Playing the manic game. Interpersonal maneuvers of the acutely manic patient.

Dooley described patients with frequent manic attacks as being headstrong, selfsufficient, know-it-all types of people who will get the upper hand of the analyst. Gibson noted that while manic-depressive individuals appear remarkably insensitive to interpersonal subtleties on a conscious level, they can be extraordinarily perceptive on a subconscious or unconscious one. He felt that these patients are proficient in evoking and utilizing the feelings of others, especially guilt feelings, and that they are extraordinarily adroit at handling and manipulating other people. Four characteristics Gibson stressed regarding the manic-depressive character structure included: (1) difficulty in dealing with feelings of envy and competition; (2) strong dependancy drives; (3) the frequent use of denial as a defense; and (4) a value system based on social conventionality.