Hypomania And Its Characteristics

Hypomania is a mood disturbance that can be described as a mild manic episode. It is characterized by a persistent and pervasive elated or irritable mood. Other symptoms include inflated self-esteem, increased talkativeness, increased activity, decreased need for sleep, grandiosity, racing thoughts, excessive involvement in pleasurable activities despite possible consequences, and an increase in goal-directed activity. To be considered hypomania, at least three or four of those symptoms must be present for at lat four days. Hypomania is a mood disturbance that is noticeable by others.

Hypomanic episodes differ from manic episodes in that they do not cause significant distress or impair one's work, family, or social life in an obvious way unlike manic episodes do. Hypomania does not cause psychotic symptoms like mania can. Hypomania is a feature of bipolar II disorder and cyclothymia. Bipolar II disorder is characterized by at least one major depressive episode and at least one hypomanic episode that does not progress into mania.

Hypomanic people tend to be unusually cheerful, have more than ample energy, and need little sleep. Hypomania is a pleasurable state. It may give the person a heightened sense of creativity and power. However, hypomania can subtly impair a person's judgment. Too much confidence can conceal the consequences of decisions.

Hypomania can be difficult to diagnose because it may masquerade as mere happiness. It is important to diagnose hypomania because, as an expression of bipolar disorder, it can cycle into depression and carry an increased risk of suicide. Hypomania that is left untreated could also worsen and lead to manic episodes.

People with hypomania are generally perceived as being energetic, euphoric, overflowing with new ideas, and sometimes highly confident and charismatic, and unlike full-blown mania, they are sufficiently capable of coherent thought and action to participate in everyday activities. Some historical figures including Christopher Columbus, Alexander Hamilton, and Andrew Carnegie are thought to owe their innovativeness and drive, as well as their eccentricities, to hypomanic tendencies.

It is unknown to what degree hypomanic symptoms can occur without a depressive component. Patients are unlikely to seek psychiatric treatment for hypomania alone. However, hypomania is associated with impulsiveness, recklessness, excessive spending, risky sexual activity, and other out-of-character behavior that the patients may regret following the conclusion of the mood episode. Hypomania can signal the beginning of a more severe manic episode, or it often directly precedes a depressive episode.

Hypomania can be the result of too much antidepressant medication or the result of other antidepressant treatment, such as light therapy or electroconvulsant therapy. Hypomania is generally treated with mood stabilizers and atypicical anti-psyhotic medications. Clinical trials of medications for the manic phases of bipolar illnesses involve treating patients for severe mania. Recommended medication doses are based on these clinical trials, in which case high doses are justified in order to remove the patient from immediate danger. Treating hypomania, however, involves different considerations and may demand greater clinical judgment.

Next article: Mixed Mania - The Lethal Combination