Manic Shmanic

A Mania for Everyone






Woman so weary, the sweet cause in vain/You make love, you break love/Its all the same.
~Jimi Hendrix, "Manic Depression

I'll take mania any day:

ablutomania: excessive need for washing oneself
aboulomania: excessive indecisiveness
agromania: excessive desire to be out in the open/in open spaces
andromania: (allegedly a synonym for nymphomania, but if andro=man, this is more accurately excessive devotion to men)
anglomania: excessive fondness for England/English culture/English people
anthomania: excessive fondness for flowers (synonymous with florimania)
aphrodisiomania: excessive interest in sex/sexuality
arithmomania: excessive devotion to numbers
balletomania: excessive devotion to ballet
bibliomania: excessive love of books/reading books
bruxomania: excessive habit of grinding one’s teeth
cacodemomania: excessive concerns is possessed by an evil spirit catapedamania: excessive desire for jumping from high places
chinamania: excessive devotion to collecting china
choreomania: excessive devotion to/practice of dancing
clinomania: excessive desire to stay in bed
copromania: excessive preoccupation with feces
cytheromania: excessive sexual desire (synonymous with nymphomania)
dacnomania: excessive preoccupation with killing
demonomania: excessive belief that one is possessed by demons
dinomania: excessive fondness for dancing
dipsomania excessive desire for alcohol
discomania: excessive fondness for disco music
doramania: excessive concern with owning fur(s)
doromania: excessive habit of gift-giving
drapetomania: excessive desire to run away from home
dromomania: excessive desire to leave, travel, and start anew with new identity, job, etc. (a.k.a. traveling fugue)
ecdemomania: excessive desire to wander
egomania: excessive concern with self/belief in self-superiority
eleutheromania: excessive desire for freedom
empleomania: excessive concern for holding public office
enosimania: excessive preoccupation with having sinned
entheomania: excessive belief that one is divinely inspired
epomania: excessive inclination toward writing epics
ergasiomania: excessive desire to work (synonymous with ergomania)
ergomania: excessive desire for/practice of working (synonymous with ergasiomania)
erotomania: excessive propensity for high sex drive
etheromania: excessive desire for ether
ethnomania: excessive devotion to one's own culture, people, race, group
eulogomania: excessive fondness for eulogies
flagellomania: excessive appreciation of flogging/whips
florimania: excessive love of flowers (synonymous with anthomania)
Francomania: excessive preoccupation with/fondness for France/French culture/French people (see gallomania)
gallomania: excessive fondness for France, French life, etc. (see francomania)
gamomania: excessive habit of issuing “odd” marriage proposals
Graecomania: excessive preoccupation with/fondness for Greece, Greek culture, Greek people (see Hellenomania)
graphomania: excessive fondness for/preoccupation with writing
gynaecomania: excessive sexual preoccupation with women
habromania: excessive tendency toward gaiety
hagiomania: excessive desire for sainthood
Hellenomania: excessive fondness for Greece, Greek culture, Greek people (see Graecomania)
hexametromania: excessive need for writing in hexameter
hieromania: excessive propensity for religious vision, delusion, revelation
hippomania: excessive fondness for horses
hydromania: excessive preoccupation with/desire for water
hylomania: excessive tendency towards materialism
hysteromania: excessive sexual desire by a woman (see nymphomania)
iconomania: excessive fondness for icons/portraits
idolomania: excessive fondness for/devotion to idols
infomania: excessive devotion to accumulating facts
islomania: excessive fondness for islands
Italomania: excessive fondness for/preoccupation with Italy, Italian culture, Italian people
jumbomania: excessive fondness for mammoth proportions
kleptomania: excessive tendency toward/habit of stealing (synonymous with klopemania)
klopemania: excessive habit of stealing (synonymous with kleptomania)
logomania: excessive talking
lypemania: excessive practice/expression of mourning
macromania: excessive perception that things are larger than actual size
megalomania: excessive (grandiose) belief in one’s greatness
melomania: excessive devotion to music
methomania: excessive desire for alcohol
