feeling so unusual to me in my current mental state that I just freeze n panic - nithing to do with bipolar or mania etc

[Perses]

This is an interesting conversation for me. To my mind, mania (clinical mania) seems the opposite of anxiety. Anxiety is fear, lack of confidence, self-doubt, a heightened sensitivity to how others perceive you. It is true that anxiety can make you hyper-vigilant because you worry excessively. My mind definitely experiences a surfeit of panic, a hyper-vigilance. On the other hand, in mania, the world is your oyster. You are fabulous, extraordinary, unconcerned about consequences. Fear, apprehension, nervousness are not a part of your vocabulary.

Once a doctor asked me if I ever felt manic. I replied, jokingly, "I wish!" It would be nice to feel a little manic, at least. :)