Hypomania and mania - two moods that can be very difficult to discern between. Both are elevated mood states meaning that you are going to be feeling higher energy in both of them. Some things are obviously manic - jumping on a table in the middle of a staff meeting, stripping naked and asking the Mothership to beam you up. THAT would be mania. Unfortunately, other situations and behaviors are more difficult to tell, and in some cases, the difference is very subjective. Here are the "official" differences:
Here is a little mnemonic for psychiatrists as they determine whether you are hypomanic or manic:
There aren't any hard and fast rules about where hypomania stops and mania begins. I like to say that the difference between the two is as follows:
When you are hypomanic, your friends and family notice something different about you, and they might be concerned. If you are manic, a complete stranger will notice your behaviour and they will be very concerned for your well-being. Hypomania is cleaning your house and 3 am, Mania is walking barefoot in the middle of a bad neighborhood at 3 am. On a forum someone said that a psychologist stated that you cannot identify when you are manic, but you can when you are hypomanic. Mania loses that self-awareness. I can't say whether that is 100% true, but it is true in my experience.
Key Things to Know:
Mania is more extreme than hypomania.
Hypomania must last 4 days, and mania must last 7 days to be diagnostically valid
If hypomania OR mania are induced by a substance (including prescription medications), it must last once the medication is out of the system for at least 4-7 days to be diagnostically valid. If you became manic because of antidepressants and but once the antidepressants were out of your system you were fine, this can't be used towards a bipolar diagnosis.
In hypomania, you can still function for the most part OR your functioning increases. In mania, you may think you are incredibly functional, but your work or home life will begin to suffer.
Generally, if there is true psychosis, it will be diagnosed as mania, even if you haven't met the 7 day requirement.
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