metromania: excessive desire for writing verse
micromania: excessive conviction one is of minuteness/small in size monomania: excessive preoccupation with a singular thought/idea morphinomania: excessive desire for morphine
musomania: excessive fondness for music
mythomania: excessive lying or hyperbole
narcomania: excessive desire for narcotics
necromania: excessive sexual desire for corpses
nosomania: excessive belief one is suffering from a disease
nostomania: excessive appreciation of nostalgia
nymphomania: excessive [woman’s] sexual desire
oenomania: excessive fondness for wine
oligomania: excessive preoccupation with just a few thoughts/ideas
oniomania: excessive habit of shopping/buying/making purchases
onomamania: excessive preoccupation with naming/names
onomatomania: excessive devotion to words/neologisms (new words, phrases, linguistic expressions) [or, repeating them]
onychotillomania excessive fingernail picking
opiomania: excessive desire for opium
opsomania: excessive love for a singular kind of food
orchidomania: excessive preoccupation with orchids
parousiamania: excessive preoccupation with the second coming of Christ
pathomania: excessive amorality
peotillomania: excessive propensity for pulling on one’s penis
phagomania: excessive desire for food/eating
phaneromania: excessive habit of biting one’s fingernails
pharmacomania: excessive desire to try drugs
phonomania: excessive (?) tendency to murder
photomania: excessive fondness for light
phyllomania: excessive [plant] production of leaves
phytomania: excessive preoccupation with collecting plants
planomania: excessive desire to wander/disobey social norms
plutomania: excessive fondness for/preoccupation with money
polemomania: excessive preoccupation with war
politicomania: excessive concern for politics
polkamania: excessive fondness for polka dance
poriomania: excessive need to wander
pornomania: excessive preoccupation with pornography
potichomania: excessive habit/practice of imitating Oriental porcelain
potomania: excessive desire for drinking alcohol
pseudomania: excessive propensity for lying
pteridomania: excessive fondness for ferns
pyromania: excessive desire to start fires
rhinotillexomania: excessive nose picking
rinkomania: excessive devotion to ice skating
satyromania: excessive [male’s] sexual desire
scribbleomania: excessive need for scribbling
sebastomania: excessive religiosity
sitiomania: excessive aversion to food
sonnettomania: excessive love of sonnets
sophomania: excessive belief in one’s own intellectual superiority
squandermania: excessive practice of reckless spending
stampomania: excessive practice of stamp collecting
syphilomania: excessive preoccupation with/belief that one has syphilis technomania: excessive fondness for/preoccupation with technology
Teutomania: excessive fondness for Teutonic/German people, places, things
thanatomania: excessive belief that one has fallen ill because of a curse/death magic
theatromania: excessive fondness for theatre going
theomania: excessive belief in self as a god
timbromania: excessive devotion to postage stamps
tomomania: excessive preoccupation with performing surgery
toxicomania: excessive desire for poisons
trichotillomania: excessive pulling out of one’s own hair
tulipomania: excessive fondness for/preoccupation with tulips
typhomania: excessive delirium brought on by typhus fever
typomania: excessive need to publish
uranomania: excessive appreciation for [or desire for?] celestial power
verbomania: excessive fondness for words
Whitmania: excessive fondness for Walt Whitman
xenomania: excessive desire for foreign objects [and people?]
zoomania: excessive love for animals

*hypermania = severe mania
hypomania = minor mania
polymania = a composite of many manias



Questions, though:
Who decides what is manic or excessive?
Isn’t it excessive to have more than one word with the exact same mania meaning?
Why is it that only a select few manias have remained active in our lexicon—which we can discern by the number of red squiggly lines made by the MS Word spell-check function (though you can’t always trust that)?
What’s the word for excessive list-making? Catalogomania? Commentariensomania? Conscribomania?
Was the person who compiled the list of manias to start with a manic?
And how many more times could I have used the word “excessive” without being accused of it myself?