Sunday, September 16, 2012 JeanMark asks

Q: Can a manic episode last 10 months?

I've been bipolar for 20 years, with the longest manic episode lasting 2 months. I am always happy during these times, positive and the best 'me'. I can be calm yet manic at the same time. The last 10 months were great, but now I feel like I may be a little depressed. Sometimes I wonder if my happy periods are in truth just mild manic episodes...

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Answers (2)

Marcia Purse, Health Guide

9/16/12 5:42pm

Did you have any severe mania symptoms during those 10 months? Hallucinations, delusions, significant interference with daily life, or hospitalization? If not, you almost certainly weren't having a manic episode.

It could have been a hypomanic episode OR - it could be that state is your baseline. There's nothing that says you can't be calm and happy between episodes if you have bipolar disorder. Does this help?

JeanMark

9/16/12 6:10pm

Thank you for your quick reply.

Are you saying it is possible to be 'hypomanic' for 10 months then?? And, is a hypomanic state something to worry about?

Marcia Purse, Health Guide

9/16/12 7:13pm

It is possible for a hypomanic state to last four ten months, yes. Hypomania is less intense than mania, without psychotic symptoms and not requiring hospitalization. That doesn't mean it can't be serious, as many symptoms are common to both mania and hypomania, such as reckless spending, hypersexual behavior, racing thoughts, pressured speech, etc.

The question to ask yourself is what symptoms you had during these ten months besides feeling happy. Did you engage in risky behaviors? Were you a motor mouth? Did your thoughts race? Did you need very little sleep?

If you had no hypomania symptoms except for feeling good and happy, it's likely that you were just between episodes.

Do a search for symptoms of hypomania and check yourself against the list.

JeanMark

9/16/12 7:38pm

Thank you for this. I do suspect I was hypomanic as there were times of grandiose and raced thoughts, which can be hard to disern as I am an artist and also a marketing creative director. I am expected to be continually creative and this is where I think my confusion lies. When does my ceative brain become my manic foe.

2much

9/19/12 12:01am

I certainly is dangerous when it happens to people. Severe persistent mania that is unrelieved can be deadly.

Donna-1

9/19/12 4:24am

I was on the high end of hypomania or the low end of mania my first four years of college, including hallucinations, extreme insomnia...and a wild feeling that my life was out of control. This has happened to me twice since, but not for such a long periodl. I am willing to concede this was not, perhaps, true mania but I did not pursue a diagnosis or treatment at the time. Years later, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and later still with schizoaffective disorder. Unfortunately, there's not an objective medical test to measure and quantify mania. During my manic episode, if that is what it was, I definitely did not feel happy and calm. Anything but.

Q: Can a manic episode last 10 months?

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