Manic episodes can be caused by factors other than bipolar disorder, including traumatic brain injury, seizures, medications, or corticosteroids.

“Now there are a lot of reasons why somebody could be in a manic mode. It doesn't necessarily mean that somebody has bipolar disorder. In fact, someone could be in a manic mode for seven days or more and still not be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Why? Well, there are other things that can create manic episodes, things like traumatic brain injury, things like seizure, things like various prescription drugs or illicit drugs, things like amphetamine and cocaine, that is not the same as bipolar disorder even though from a symptomology perspective, they might look even identical.”