Bipolar Mania: “Your brain is directly connected to your tongue.”
This is the way my friend Dr. Jay Carter describes people in a manic episode. He says, “Thoughts slip right past the frontal lobe and off the tongue. The person is talkative and has a hard time stopping. This is also called Pressured Speech. If this person doesn’t stop, you can tell they are really not listening to you- they are just trying to be patient until they can continue talking.”
He has an amazing talent for explaining bipolar disorder symptoms.
If you are not sure if a person is manic, listen to how they speak and compare it to how they normall speak. If you see pressured speech, it’s a good indication that mania has paid a visit.
I have pressured speech when I get manic. It feels like the words are sitting on my tongue and just have to get out of my mouth. I try to control it. My friend Sheri goes through it as well. When she gets manic she keeps her lips squeezed tight. She says, “I’m keeping it together Julie right? I’m keeping it together. No one will know I’m manic.” She’s right. If you can keep your lips from talking, you can control pressured speech while you are getting better. But OMG it’s hard!
Julie
I am having this a bit right now. I have been trying to feel not manic lately…like ignoring the expensive shoes I bought, being super helpful, trying to solve everyone else’s problems etc…but I just spent the last three hours on the phone, and oh boy am I talking fast, and a lot, when I’m usually more the listener. I guess these bright blue sunny days are catching up to me.
This was the first sign that i noticed in my son, which told me something was very wrong…pressured speech. I wondered what was happening. I had no idea why he was talking like that. I was very worried about him. It was before we knew that he was bipolar. I had no idea what was going on.
Eeeee…I do that when I’m manic but also when I have caffeine, even when I’m not manic. Yammer, yammer, yammer. It’s so embarrassing!