In order to take  control of mania you first have to be able to recognize that you are experiencing mania.  Many people have a very difficult time doing this because the early and middle mania are pleasurable and productive.

To recognize the early signs of mania please see my blog entitled, “Early Warning Signs of Mania: 6 Areas to Notice Mania on the Horizon”.

Once you know the early warning signs and how to recognize mania, here are ways to intervene:

1. Identify the Triggers.

It is important to be able to identify what triggers your mania.  This will help you intervene because  will be able to identify what is fueling it.

People often get triggered into mania by a combination of excitement, stress and sense of urgency.

To develop your ability to identify triggers:

• Notice what is taking place in your life and how you are responding to it near the onset of mania.

• Notice your feelings about it.

• Notice what thoughts keep you awake at night.

• Notice what you feel a sense of urgency towards.

Note: Not all manic episodes will have triggers. As the number of manic episodes increases the need for a trigger decreases. The more manic episodes you have the more hard-wired your brain becomes for mania.

2. Identify what is fueling the mania.

Fuel for mania are the actions that you take impulsively that tend to be goal-oriented that strengthen the mania.

What you have a sense of urgency for or are behaving impulsively about is fuel for mania.

3. Take the fuel away.

Whatever manic actions you are doing. STOP. Stop doing the action. Put it away. Whatever it is, it can handle you not attending to it right now.

Example: I get triggered into mania by excitement combined with a sense of urgency. In one hypomanic episode over 3 years ago (not full-blown mania) I built my first versions of my two very large websites all in five days.  That is unheard of productivity for “non-bipolar” people. I wasn’t sleeping, forgetting to eat and wasn’t able to see my clients at work because I had all the early mania symptoms and I could not stop building these websites.

I had to take my computer AWAY. I had to stop building my websites and not allow myself to work on them until I was able to do so in a contained way.

It wasn’t enough to just take the computer away, I had to replace it with something that my mind could focus on, yet would not cause me to feel a sense of urgency. Without replacing it, I would not be able to keep my impulses from causing me to grab my computer and keep intensely working.

So I made art. I did a form of calming and centering art called “Mandalas” which is drawing or paining in a circle. I did contained art to contain me.

Other things you can do to replace your goal-oriented behavior:

• Spend time outside – walking, hiking, bike riding, exploring, swimming, etc
• Work on jigsaw puzzles, suduko, crossword puzzles etc  These activities engage your brain in a way that contains it.
• Spend time with friends outside of your home or watch a movie.
• Cook food that you enjoy or explore new recipes or concoctions, but don’t cook for a banquet, just for yourself.
• Make art, unless making art is fueling your mania.

4. Sleep

When you are manic, you must force yourself to sleep.  This is much easier to do when you take away your access to the trigger and fuel of your mania.

Sleep will not be easy.

Actions that promote sleep:

• Deep breathing: inhale deeply into your belly slowly through your nose for about 5 seconds, hold your breath for 5 seconds, and exhale slowly for 5 seconds.  Do this as long as you can until you fall asleep.
• Guided Visualization: There infinite ways to guide yourself, this is just one…imagine yourself being in a place that is beautiful, comforting and welcoming of you. Notice the colors, the sounds, and the smells. Notice who is there with you. Notice how you feel in your body and your mind being in this place that is so peaceful and welcoming of you. Let this carry you into a dream.
• Light a candle (a safe candle in glass that cannot easily tip or break). Lay in bed and watch the flame and the light.
• Complete darkness in your room. Have black out curtains. People living with bipolar disorder are extremely sensitive to light. Small amounts of light can prevent sleep (this does not include candle light, because of the properties of warmth and life in the flame)

If these actions do not help you sleep, contact your doctor and discuss being on a sleep medication that is not addictive.

5. Contact your Psychiatrist

During an episode your psychiatrist will often make changes in the amount and balance of medication that you take to help stabilize you during this process.