"Rap God" - An Introduction to Mania and Hypomania

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/5/29/2089680/--Rap-God-An-Introduction-to-Mania-and-Hypomania

Myth: Mania/hypomania feels great to someone with bipolar.
Truth: While it does feel good at first, the weight of your actions you take in this state eventually come back to haunt you later. Also, the lack of sleep wears on the body after a while. As always, coming down from it is like any other withdrawal — very painful process to quit cold turkey.

Myth: People who have mania/hypomania are always in a great mood.
Truth: While there are periods of good moods, mania can also bring increased irritability and increased reckless behavior and actions. A person in the manic phase often quickly snaps at the slightest offense. Cannot tell me that feels good, man! Especially not true if psychotic symptoms start coming.

Myth: People in a mania are always having fun.
Truth: It may look that way from the outside, but in the brain there is an astonishing lack of impulse control and inability to make rational decisions. The fun isn’t on purpose and it is usually dangerous.

Myth: These are just mood swings. Get over yourself!
Truth: Bipolar symptoms fall into an easily grouped category of actions and emotions. It is not simply waking up one day and deciding to be happy or manic. Psychiatrists carefully log behaviors mentioned by the patient before diagnosing. It’s not you aren’t sleeping because of a deadline.

Myth: Only depressed people with bipolar are dangerous.
Truth: In fact, it is quite the opposite. Those who are depressed generally self-harm, while those with mania have the ability through reckless decisions to harm others as well as themselves. The only people that made me afraid in my psych ward stay were ones that were clearly manic.