Exuberance or Hypomania?
“Hypomania? That’s what we all want!” a consulting physician told me, her eyes twinkling. It’s the mood state between mania and depression—and for many people, it’s the fun part.
Hypomania’s “pleasant state is characterized by:
1. Excessive exhilaration
2. Increased creativity
3. Racing thoughts
4. High sex drive
5. Inflated self-esteem
6. Increased talkativeness and sociability
However, its not-so-great qualities may include:
7. Distractibility
8. Irritability
9. Reckless (and usually destructive) behaviors such as excessive spending
10.Poor judgment
Most of us experience times—hours or days—when we feel a surge of happiness or creativity; that doesn’t mean that we’re bipolar. During the long New England winter, a sunny day is enough to make anyone feel hypomanic! In the midst of a true hypomania, people with bipolar disorder can recognize and control their symptoms and, with the help of a physician, avoid shifting from hypomania to depression or mania.
Photo By Camdiluv ♥ from Concepción, CHILE (Colours) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
