Euphoria vs. Mania — What's the Difference?

Euphoria ( (listen)) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and dancing, can induce a state of euphoria.

Mania, also known as manic syndrome, is a mental and behavioral disorder defined as a state of abnormally elevated arousal, affect, and energy level, or "a state of heightened overall activation with enhanced affective expression together with lability of affect." During a manic episode, an individual will experience rapidly changing emotions and moods, highly influenced by surrounding stimuli. Although mania is often conceived as a "mirror image" to depression, the heightened mood can be either euphoric or dysphoric.

A feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness

Mental illness marked by periods of great excitement or euphoria, delusions, and overactivity

A feeling of great happiness or well-being.

An excessively intense enthusiasm, interest, or desire

An excited state of joy; a feeling of intense happiness.

(Psychiatry) An abnormal psychological state characterized by symptoms such as elation, high energy and activity level, racing thoughts, irritability, and rapid speech, typically occurring in people with bipolar disorder.

(LGBT) gender euphoria

Violent derangement of mind; madness; insanity.

A strong pleasant feeling of well-being or happiness; it is often caused by attainment of a desired goal or other incident of accomplishment, but may irrationally accompany a pathological manic state.

Excessive or unreasonable desire; insane passion affecting one or many people; fanaticism.

A feeling of great (usually exaggerated) elation

(psychiatry) The state of abnormally elevated or irritable mood, arousal, and/or energy levels.

Violent derangement of mind; madness; insanity. Cf. Delirium.

Excessive or unreasonable desire; insane passion affecting one or many people; as, the tulip mania.

An irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action

A mood disorder; an affective disorder in which the victim tends to respond excessively and sometimes violently