Managing My Mania

As a kid and a young adult I was manic at best, but probably "insane" better captures the essence of who I was then. Back in the day, I called my bouts with mania "madman’s disease." Over the years as I learned about the lives of people like Mozart, Picasso, Freud, St. Augustine, Laura Ingalls Wilder and others and I’ve determined they, too, had madman’s disease. In my untrained armchair theory, these folks had things in their heads that they had to get out. Unlike the greats mentioned above, who I over-identified with, I did not have a specific talent, skill or craft through which to release some of the mania.

Luckily for me, I stumbled into running, and later writing. These two outlets have lightened the mental load. I joke about the combination saving me tons of money in therapy and mood altering drugs. In my case, there is a reality to that. Endorphins and catharsis represent the empirical areas that support my position.

By no means do I intend to belittle professional therapy or clinically prescribed medication, but I do advocate a good run. It has the power to pick you up from doldrums and release frustration, both physically and chemically. Likewise, writing in a web log, diary, crafting short stories or writing the great American novel can help you mentally, emotionally and spiritually process conscious and subconscious issues. I highly recommend the combination of the two, hence my blog about exercising every single day.

Set yourself free. Go for a run and write about it.


Tom