Nahmaah asks a good question. Why do I put lying on the list of truths about Manics? In part, she says:

"I can see that as being a part of the mania end of the spectrum, but I'm type II and if I lie about my illness I am not aware of it at all. I lie about things sometimes, but this behavior is certainly not limited to my kind of people and I don't think it's caused by my being bipolar."

I'll try to muster all the words I have as well as stories of Mr. Manic to talk about lies and lying. A couple of caveats first: I don't think this will be the last time this comes up; and I'm pretty sure a lot of people will take issue with my general observations.

So, to start, I will stipulate that while I'm not the first to notice that lying is a prominent feature in bipolar behavior, even to being listed as a criteria for bipolar diagnosis in children, what the medpros really focus on is low serotonin levels and impulse control, especially in manic states.



The studies out there that attempt to figure out how to get people to take their medicine seem to skirt the issue. As do the ones which look into various treatment modalities for treating bipolar and alcoholism or bipolar and cocaine addiction. Though in this case, it's about the bipolar patient lying to themselves about the impact alcohol or cocaine use has on their manic brain.

So, if you ask a specialist if lying is a key component of manic depression in adults, I'm not sure they would answer yes. Ask me, and I'll tell you it's woven deeply into the fabric of the disease in many ways.

On the way up...

• Manics lie because the fear of getting caught generates endorphins.


• Manics lie because "getting away with something" does, too.


• Manics lie because the first thing that goes when the wonky brain chemistry does the mental equivalent of a bridge collapse in high winds is judgement.


• Manics lie because the allure of mania is strong. Who wouldn't want to feel capable of creating a theory that linked poetry to physics, as Mr. Manic did in the summer of 1992.

On the way down...

• Manics lie because in the same way they monkey with their brain chemistry on the way up, they monkey with it on the way down. Too much alcohol affects the efficacy of mood stabilizers. The researchers say they don't know why, but there it is.
• Manics lie because the first thing that goes when the wonky brain chemistry does the mental equivalent of hibernating like a bear is judgement. The mind slows, confusion reigns. A gaping blackness reigns, as seductive as it is frightening. Used to managing their own storms, the beginning of depression is as likely a time for promiscuous sexual behavior, 100 mile per hour drives on country roads and other games of literal or figurative Russian roulette as they attempt to reboot with adrenaline. And then there is cocaine.

Manics lie to themselves as much as others. Knowing that sleep hygiene is imperative to good mental health for a manic, they resist the discipline of a regular bed time. Understanding that long term outcomes for substance abusers is worse than for those who abstain from alcohol, they continue to drink. Provided with study resuls that suggest exercise can be as effective as Zoloft for depression, and can actually help reverse the shrinkage of areas of the brain, manics, like the rest of the population too often cling to their sedentary lives. Manics lie to themselves when, in times of mania they start a thousand projects, and in times of great depression believe it is too much effort to bathe.

Lieing is a social necessity, a convenience and sometimes a symptom for all of us. But for a Manic, lieing can be devastating. If you are partner to a Manic, you have to be tuned into the pattern of their lies, small and large. Only then, can you reflect back reality, like a guide dog restraining his master at a crosswalk.