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APA Practice Guidelines > Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients With Bipolar Disorder Second Edition > PART B: Background Information and Review of Available Evidence > IV. Disease Definition, Natural History and Course, and Epidemiology > A. Definition of Bipolar Disorder >

Table 4. Diagnostic Criteria for a Hypomanic Episode
Table 4. Diagnostic Criteria for a Hypomanic Episode
A. A distinct period of persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood, lasting at least 4 days, that is clearly different from the usual nondepressed mood.
B. During the period of mood disturbance, three (or more) of the following symptoms have persisted (four if the mood is only irritable) and have been present to a significant degree:
   1) Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
   2) Decreased need for sleep (e.g., feels rested after only 3 hours of sleep)
   3) More talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking
   4) Flight of ideas or subjective experience that thoughts are racing
   5) Distractibility (i.e., attention too easily drawn to unimportant or irrelevant external stimuli)
   6) Increase in goal-directed activity (either socially, at work or school, or sexually) or psychomotor agitation
   7) Excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (e.g., engaging in unrestrained buying sprees, sexual indiscretions, or foolish business investments)
C. The episode is associated with an unequivocal change in functioning that is uncharacteristic of the person when not symptomatic.
D. The disturbance in mood and the change in functioning are observable by others.
E. The episode 1) is not severe enough to cause marked impairment in social or occupational functioning, 2) does not necessitate hospitalization, and 3) does not have psychotic features.
F. The symptoms are not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication, or other treatment) or a general medical condition (e.g., hyperthyroidism).

Source. Adapted from DSM-IV-TR; hypomanic-like episodes that are clearly caused by somatic antidepressant treatment (e.g., medication, ECT, light therapy) should not count toward a diagnosis of bipolar II disorder.


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