Lately, I’ve had the song “How Do You Know” from the movie Enchanted stuck in my head. Why? Because one of the main lyrics is: “How does she know that you love her?” And the verse that plays in my head goes: “How do you know that she’s manic.”

Need some clues?

• Is she sanding walls at 12am?
• Is she cleaning with fervor and won’t let anyone go to bed?
• Are there projects that need to be completed RIGHT THIS MINUTE?
• Is she enjoying running up and down the stairs?

Well then! She might just be manic!

Being in a manic state is almost like being normal on fast forward. Everyone has things on their to do list; but when I’m like this, the deadline on all the items on my list is immediate and devastating. I find it hard to sleep because visions of cleaning tools dance in my head. I also trick myself into thinking I have money to throw around. Thankfully, I have a good support team to stop me from cashing in all of my chips.

The downside, of course, is many projects eventually go unfinished. My attention wanes or I have an even better idea and move on. Sometimes depression crashes down around me and I give up, leaving sad little effigies to my prior state all over the house. Also, in case you’ve never heard it, here is the song I was referring to: