US 'N' U

Based on my own journey with schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder, there are many things I wish consumers understood about mania. Firstly, mania is not just feeling good. When people think of mania, they often think about the energy, confidence, creativity, excitement, and productivity that can accompany it. Those things are certainly part of the experience. During my manic episode, I felt alive, inspired, and capable of achieving almost anything. But mania is also i

Looking back on my experiences of mania and psychosis, there are several things I wish clinicians better understood. Firstly, mania does not always feel like suffering. Clinicians often see the consequences of mania—hospitalisation, relationship breakdowns, financial problems, risky behaviour, and psychosis. What they may not fully appreciate is that, from the inside, mania can feel amazing. I loved being manic. Everything felt exciting. I was productive, creative, energetic,

Writing played a significant role in helping me recover from my manic and psychotic episode in 2023. What began as a way of passing the time in the hospital gradually became one of the most important tools I had for understanding what had happened to me and rebuilding my life. The first way writing helped was by allowing me to make sense of the episode itself. Mania and psychosis are chaotic experiences. Events happen quickly, thoughts race, emotions fluctuate, and reality ca

Recovery is a slow process. After spending more than three weeks in Penrith Psychiatric Hospital in January 2023, I was transferred to the Hills Clinic, a private psychiatric hospital. It was there that I began to experience a different approach to care and started the long journey of rebuilding my life. Recovery was difficult because I was still experiencing many of the after-effects of mania. Although the delusions had largely subsided and I no longer believed I was living

When most people think of grandiosity during mania, they imagine someone believing they are a millionaire, a genius, a celebrity, or the future ruler of a country. Popular portrayals of mania often focus on wealth, status, power, and success. My experience was different. During my manic episode in 2023, documented in The Dialectics of Mania, my grandiosity was not primarily focused on becoming rich, famous, or powerful. Instead, it took on a spiritual and messianic quality. A

One of the most difficult aspects of understanding mania is distinguishing between confidence and grandiosity. On the surface, they can appear similar. Both involve a strong belief in oneself, one's abilities, or one's ideas. However, confidence remains grounded in reality, while grandiosity extends beyond what the available evidence can support. Confidence is the belief that we can achieve something based on our knowledge, experience, skills, and previous achievements. A con

People often ask about the most helpful things that were said to me during my manic episode and psychiatric hospitalisation. While there were many meaningful conversations with fellow consumers, one comment stands out for a very different reason. It was probably the least helpful thing anyone said to me during my crisis. I had approached a nurse whom I refer to in The Dialectics of Mania as "Intimidation." I don't remember exactly what I was asking for. It may have been somet