To begin with, what is hypomania? It is a state of mind that does not reach total mania. A person with bipolar disorder is at risk in several ways when experiencing hypomania. If left untreated, the affected person could progress to a more dangerous mood disorder. Also, symptoms can cause someone in that mood to take actions that put themselves and even their relationships in jeopardy.
Bipolar disorder is a cyclical mood disorder. For someone so afflicted, hypomania is a dangerous part of the disorder. Generally speaking, it leads to the next mood disorder in a particular person’s cyclical pattern. For bipolar disorder, type 1 is usually a period of mania. For type 2 bipolar, it is more likely to be a period of depression. In the case of cyclothymic disorder, the next likely mental state is mild depression. Either way, hypomania usually indicates that the next problem is near.
Let’s take a look at the symptoms of hypomania. This is what a person with bipolar disorder faces when experiencing an episode. Symptoms include:
• feel extremely joyful, happy, and excited
• increased energy, inability to sit still, and more than normal activity
• speak more, faster than normal, and often louder than normal
• an increase in sexual desire
• recklessness combined with poor decision making and
• Increased risk of problems with alcohol and drugs.
These symptoms combine to put a person with bipolar disorder at high risk for themselves. Poor decision making can lead to inappropriate sex. You can enter into financial contracts that have no possibility of being fulfilled. The excessive use of drugs and / or alcohol can create serious problems for the affected person and their friends and loved ones. The actions of a person with bipolar disorder while in a hypomanic state can lead to the breakdown of valuable relationships with friends and loved ones. This leads to the collapse of important support networks.
There is an additional problem for a person with bipolar disorder who experiences a hypomanic state of mind. Often times, increased activity will make them feel good about themselves. They attack life with new vigor. This creates, in their mind, a state of pleasure that they do not want to end. As a result, they refuse to seek treatment for hypomania. Some will even deny that there is a problem. For them, life is wonderful.
So what exactly are the dangers of the hypomanic state of mind for a person with bipolar disorder? One is that the state is often a very good indicator that the next state of mind in a particular person’s cycle is very close. The next stage is often even more dangerous than hypomania.
An additional danger is that the person engages in reckless behavior that can lead to breakdowns in important relationships with friends and loved ones. Finally, there is a danger that the affected person will deny the existence of a problem or refuse to seek assistance for it. The irony of this is that the easiest opportunity to treat bipolar disorder is during a hypomanic episode.
