2. Irritability
Patients during a manic episode tend to be irritable when something does not happen the way they are expecting or when someone is not behaving accordingly to what they want or need. Manic episodes are not merely feeling happy all the time. They have constant mood shifts during a manic episode, and if they don’t have coping strategies to manage their irritability, it quickly turns into anger and may lead to aggressive behaviour.
Not every patient with bipolar disorder experiences irritability during a manic episode, and each case is different. It highly depends on the patient’s personality and whether or not they are able to identify and correctly drain this negative feeling during a manic episode.
