Activity, Passivity, and the Subjective Experience of Hypomania

Abstract

The literature on hypomania and mania, especially in the context of bipolar illness, is quite extensive. However, very little attention has been directed toward the ­subjective experience of such a state. This state might include feelings of elation, absence of inhibitions, liberation from constraints, freedom from self-criticism, effortless accomplishment, and the like. Traditionally, hypomania is viewed as a milder version of mania, which itself is seen as the counterpart of depression in bipolar illness (Goodwin and Jamison 1997; American Psychiatric Association-DSM IV-TR 2000). As such, it is usually considered biochemical in nature and genetically determined. According to this view, the manic or hypomanic state occurs and is experienced ­passively, much like a fever. Allowance is made for ­environmental stressors, but only as precipitants or triggers, especially in early ­episodes. However, in this chapter we will present empirical evidence that demonstrates that hypomanic experience is in fact not a strictly passive one, and that such a state, or at least some of its subjective qualities, may be actively fostered, actively prolonged, and/or actively intensified (Shapiro 2000). It is not, of course, proposed that individuals deliberately plan to achieve a psychiatric condition, but that they find immediate relief or satisfaction in the subjective state produced by such activity.