Narcissism during a manic episode

As some of you might know, a while ago I went through a manic episode. It was definitely one of the worst I'd ever had, one of the most severe, and to make things even worse, it wasn't just a regular manic episode -- it was a mixed episode.

During this episode, my self-esteem expanded considerably and I became convinced I was superior to everyone else and that I was unique and special. I started a bunch of projects (none of which I finished) and I honestly thought each one would change the world. I thought I was a genius -- an extremely underappreciated genius. I also displayed other stereotypically narcissistic traits: as in, getting offended when people insinuated I wasn't as great as I thought I was, and I was preoccupied with ideas of success and fame. It reached the point where my sister genuinely thought I had narcissistic personality disorder, and I suspected it myself for a while. Then I realized a real narcissist wouldn't care. After the manic episode ended, though, my self-esteem / self-image became more realistic.

I've been researching mania / bipolar disorder a lot lately, and I've read that in many people, it can resemble narcissism, and even gets misdiagnosed as such.

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

I can understand narcissism happening alongside mania.

It makes talking to bipolar people about their state of mind difficult.
The manic narcissist is just fine and doesn't need any feedback on how they are perceived.

It doesn't seem quite like narcissism to me. I don't need to be fawned over when I'm on a high. I'm the best, and I know it and I'm totally confident about it. I laugh at critics. I need no other.

When I look at the NPD forum, I really don't see myself at all.

I had a narcissist ex and briefly dated another. Not that it makes me an expert but I spent quite some time reading up on NPD trying to understand what the hell just happened and what I read suggests to me that narcissists put themselves on a pedestal and force everyone to praise them out of fear that in fact they are the lowest of the low and worst of the worst. (Bear in mind this is hardly a professional description.) This would fit my ex, who was continually put down and beaten in his childhood. Narcissists need supply of constant reassurance from the outside and get rid of anyone who would dare to criticise them in the slightest, which is how my relationship very suddenly ended.

When I had my own hypo period and I was the bestest and the amazingest, I genuinely had no care for what others thought. I KNEW I was best and nobody had to assure me. I walked on a pink cloud, silently sighing in pleasure of being son of God and looking with pity and kindness on the lesser mortals who would never know how it feels. There was nothing they could say, negative or positive, that would make a difference.

I have heard of misdiagnosis of BP for NPD. I agree with Oliveira that when my mood goes like this I know I am best and dont have the constant need for ppl telling me how great I am that perhaps those with NPD have. But I can see how they could be confused as on the face of it there do seem to be similarities

Cracked

Yes, I can see how from an outsider's perspective it might look similar, if someone has no prior experience with either. They don't know that the motivations are almost the exact reverse.

I've never been accused of narcissism, because people also saw me so consumed with self-loathing that I not only wanted to kill myself, but kill myself in a painful, gruesome way because I deserved it.

I thought it was just me that became a narcissist when I was manic. I have always been a little full of myself any way, not in the bad way, just that I believe that I am capable of doing anything without help or that I am better then most people I meet.

I just thought of something else I don't look down on people in that state. I just want to make everyone happy, and let them share in the loveliness that is me. In fact, I love everyone, because they love me.