Bipolar II Disorder 133
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), as reported or observed.
6. Increase in goal-directed activity (either socially, at work or school, or sexually) or
psychomotor agitation.
7. Excessive involvement in activities that have a high potential for painful conse-
quences (e.g., engaging in unrestrained buyin g sprees, sexual indiscretions, or
foolish business investments).
C. The episode is associated with an unequivocal change in functioning that is uncharac-
teristic of the individual when not symptomatic. 
D. The disturbance in mood and the change in functioning are observable by others.
E. The episode is not severe enough to cause marked impairment in social or occupa-
tional functioning or to necessitate hospitalization. If there are psychotic features, the
episode is, by definition, manic.
F. The episode is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug
of abuse, a medication or other treatment).
Note:  A full hypomanic episode that emerges during antidepressant treatment (e.g.,
medication, electroconvulsive therapy) but persists at a fully syndromal level beyond
the physiological effect of that treatment is sufficient evidence for a hypomanic episode
diagnosis. However, caution is indicated so that one or two symptoms (particularly in-
creased irritability, edginess, or agitation following antidepressant use) are not taken
as sufficient for diagnosis of a hypomanic episode, nor necessarily indicative of a bi-
polar diathesis.
Major Depressive Episode
A. Five (or more) of the following symptoms have been present during the same 2-week