is mania one of the extreme ends of depression?

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a different manifestation of depression, hence the irritability that is so often attributed to it. an underlying sense of depression.

Mania is the complete opposite pole of depression, hence why it is part of BIpolar disorder. Not all manic individuals experience intense irritability. Some may be textbook mania and be predominantly euphoric. Others may experience mixed episodes, which is a combination of both mania and depression. But mania is the opposite of depression in every way, not just in mood elevation. Depressed individuals, for example, have low sex drive, often sleep too much, and have low energy. Manic individuals are hypersexual, sleep little, and have an abundance of energy. While the biology of mania and depression is still largely unknown, low serotonin is linked to depression, whereas high serotonin is linked to mania. Again, they are opposites.

When I am manic, I'm not depressed. The emotions and problems that come with being manic are not what I experience with depression. Usually I feel intense feelings of being able to take on the world. I don't feel a good deal of happiness, but I don't struggle with heavy sadness or feelings of inadequacy. There's a lot of irritability and lashing out that I don't experience with depression either.

When I'm depressed I shut down and close myself to the world, feeling useless, anxious, and ugly.

That's how I am, anyway.

If they were actually opposites, mixed states should be impossible. Bipolar disorder is an instability in all of affect, energy and intellect (speed of thought, creative connections, etc.). For example, if all are down, you have a straightforward depression, but you only really need to have the mood and energy down to meet the criteria for a depressive episode even though you could equally well call it a mixed state.

My psychiatrist also believes, in his clinical experience, that mania is usually masking depression.