Mania is a psychiatric symptom characterized by excess of physical activity or emotions, such as extreme exhilaration or anger. Patients may also exhibit rapid thoughts and speech patterns, poor judgment and impulsive behavior, which all lead to impaired functioning. The extremity of action or emotion is often out of proportion to circumstances or events in the patient’s life.

Mania most often occurs as part of bipolar disorder, which is characterized by extreme swings in mood, from highs (mania) to lows (depression). Manic episodes in bipolar disorder may last from a day up to several months. Some patients who have bipolar disorder may also experience episodes when their manic and depressive feelings coincide. This is known as a mixed state. Bipolar disorder affects 2.3 million Americans, or about 1.2 percent of the adult population, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). For more information, see bipolar disorder.

During a manic phase, patients may become much more talkative than usual and their speech patterns may reveal that their mind is racing from thought to thought. They may also engage in reckless behavior, such as excessive gambling, risky sexual activity or impulsive spending sprees.

Although mania is usually associated with bipolar disorder, in rare cases it may appear largely without depression. In some cases, a patient may experience manic symptoms that are less intense than those traditionally associated with mania. This is known as hypomania and episodes last less than a week.

Mania is considered a potentially dangerous symptom because people undergoing a manic episode often experience dramatic shifts in their personality and may engage in uncharacteristically reckless behavior. However, mania is more likely to go unidentified in patients than depression, because the feelings of elation that accompany mania are often viewed as positive by patients who have them.

Even when patients see a physician, mania can be difficult to diagnose. People who experience mania often deny that anything is wrong with them. As a result, physicians may have to rely on the testimony of friends and family to help diagnose mania. Because mania is considered to be a psychiatric emergency, patients may be treated in a hospital while undergoing episodes.