Phone calls at 3:00 AM --is this a warning sign???

I think my friend may be manic.

He cries easily over stupid stuff, worries incessantly, drives me nuts with 20 questions about everything he can think of, and now he's started calling me at 3:00 AM. Usually, he says he had a bad dream about me and is scared and wants to check on me, but then the conversation bleeds out into many other subjects, with him saying he's "sorry" for waking me up, "just go back to bed".

Does anyone here have a clue about what the middle of the night phone calls are about??? does he not realize most people are asleep at that time of the night?

Is this a warning sign of manic depression?

thanks for the input.

Thorny

sounds to me like a bad case of anxiety and alittle impulse control.

But those can trigger mania.

By this is so hard to say as manic/depression is deep. Here is a resource for you.....

RECOGNITION
Bipolar disorder involves cycles of mania and depression.
Signs and symptoms of mania include discrete periods of:
Increased energy, activity, restlessness, racing thoughts, and rapid talking

Excessive "high" or euphoric feelings

Extreme irritability and distractibility

Decreased need for sleep

Unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities and powers

Uncharacteristically poor judgment

A sustained period of behavior that is different from usual

Increased sexual drive

Abuse of drugs, particularly cocaine, alcohol, and sleeping medications

Provocative, intrusive, or aggressive behavior

Denial that anything is wrong

Signs and symptoms of depression include discrete periods of:
Persistent sad, anxious, or empty mood

Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism

Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness

Loss of interest or pleasure in ordinary activities, including sex

Decreased energy, a feeling of fatigue or of being "slowed down"

Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions

Restlessness or irritability

Sleep disturbances

Loss of appetite and weight, or weight gain

Chronic pain or other persistent bodily symptoms that are not caused by physical disease

Thoughts of death or suicide; suicide attempts

It may be helpful to think of the various mood states in manic-depressive illness as a spectrum or continuous range. At one end is severe depression, which shades into moderate depression; then come mild and brief mood disturbances that many people call "the blues," then normal mood, then hypomania (a mild form of mania), and then mania.
Some people with untreated bipolar disorder have repeated depressions and only an occasional episode of hypomania (bipolar II). In the other extreme, mania may be the main problem and depression may occur only infrequently. In fact, symptoms of mania and depression may be mixed together in a single "mixed" bipolar state.

Descriptions provided by patients themselves offer valuable insights into the various mood states associated with bipolar disorder:


Depression:
I doubt completely my ability to do anything well. It seems as though my mind has slowed down and burned out to the point of being virtually useless....[I am] haunt[ed]...with the total, the desperate hopelessness of it all... Others say, "It's only temporary, it will pass, you will get over it," but of course they haven't any idea of how I feel, although they are certain they do. If I can't feel, move, think, or care, then what on earth is the point?

Hypomania:
At first when I'm high, it's tremendous...ideas are fast...like shooting stars you follow until brighter ones appear...all shyness disappears, the right words and gestures are suddenly there...uninteresting people, things, become intensely interesting. Sensuality is pervasive, the desire to seduce and be seduced is irresistible. Your marrow is infused with unbelievable feelings of ease, power, well-being, omnipotence, euphoria...you can do anything...but, somewhere this changes.

Mania:
The fast ideas become too fast and there are far too many...overwhelming confusion replaces clarity...you stop keeping up with it--memory goes. Infectious humor ceases to amuse. Your friends become frightened...everything is now against the grain...you are irritable, angry, frightened, uncontrollable, and trapped.
Recognition of the various mood states is essential so that the person who has manic-depressive illness can obtain effective treatment and avoid the harmful consequences of the disease, which include destruction of personal relationships, loss of employment, and suicide.


Manic-depressive illness is often not recognized by the patient, relatives, friends, or even physicians.
An early sign of manic-depressive illness may be hypomania--a state in which the person shows a high level of energy, excessive moodiness or irritability, and impulsive or reckless behavior.

Hypomania may feel good to the person who experiences it. Thus, even when family and friends learn to recognize the mood swings, the individual often will deny that anything is wrong.

In its early stages, bipolar disorder may masquerade as a problem other than mental illness. For example, it may first appear as alcohol or drug abuse, or poor school or work performance.

If left untreated, bipolar disorder tends to worsen, and the person experiences episodes of full-fledged mania and clinical depression.


The fact that he is sleeping is a good sign. If he were manic he would require little or no sleep thru this stage. But then again, when I am manic and manage to doze off, I have vivid, colored, horrible dreams, as if my brain won't shut up. I mean shut down. or even slow down long enough to let me sleep.