Mania & Hypomania: First Steps — Start by Understanding Your Brain's State

When the mind speeds up and thoughts spiral, the first step cannot be abstract theory or a heart-to-heart talk. First you must understand what is happening to your brain and your neurons — and only then move forward. The doctor compares it to a fracture: prevention and training are good, but if the leg is broken, you first need a cast.

First — Stating the Fact

The main mistake is trying to "treat" a state without understanding what is happening to you. Without knowing what state the brain is in, any approaches and theories turn into intellectualization.

"If you have no understanding of psychiatry, then without stating the fact of what is happening to you, the health of your neurons and your body, going to treat something is absolutely pointless."

Externally, different causes can look the same: burnout, attention deficit, age, stress. So the first practical step is not to prescribe actions for yourself, but to understand the cause: you must act precisely on the causes.

Restore Homeostasis

When the brain is under stress — too many stimuli in too short a time — it cannot process the flow. In this state you first need to take off the spiral and restore balance.

"We need to restore homeostasis; he needs medication to take off the thoughts, the spiraling, and so on — only then can we move further."

This is the "cast": first stabilization, then prevention and self-work.

The Doctor Makes the Diagnosis — But a Team Works

The doctor stresses: a diagnosis is always made by a specialist physician, and the physician's professionalism plays the main role. At the same time, teams of specialists work today. A psychologist influences behavior and thinking — but an informational phenomenon causes changes in neurons and synapses, affecting neuroplasticity. If you can't see the state the brain is in, you have no idea what to do with it: whether "to warm it or to freeze it."

What Shapes Your State

The doctor names the levels that condition how a person manifests: genetics (how neurons work), epigenetics (how the environment acts), learning and neuroplasticity (early psychotraumatization or, conversely, supportive experience in childhood), plus skills and the environment one lives in. As the saying goes, you become like those you keep company with.

Practice: First Steps

1. Stop and state the fact. Don't "treat" right away — first answer honestly: what is happening to me right now?
2. Remove the overload. Too many stimuli in too short a time — the brain can't process it. Cut the flow.
3. See a physician for a diagnosis. Understanding the state comes from a specialist; self-diagnosis and "talks" don't replace stating the fact.
4. Check basic needs. Slept enough, rested — this is part of restoring homeostasis, the foundation before any self-work.
5. Stabilization first, prevention second. Training and self-work are good — but after the "cast."