Hypomania
For more on hypomania, see: Mind, a UK medical site for lay people. From that article, I read that the characteristics of a hypomanic episode, which both DSM-IV and ICD-10 are agreed upon, include:
- feeling exceptionally confident with inflated self-esteem
- feeling a need for less sleep, so that you feel rested after only a few hours’ sleep
- being more talkative than usual, or feeling a need to keep talking
- feeling full of ideas with racing thoughts being easily distracted, and darting from one activity to another
- increase in goal-directed activity
- involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences. For example, you may go on a spending spree and end up in debt, or have a sexual encounter which you later regret
- feeling very excited and in a euphoric mood for at least several days on end, which can switch to irritability, intolerance and rage
- increased activity and high energy levels
- being unusually friendly, seeking out people, including strangers
- increased productivity and creativity.
