What is Hypomania? It is a mood state where individuals display above-normal psychological and physical vitality. For hypomania, a person must have a distinct period of persistently elevated, expansive mood or rapid mood shifts lasting at least 4 days throughout the day.
Diagnostic criteria for hypomania include:
- •Increased self-esteem or grandiosity
- •Decreased need for sleep (e.g., feeling rested after only 3 hours of sleep)
- •Being more talkative than usual
- •Flight of ideas or racing thoughts
- •Distractibility
- •Increased goal-directed activity or psychomotor agitation
- •Excessive involvement in activities with potentially painful consequences (shopping sprees, sexual indiscretions, etc.)
Hypomania is closely related to bipolar disorder. In Bipolar II disorder, hypomanic episodes alternate with depressive episodes. Treatment involves mood stabilizers and psychotherapy.