first manic episode, need advice

I was hospitalized for mania a couple of months ago, i had been manic for a while but since i had been isolating myself in general from social contact, no one noticed for a long time. by the time my mom took me to the hospital i had made an ass of myself to a bunch of old friends and acquaintances, not to mention close family. my family is understanding of what happened, it's easier for me to be open with them. My question is does anyone have any advice on what i should do about those burnt bridges i caused with my friends? should i talk to them about what happened and explain why i was acting the way that i was? and if so how should i go about saying it? should i let it go, move on, make new friends, and keep the few that i didn't distance myself from? i miss my friends.

thanks for the help

Hi, mistahman! Yes, you should talk to them. If they were ever good friends, they'll try to understand that you have an illness and you want to make it up to them. How about talking to one friend first and getting them to understand so maybe they'll give you a little support and help when you contact the others?

You should talk to your friends. It's hard, yeah, but if you don't try then you'll face this again later with whatever friends you make afterward.
I've had to do this a couple of times, and it's hard...
You just have to say "I'm bipolar and I was manic and didn't realize what I was doing" and hope they can accept that.
Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't see it as an excuse (and after you'e lived with bipolar for a while it's not an excuse anymore) and you just have to deal with whatever decision they make.
Sometimes they don't want to associate with a Bipolar, because any form of mental instability scares people, but most of my friends over the years have just written it off. They hang around and expect the worst (and usually try to spin the worst so that they can use me to make someone else's life hell).

All you can do is say that you're sorry, you were manic and you're getting help.
From there it's on them.