This study aims to shed light on the construction of the concept of mania in the field of psychopathology. The article addresses the historical evolution of mania, from manic-depressive illness to the diagnosis of bipolar and schizoaffective disorders. It was observed that the current concept of mania is a product of the second half of the 19th century, although it originates from the classical Greek period, when it was understood as a way of being, and then, throughout history, was reduced to a psychopathological symptom. Currently, mania is again being considered in a broader sense, as manic functioning, but without excluding its symptomatic condition. It is from this position that we situate it as a phenomenon, encompassing the symptom and the lived experience, from the perspective constructed from phenomenological psychopathology, which looks at the manic experience not by reducing it to a natural fact, but by understanding it as a historical-cultural phenomenon, constructed in the world of human relationships.
Key words:
Mania; psychopathology; bipolar disorder; schizoaffective disorder