The second sign of spring

The second sign of Spring to arise is more understandable, often comedic, but sometimes not very pretty. Apparently Daniel Craig, of James Bond fame is not bipolar, or if he is, is controlled enough that he does not get ragingly manic every Spring. No one with his build ever seems to either, for that matter. The Second Sign of Spring is the inevitable manic patient brought in by law enforcement running naked through the streets. Mania and springtime go hand in hand, and when it has been below freezing for weeks on end, once the thermometer rises above 40, some people apparently interpret the weather downright balmy.

There is some scientific explanation to the onset of manic symptoms in the Spring, much of it having to do with increasing length of day and the effects this has on the brain and sleep patterns. Were it not for artificial lighting, we would all sleep less when the days are short and more when the days are long. When bipolar patients sleep less, they get manic. When people get manic, they sleep even less. A lot less. I have had patients go for a full week without sleep and they still are not tired. Their spouses/significant others/people they are trying to negotiate world peace with are. They are not. And their houses are VERY clean.

Which brings me back to sign two. The days are getting longer, the temperature is rising, and love is in the air. Sooner or later, someone is going to have an unfortunate "out of clothing experience" that is going to raise the eyebrows of the neighbors and 911 is going to get a call. Eventually they are brought in to the ER, and hopefully the police have been kind enough to have found something to cover these guys up with before frostbite sets in. Of course the whole need to "strip and search" the patient ritual is rather abbreviated, although I have seen this documented in the medical record. Not that when you joke with the intake staff about exactly what they were stripping or where they were searching on a naked patient, do they ever get it. Maybe if Daniel Craig were to be brought in naked they would not be so tense about the issue.

I mentioned love being in the air, but in this case love never seems to have anything to do with any of these particular cases. So far most of the patients I have asked have been at a loss as to why they were running around naked. Usually the answer is a "it just sounded like a good idea at the time" type of response.

This has happened without fail pretty much every year for as long as I can remember, this year being no exception. By now, we have had several warm days, quite a bit of snow has melted and there are enough black bear paw prints and droppings in our back yard to be certain winter is on its way out by now, but prior to the neighborhood bear's decorations, the third and final sign appeared at work.

Next, the Third Sign of Spring.