What is the difference between being wired up and manic?

[moopymoodle]

Often if I've had a stressful week, or way too many coffees. I feel sort of on edge, wired up and irritable. After reading a few threads on here I'm a bit concerned about mania, can anybody elaborate on the difference? Thankyou

[MagpieCursedTea]

Mania would last longer than that and effect your judgement. The start of hypomania for me is a bit like having too much caffeine, in that my energy levels are high, I don't sleep well and I feel wired. Then I'll start having fixations e.g. On gambling, drug use, inappropriate relationships, shopping etc. I'll feel great for a while and get annoyed at anyone I think is trying to bring me down (usually family or medical people) because I struggle to recognise that I'm ill. This is usually the tipping point into full blown mania which is where I become angry, paranoid and delusional. It's awful.

[moopymoodle]

Thankyou for clearing that up Magpie. I very much doubt I have mania then as I only really experience feeling wired up. What your experiencing sounds awful

[Curiouserandcuriouser30]

As I understand it, everyone has fluctuations in their mood, so days when they feel down, and days where they feel happy and energetic etc. This is normal.
Mania is a very exaggerated version of feeling energetic and wired, as magpie describes above.
However people can experience this to different degrees, and there is something called hypomania, which is basically a toned-down mania.

Hypomania and Mania Mind.org.uk

This is a very useful page, have a look and see if you recognise any of these symptoms in yourself. Maybe make a GP appointment if you are worried?

[Curiouserandcuriouser30]

Oh sorry, cross-posted there. Glad to hear you don't think you have mania!

[MagpieCursedTea]

Even it's not mania, if you're finding your symptoms difficult then do see your GP. There are also various relaxation techniques you can use. A lot of people find mindfulness very helpful, worth looking into.

[moopymoodle]

Thankyou everybody. I've looked at the Mind link and can't really identify with any of it so I'm thinking I got a bit carried away and jumped to conclusions.

I've read about caffeine and it sounds like I'm having too much and that might be the cause.