Mania can be described as an unusual state of mind or altered senses towards a certain stimuli that may cause an altered sense of euphoria or excessive pleasures or dysphoria, and can be called a mirror image of depression. This is accompanied with abnormal elevated arousal and mental activity with high energy level. Mania can be related to family history, but not necessarily. It may also be caused due to lifestyle factors, external environmental stimuli, stress or even thought patterns.
Extreme form of altered mood, emotions, senses along with euphoria towards fulfilling action towards a stimuli may give a sense of relief, dopamine or adrenaline rush to the person, which psychologically makes the person wanting to do it more, and over and over again. Meaningless or self-harming obsessions are related to mania and repeating certain tasks that maybe usually wasteful or considered extreme for most people in society.
Some forms of mania are mild, short lived and less obsessive, while some other may be more serious than the others. There are medications and therapies available to cure the extreme and rare cases of mania, which may also be related to other mental conditions such as bipolar syndrome, delusions, schizophrenia, etc. when they take serious form and require medical attention.
Manic behaviour seems odd because of societal or cultural norms and ethics, yet, it might be possible that many of us must have faced one or the other form of similar obsession somewhere during our lifetime, even though it would have been short lived.
Many manias and obsessions are even named, here is a list of some of them:
Arithmomania | Obsession with numbers | ||
Aphrodisiomania | A mania of having abnormal sexual interest | ||
Bruxomania | Compulsion for grinding teeth which may be self-harming | ||
Catapedamania | Urge and obsession of jumping from high places | ||
Dacnomania | Obsession with killing living beings | ||
Drapetomania | Intense desire to run away from one’s home | ||
Dromomania | A maniac compulsive desire for travel | ||
Egomania | Strange and irrational self-centred personality or self-worship | ||
Empleomania | Obsessive mania for holding public office | ||
Entheomania | An abnormal belief that one is divinely inspire | ||
Epomania | Obsession for writing epics | ||
Ergasiomania | An abnormal excessive desire to work; Workaholism; Ergomania | ||
Erotomania | An abnormally powerful sex drive | ||
Etheromania | Craving and obsession for ether | ||
Florimania | Obsessiveness for flowers | ||
Graphomania | Maniac obsession with writing | ||
Gynaecomania | An abnormal sexual obsession with women | ||
Habromania | Insanity featuring cheerful delusions in a person | ||
Hippomania | Crazy obsession with horses | ||
Hydromania | Irrational craving for drinking water | ||
Hylomania | Excessive obsessive tendency towards materialism | ||
Iconomania | Excessive obsession with icons or portraits | ||
Idolomania | Obsession to devotion to idols | ||
Infomania | Excessive mania to accumulating facts | ||
Islomania | Crazy obsession for islands | ||
Kleptomania
Ludomania |
Irrational irresistible urge for stealing
An irrational desire towards gambling |
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Macromania | Having delusion that objects are larger than natural size | ||
Megalomania | Abnormal obsessive tendency towards grand or grandiose behaviour | ||
Melomania | Obsessive craze for music | ||
Methomania | Having morbid craving for alcohol | ||
Metromania | An insatiable desire for writing verses | ||
Micromania | Pathological self-belief that one is very small | ||
Monomania | Abnormal obsession with a single idea, thought or belief | ||
Morphinomania | Maniac craving or desire for morphine | ||
Mythomania | Lying or exaggerating irresistibly to an abnormally maniac extent | ||
Narcomania | Uncontrollable maniac craving for narcotics | ||
Necromania | Sexual obsession and attraction with dead bodies; Necrophilia | ||
Nosomania | Self-delusion of suffering from a disease | ||
Nostomania | Abnormal desire to visit familiar places repeatedly | ||
Nymphomania | Excessive abnormal or crazed sexual desire | ||
Oenomania | Maniac obsession or craze for wine | ||
Oligomania | Obsession with a certain few thoughts or ideas | ||
Oniomania | Mania for making purchases or spree spending | ||
Onomatomania | Irresistible desire and action of repeating certain words | ||
Onychotillomania | Compulsive biting and picking fingernails | ||
Opiomania | Maniac craving for opium | ||
Opsomania | Abnormal and obsessive love for one kind of food | ||
Orchidomania | Abnormal obsession for orchids | ||
Phagomania | Excessive desire for eating | ||
Phaneromania | Compulsive habit of biting one’s nails | ||
Pharmacomania | Abnormal obsession with desire to try drugs | ||
Phonomania | Pathological tendency to murder | ||
Photomania | Pathological desire for being in light | ||
Phytomania | Crazy obsession with collecting plants | ||
Planomania | Abnormal desire to disobey social norms and wander | ||
Plutomania | Mania for money | ||
Polemomania | Mania for war | ||
Politicomania | Mania for politics | ||
Pornomania | Obsession with pornography | ||
Pseudomania | Irrational desire for lying | ||
Pteridomania | Passion for ferns | ||
Pyromania | Mania for starting fires | ||
Rhinotillexomania | Compulsive nose picking | ||
Satyromania | Abnormally great male sexual desire or Satyriasis | ||
Scribbleomania | Craze with scribbling | ||
Sitiomania | Morbid aversion to food | ||
Sophomania | Self-delusion that one is incredibly intelligent | ||
Squandermania | Irrational compulsion for spending money wastefully | ||
Stampomania | Obsession with stamp-collecting | ||
Technomania | Obsessive craze for technology | ||
Thanatomania | Belief of victimized by death magic and resulting illness | ||
Theomania | Belief that one is a god | ||
Tomomania | Irrational craze for performing surgery | ||
Toxicomania | Morbid craving for poisons | ||
Trichotillomania | Neurosis maniac disorder where one likes to pulls out own hair | ||
Typomania | Craze for printing one’s writing or creation | ||
Uranomania | Obsession with the idea of divinity | ||
Verbomania | Craze for words | ||
Xenomania | Attachment to foreign things | ||
Zoomania | Insane fondness for animals | ||