Objective In this paper, we aimed at reviewing evidence‐based treatment options for bipolar mania and proposed tentative evidence‐based clinical suggestions regarding the management of a manic episode, especially regarding the choice of the proper mood stabilizer and antipsychotic medication. Method A narrative review was undertaken addressing 'treatment of bipolar mania'. Findings have been synthesized and incorporated with clinical experience into a model to support different treatment choices. Results To date, there is solid evidence supporting the use of several medications, such as lithium, divalproex, and carbamazepine, and antipsychotics, such as chlorpromazine, haloperidol, risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, aripiprazole, inhaled loxapine, asenapine, and cariprazine in acute mania, and some evidence supporting the use of clozapine or electroconvulsive therapy in treatment‐refractory cases. However, in clinical practice, when making decisions about treatment, personalized treatment is needed, according to the different clinical presentations and more complex clinical situations within the manic episode and considering a long‐term view and with the objective of not only a symptomatic but also functional recovery. After remission from acute mania, psychoeducation strategies are useful to ensure adherence. Discussion Despite the evidence forefficacy of many currently available treatments for mania, the majority of RCTs provide little direction for the clinician as to what steps might be optimal in different presentations of mania as well as in the presence of specific patient characteristics. Manic episodes should be managed on a personalized basis considering the clinical course and patient criteria and with the expectation of maintaining that treatment in the long‐term.

This article reviews the most common non-psychiatric comorbidities associated with affective disorders, examining the implications of their possible bidirectional link. A narrative review was conducted on the association among the three most common non-psychiatric diseases in major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder (obesity, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular diseases) in articles published from January 1994 to April 2020. The evidence suggests that obesity, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular diseases are highly prevalent in patients diagnosed with affective disorders. The presence of non-psychiatric comorbidities significantly worsens the therapeutic management and prognosis of affective disorders and vice versa. In many cases, these comorbidities may precede the onset of affective disorders, although in most cases they appear after it. The presence of these concurrent non-psychiatric diseases in an individual diagnosed with an affective disorder is associated with a more complex disease presentation and management. For professionals, the evidence unequivocally supports routine surveillance of comorbidities from a multidisciplinary approach.