Hypomania

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This article is an expansion of a section entitled Hypomania from within the main article: Bipolar disorder.

Hypomania (literally, below mania) is a mood state characterized by persistent and pervasive elated or irritable mood, and thoughts and behaviors that are consistent with such a mood state. It is distinguished from mania by the absence of psychotic symptoms and by its lower degree of impact on functioning. Hypomania is a feature of some mood disorders, such as bipolar II disorder and cyclothymia. Though hypomanic people are often associated with bipolar disorder, it is in this state that many creative talents are in their most productive and successful mood. Ideas come to one with hypomania easily, and there is a full awareness of what they are doing, unlike intense forms of mania.[1]

1 Hypomanic episodes
2 Context in mood disorders
- 2.1 Bipolar disorder
- 2.2 Cyclothymia
3 Possible benefits of hypomania
4 Treating hypomania
5 Famous people with hypomanic symptoms
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Hypomanic episodes

According to the DSM-IV-TR, a hypomanic episode includes, over the course of at least 5 days, three or four of the following symptoms, depending on whether the predominant mood state is elation or irritability: inflated self-esteem or grandiosity; decreased need for sleep; being more talkative than usual or feeling pressure to keep talking; flight of ideas or the subjective experience that thoughts are racing; distractibility; increase in goal-directed activity or psychomotor agitation; and excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for harmful consequences. In the hypomanic state, people may feel like they can't slow their mind down. Some examples would be speaking or writing in rhyme or alliteration, quick responses to people talking, the ability to improvise on the spot, hearing constant music in their head, or seeing images in their mind racing by.[2]

[edit] Context in mood disorders

[edit] Bipolar disorder

Return to the main article: Bipolar disorder.

Bipolar II disorder is characterized by at least one major depressive episode and at least one hypomanic episode that does not progress into psychotic mania.[3] In bipolar I disorder, hypomanic symptoms may precede a manic episode, but they are not a requirement for diagnosis.[4]

[edit] Cyclothymia

Cyclothymia is a condition of continued mood fluctuations between hypomania and depression of lower intensity than would be expected in bipolar disorder and sometimes interspersed with periods of normal moods.[5]

[edit] Possible benefits of hypomania

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. One in the state of hypomania might be immune to fear and doubt and have little social inhibition. They may talk to strangers easily, offer solutions to problems, and find pleasure in small activities.

John Gartner's The Hypomanic Edge (Simon and Schuster) contends that notable people in American history including Christopher Columbus, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Carnegie, Louis B Mayer, and Craig Venter (who mapped the human genome) owe their innovativeness and drive, as well as their eccentricities, to hypomanic temperaments. Gartner suggests that the constructive behaviors associated with hypomania may contribute to bipolar disorder's evolutionary survival.

[edit] Treating hypomania

It is unknown to what degree hypomanic symptoms can occur without a depressive component. Patients may be relatively unlikely to seek psychiatric treatment for hypomania alone.

However, many hypomanic patients experience disrupted sleep patterns, irritability, racing thoughts, obsessional behavior, and poor judgment. Hypomania is also associated with impulsiveness, recklessness, excessive spending, risky sexual activity, and other out-of-character behaviors 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.

Virtually all clinical trials of medications for the non-depressive phases of bipolar illnesses involve treating patients for severe mania during the acute (initial) phase of mania. Recommended medication doses are based on these 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. Typical prescribed medications include mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics.

[edit] Famous people with hypomanic symptoms

Radiohead front man Thom Yorke reportedly responded, "Hypomania? Yes, that's exactly what it was," when asked about his mental state after the release of the group's classic album OK Computer. Iggy Pop was diagnosed with hypomania during his stay in a mental hospital in the mid 1970's. It has also been suggested that Richey Edwards, the "fatalistic Manic Street Preacher" (Mojo magazine, 2003) and Syd Barrett of the band Pink Floyd have experienced hypomania. However, it is far from apparent whether these are based on psychiatric diagnosis: bipolar symptoms are frequently misunderstood and misattributed in popular culture.