Legends Of Werewolves Share Themes With Bipolar Mania

Mania described as a lurking, uncontrollable beast

By Alex Rowan

Stories of werewolves go back to the beginning of recorded history.

The 4,000-year-old Epic of Gilgamesh tells of a shepherd transformed into a wolf. In Greek mythology, Zeus destroys King Lycaon of Arcadia with lightning, turning him into a wolf. His name gives us the origin of lycanthropy (wolf-human).

Werewolf folklore describes people who undergo dramatic transformations into beasts. Their behavior is wild, unstable, and menacing.

Many of these themes parallel bipolar hypomania and mania. Psychiatric historians note that in the 19th and early 20th centuries, mania was sometimes described with “lycanthropic” metaphors.

Similarities between mania and werewolf legends

Transformation: Mania or depression can shift suddenly, like a person “turning” into a werewolf. Friends and family often say, “He’s not himself anymore.” Mania can make people reckless, fearless, and fueled with energy and euphoria.
Cycles: Both follow recurring patterns—moon phases in folklore, manic and depressive episodes in bipolar.
Triggers: Werewolves transform under the full moon; those with bipolar may shift with major life changes, stress, or sleep deprivation.
Loss of control: Werewolves are dangerous and unpredictable; mania or psychosis can manifest in similar ways, sometimes noted in crime reports.
Stigma: Early witch hunts of the 15th to 18th centuries included “werewolf trials,” persecuting people believed to be demonic. These myths echo how society today still fears, misunderstands, and stigmatizes mental illness.

The metaphor in popular culture

An Ohio State University thesis, When I Became a Werewolf by Via Laurene Smith, draws these parallels:

“A person going through the ‘highs’ of manic-depression may make reckless decisions, go on buying sprees, commit sexual indiscretions, or bring financial ruin upon self and family.”

“Hyper-sexuality and aggression are the two dominant traits associated with werewolves, which are also escalated when they are at their most powerful state of transformation, or the ‘high’ of being a werewolf. The mood of someone in a manic state is brittle and irritable; it may shift back and forth quickly, and the person may become very paranoid.”

“If the hypomania escalates into a full-blown mania, the person can lose all touch with reality and become psychotic. In this paranoid and agitated state, the sufferers can experience incredible frustration toward themselves or others who fail to understand what they are experiencing. This frustration can even extend into aggression.”

In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, the character Remus Lupin can be seen as a metaphor for bipolar disorder, according to an article in Psychology Today.

Lupin experiences cyclical, uncontrollable transformations. Wolfsbane Potion serves as a stand-in for medication, like mood stabilizers, to mitigate episode severity. Like many with bipolar disorder, Lupin also faces stigma and prejudice that affect his social and professional life.

On Reddit, a user writing “I’m basically a werewolf” describes hypomania in similar terms:

Werewolves are human during daylight; so am I.
For protection, they isolate when change is coming. I do the same so I don’t hurt anyone or face post-mania guilt.
Werewolves gain strength and heightened senses; I gain creativity and motivation. They want to hunt; I want to fight.
Both can learn tricks to manage the transformation and get through it.

In Ouroboros: An Essay on Living with Bipolar Disorder, the writer notes:

“The anatomy and function of the werewolf myth is easily applicable to many transitions and transformations, including functioning as an allegory for bipolar disorder.”

It seems likely that myths and folklore of werewolves once served as a way for societies to explain the symptoms of bipolar disorder before the advent of modern science.

A personal note: I can relate to this. During my extended manic episode, I remember comparing myself metaphorically to a werewolf. I felt transformed, strong, aggressive, sexual, and out of control. I told everyone around me that I couldn’t go out after dark, because that is when the worst of my behavior came out. I’d do my best to inside from dusk to dawn. I realize now this was part of a delusion that came from the mania.

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