Just to avoid confusion here, it hasn't been established that the issue Michelle suffers from is bipolar disorder. But if so, yikes, apparently the average manic episode lasts for 3.5
months.
This article lists some signs that a manic episode is ending as well as some coping strategies that can be helpful as you come out of a manic episode.
www.verywellmind.com
IME, 3 months is a best case scenario.
Also — saw where age was mentioned upthread and thought I’d throw in my two cents. As I mentioned the other day, my mom has bipolar disorder. My Granny had it too, and neither had their first major episode until they were in their early 50s. I’m pretty sure menopause was the trigger in both cases. So even though the onset of bipolar disorder (as well as most other psychiatric illnesses) typically happens much earlier than that, that’s not true for everyone. It can be triggered at any age post-adolescence, really.
IF Michelle suffers from bipolar disorder (and that’s a big IF), it’s possible that her episodes have been much less severe in the past. There are a few different types of bipolar disorder, and smaller hypomanic episodes are much more common.
While it’s true that my mom has exhibited some very strange behavior in the past (behavior that I would consider was both reckless and dangerous in nature), she’s always been far more dangerous to herself than to anyone else.
A few examples of this behavior includes sitting in her bedroom laughing maniacally at absolutely nothing — no lights on, no TV, nothing. Another time she turned the TV to a channel of nothing but static and told me God was about to share an important message with us through the television and it was our job to spread this message to the rest of the world. In another instance, she believed there was a poisonous gas inside our house, forced us all out of bed at 2 in the morning, and became hysterical when we tried to go back inside. I had to literally get inside my car and act as if I was going to stay with a friend while my dad drove her to the hospital.
When my mom has a manic episode, her entire personality changes. She looks and acts like a completely different person, almost like a child. Her thoughts get all mixed up and confused. She often has a dazed and confused look on her face… because SHE IS dazed and confused and isn’t really all together with it. She doesn’t really know what’s going on and becomes easily frightened and/or paranoid. Sometimes she thinks she has the ability to do things that she doesn’t have the ability to do. Even her handwriting looks different. I’ve seen her honest to God write upside down and backwards like something out of that movie Stigmata. There’s a profound lack of awareness — of both her surroundings and her behavior. The way others perceive her behavior. It’s terrifying to see a family member go through something like this, but as terrifying as it is for family members… it’s 10x more terrifying for the person going through it. My mom always knows something is incredibly wrong in these moments, but she literally lacks the ability to slow down her thoughts long enough to figure out what it is. It’s heartbreaking in more ways than you can imagine.
ETA: We are lucky in that mom is extremely med compliant, and therefore, her episodes have been few and far between. She’s had less than a handful and her last was more than 10 years ago. Watching her mother go through it and being on our (the family’s) side of things, she has always understood and appreciated the importance of being diligent about taking her medication and sticking to her treatment plan. She also knows the warning signs to look out for and often circumvents disaster before it strikes. All of her major episodes have occurred after medical emergencies (surgeries, etc) that were beyond her control.
