Particularities of manic crisis in bipolar disorder

The manic phase is part of bipolar disorder I. It is characterized by pronounced elevated phases (euphoria and irritability) in the manic pole and lowered mood (sadness and despair) in the depressive pole. Bipolar disorders affect about 1% of the population, and approximately 80-90% are manic-depressive forms. The average age of onset of bipolar disorder is around thirty years, and after the first onset, the chances of recurrence are 90%, while the number of episodes throughout life is, on average, higher than in major depressive disorder. A manic crisis is a delicate situation, as the person may put themselves in danger or forget their basic needs, even spending several days without sleep, without eating, and neglecting themselves. For this reason, we decided to deepen our understanding of the patient’s needs, to better understand the patient during the manic crisis in order to implement a relevant response to what the person perceives. Therefore, the main focus of this paper is to understand the patient's needs before/during/after the manic episode and to correlate them with care actions to raise caregiver awareness, so that better care can be provided during this phase.