I'm new. Manic. Need advice.

[LittleTootie]

I'm having my first major manic episode in a long time. Don't know what to do. Can't concentrate to type well. I'm an introvert so all day i've just been cleaning and clenching my teeth and talking to myself inside my head. Does anyone else talk to themselves in their heads? It's like just a running dialogue that goes too fast to write or type or say. What do you do to calm down when you're out of anxiety meds? I'm just scared. and paranoid. I'm totally embarassed of everything I say or do even though I'm not doing anything unusual. Trying to keep my symptoms inside so as not to interfere with others.

[johnnymutt]

I tell you, something that really helped me before I was medicated, was my art. I used that fuel to create some really crazy stuff. I definitely miss the mania for that reason. I guess what I'm getting at is that a creative hobby/ career can really suck up that excess energy. Time seems to fly by when exerting creative juices, and before you know it, you're (at least) calmed down enough to catch a few zzz's.

Hard labor is another great release. I don't mean just exercise, I'm talking about going out and moving some rocks, stacking wood, anything that has somewhat of a reward at the end (the reward being that the task is completed).

Good luck to you, I know that sometimes that the maniacoaster can be a rough ride, I hope you find your healthy outlet.

John

[shay69]

you are not alone. I do the same thing sometimes my thoughts go so fast they overlap. I watch TV or do anything to keep busy . Since you don't like to go out watching TV or reading, playing on the computer. I get really addicted to solitaire and  jungle jewels on facebook. Games like that give me something to focus on and it helps a lot. Good luck hope your feeling better soon and if it gets to bad maybe a non for profit hospitable. Try the health department or clinic with a sliding scale fee for now. Hope you can find some help soon.

[blacksoul004]

i also do the same... im on no meds and havent had a docter in a while! when i get manic i tend to ran a fake conversation with myself that will never amount to anything lol. i also make up roles for myslef and talk like i dont know who i am... its like my brain does it on autopilet while im working on something, like cleaning. your not alone!

Heidi

[moonpanda]

Yes, you're definitely not alone with these feelings! They can be pretty awful. I used to channel all of the excess energy into cleaning and organizing everything, but in more recent episodes, I've been too overwhelmed by it to even use it effectively. I definitely talk to myself in my head, and out loud at times. Usually it doesn't make much sense, and it goes too fast for me to even begin to write it down. I have tried many times, and reading my journal entries later makes me wonder how I could possibly be thinking like that. The ideas and thought processes become inaccessible when I'm stable... it's strange. Usually I'll get stuck on one word, repeating over and over and over. And there is always, always music playing in my head. When manic, the iPod in my head gets a bit ADD and shuffles around a lot. Other times, there's just an overwhelming pressure and buzzing, and it makes me want to just unscrew my head and rest without it for a while.

When I'm like this, I too get very paranoid. If I'm in a cafe or on the bus, I become convinced that everyone is talking about me, and laughing at me. My mind's chatter sort of mixes with their chatter to make me think that it's all directed at me, somehow. When I'm alone, I feel like I'm being watched through windows or secret cameras. I suppose paranoia like this is just the flip side of grandiosity; both are entirely egocentric, but paranoia is just terrifying. I'm naturally an introvert, and I enjoy being alone, but sometimes the paranoia makes me feel as if I'm never truly alone. Ugh!

For me, I've found that the best thing to do is have some TV shows (comedies, bad teen dramas, whatever you fancy) playing in the background so that you can watch them for as long as your attention span will allow, and then bustle around doing things while they're playing. I like to draw sometimes, organize things, pace, etc., but it's comforting for me to have the outside voices and alternate realities from the TV playing alongside it all, for some reason. Besides this, if you can find music that really makes you feel *something*, put on your headphones and blast it. Sometimes this can override the internal dialogue when it starts to get too fast or it stops making sense.

Sorry if this was a bit long and rambling, but those are the best strategies that I've been able to come up with for myself so far! I'll let you know if I think of any more. Good luck, you're not alone!

[Xila31]

Hi!

Don't worry, I talk to myself in my head and out loud all the time. It is pretty common for me. I also pace, rock, fidget, and so on. Just like hell1971 says, I rehears my little conversations about things. I can be rehersing to talk to anyone from my husband or my friend to Barbara Walters or Oprah, you know, for when I get famous.... >.< And then I get stuck in a loop, too. I will rehers the same conversation over and over. Or just the same words or songs over and over. And yes, it goes too fast to really type or write down. I usually can't remember any of it once the hypomania goes away. :(

Typing is hard for me too, and spelling, dialing phone numbers, reading, lots of things. You're not alone. It is hard to keep it all hidden, especially at work. And, I have so much irritability and aggitation, I lose my ability to concentrate and I get really confused and disorganized. So, I also feel scared a lot.

Also, just like you I don't have a psychiatrist, just a GP.

[LittleTootie]

Wow. Thank you for sharing that with me. I didn't think anyone did those things except me.  :-)

[jimgreg]

yes when were maninc anything can happen..i usually get hypomanic..but full blown manic can be good but mostly its bad..yoyu mite ask ur pdoc for lithiem or serquil short term use till maninc subsides

[hell1971]

When I am manic / hypomanic I also talk in my head, its like having rehearsal conversations, over and over, sometimes it is a conversation I am never going to have, I also have looping where thoughts just loop going round and around in my head during this time I also clean like mad and clentch my teeth, not sure I can give any advise except that I do this too and so do many others as I have had this conversation as a post before, many responded with the same experience.

[LittleTootie]

I don't have a psychiatrist right now. I'm switching insurance and doctors. Actually, I never had a psychiatrist. My family doctor prescribed all my mental health meds (I basically had to do the research myself and tell him what to prescribe me). I'm going to find one towards the end of April though.

I am on Lamictal for mood-stabilization. I have no idea what it's doing since I've been on it for so long. Effexor for depression. Clonazipam for anxiety.

It's so hard to be around other people while having an episode...

[ILADVOCATE]

It might be worthwhile to speak to your psychiatrist as anti-anxiety medications generally would not stop any form of manic episode. Its important to be able to differentiate what they treat and what a mood stabilizer does and discuss this with your psychiatrist. I do have specific coping solutions during times of hypomania such as engaging in activities that I do to keep myself busy such as writing or reading or some of the creative activities I do such as collage work or contacting friends to keep myself occupied. If I notice things becoming worse though I make sure to contact my psychiatrist. When I used to have anxiety attacks the Klonopin I took was specifically for that. If I felt manic I would speak to my psychiatrist and if it continued he would adjust the mood stabilizer I was on.