My Bipolar Journey

After being prescribed Paxil for my depression, I vaulted into my first manic episode. Anti depressants can induce mania through a process called affective switching where a patient’s mood shifts from depression to an abnormally elevated state.

Mania is a state of abnormally elevated energy, emotion, or irritability lasting at least a week, characterized by intense euphoria or agitation, reduced need for sleep, rapid speech, racing thoughts, and high-risk behaviors. It is a core symptom of bipolar disorder, often leading to impaired judgment and potential hospitalization.

In my first manic episode, I exhibited all of the above mentioned symptoms. I felt as if I was invincible and could do anything. In the 1993 film Mr. Jones, Richard Gere portrays a character with bipolar disorder who experiences severe manic episodes, including euphoria, grandiose delusions, and risky behaviors like believing he can fly. Gere’s portrayal highlights the high-energy, charismatic, and impulsive highs of the illness, as well as the accompanying depression.

Some of the things that I experienced were

• Excessive spending including a $10,000 American Express bill in one month
• When in Florida, sitting in the home of an Australian couple taking about multi million dollar real estate deals when I did not have that kind of money
• Buying a pair of Nikes and scraping them on the sidewalk and throwing them out and buying a new pair

The more recent manic stories will be featured in a future blog.