Self-Evaluation And Getting Help: Using A Hypomania Test

Self-evaluation can help people keep their mental and physical health on the right track and can be enormously useful in improving overall health and wellness through bringing awareness to the body and mind. Resources that allow you to take a look at your own experiences and concerns may help you identify when it’s time to seek help. An example of one form of self-evaluation is a test designed to help pinpoint symptoms of hypomania, a symptom that’s commonly misunderstood and overlooked. In this article, we’ll discuss how experiences like these can lend themselves well to self-evaluation, particularly when it comes to finding the professional support you may need.

Bipolar Disorder: Symptoms And Treatment

Bipolar disorder can be characterized by periods of mania and depression; typically, these episodes can happen several times per year and may follow each other.

Bipolar disorder (BPD) is broken up into three main subtypes: Bipolar I disorder, Bipolar II disorder, and cyclothymic disorder. The symptoms for each of these subsets are similar, but their severity and duration often differ, leading to different diagnoses and potentially different treatment avenues. 

Some basic bipolar disorder symptoms relating to each disorder include:

• Periods of intense highs, including hyper-productivity and happy feelings

• Periods of depression, including restlessness, hopelessness, and feelings of emptiness

• Sleep disturbances, including the inability to sleep or difficulty staying awake

• Appetite changes, such as feeling little to no appetite or eating more than usual

• Speech pattern changes, such as speaking more quickly or more slowly than usual

• Changes to sense of self, such as feelings of grandiosity, or feelings of inadequacy

Although all of these may be present within a BP disorder diagnosis, there are varying levels of severity that can accompany these symptoms. Bipolar I disorder may lead to the greatest degree of severity, as episodes of mania and depression are usually intense and can last for weeks. Manic episodes could lead to hospitalization.

Bipolar II disorder is the second most severe iteration of bipolar disorder, with manic episodes that do not require hospitalization but have the potential to cause significant changes to an individual’s sleeping, eating, and communication patterns. Cyclothymic disorder is the least severe of the trio and can be characterized by periods of mania and depression, but without significant or severe impairments to daily living.

What Is Hypomania?

Hypomania is a state of being that is elevated above baseline behavior, but not severe enough to qualify as mania. For example, someone who is experiencing mania might not feel tired for days at a time, might struggle to maintain a speech pattern that effectively and accurately communicates to others, and might not feel hunger cues. Hypomania, conversely, might allow people experiencing a bout of it to stay up late at night without feeling tired, skip meals without seeming to notice, or leap from topic to topic in conversation without needing time to readjust to a new train of thought or line of inquiry. Hypomania, then, is not severe enough to function as a component of bipolar disorder symptoms for BPD-I but could fall under the symptomatic umbrella of BPD-II or cyclothymic disorder.

The most common symptoms of hypomania can include (but are not limited to):

• Changes to sleep patterns. A period of hypomania might allow individuals to continually get by on 3-4 hours of sleep, with seemingly little to no ill effects. Individuals might not notice a decline in reasoning skills, alertness, or mood, and feel just as content with a few hours of sleep as they might with a full 8-9 hours of sleep.

• Differences in eating habits. People experiencing hypomania might notice a slight decrease in overall appetite and interest in eating. This can be small, as is the case when skipping breakfast is done easily and without consequence, or a bit more significant, as is the case when an entire day goes by without eating or when the desire to eat does not arise.

• Days of increased excitement, happiness, or productivity. This is perhaps the most commonly unnoticed symptom of hypomania, as it can be chalked up to just having a “good day,” or could be blamed on a quick surge of passion or motivation. In someone who is not prone to mood changes, this could certainly be the case. Still, days-long periods of increased productivity, followed by a marked dip in productivity, could signal the onset of hypomania.

• Increased self-esteem or feelings of confidence. A person may feel a boost in their self-worth, so much so that they may view themselves as inherently smarter or better than others. 

These symptoms mirror the symptoms but lack the depth and intensity of both bipolar I and II disorder. Hypomania can also be interesting because, unlike mania, it does not necessarily have to be accompanied by a bipolar disorder diagnosis; instead, individuals may experience hypomania on its own, separate from a mood or personality disorder.

Using A Hypomania Test

Hypomania tests can be useful to take, as they can help you determine whether or not your bipolar disorder symptoms are linked to hypomania or are due to something else, such as a spike in motivation or a boost in overall mental health. Hypomania tests can be easily found online and typically involve a smaller series of questions regarding how you are feeling right now, how you feel regularly, and any mood changes or disturbances you might encounter. Some hypomania tests require that you write down a point system and tally up your totals, while others are simple point-and-click tests that tally results for you.

Takeaway

Although hypomania tests are not definitive diagnosing tools, they can be helpful for people who are experiencing some of the symptoms associated with bipolar disorders, as they can help identify patterns that suggest something significant is at play. Self-evaluation is often the first step toward finding the support you may need, which typically includes treatment from a mental health professional.