A symptom of bipolar disorder, hypomania is a condition of mild mania in which a person's mood changes to one of unusual euphoria, elation, sleeplessness and other characteristics. According to Help Guide, people in hypomanic states feel joyous, energetic and productive; yet hypomania can result in poor and destructive decisions. The mood of a hypomanic state is commonly unconnected to anything in a person's life and can last for months.
Emotional or Physical Trauma
The onset of hypomania may be preceded by the death of a loved one, the loss of a significant relationship or a life-threatening injury. Generally the condition develops without any predisposing factors. According to Help Guide, stressful life events can prompt bipolar disorder or hypomania and cause manic episodes; however, manic behavior can also be associated with giving birth to a child or the use of antidepressant medications. Patients may experience intense bouts of depression brought on by severe physical health issues, stressors from psychosocial stimuli and dependency on psychoactive drugs. Emotional trauma can lead a person to develop depressive tendencies.
Heredity
Relatives of patients with hypomania have a higher incidence of the disorder than that seen in the general population, and the condition is highest in relatives on the maternal side. The more closely two people are related, the more likely they are to develop hypomania. According to the Centre for Genetics Education, individuals in the general population have a 1 to 2 percent chance of developing bipolar disorder at some point in their lifetimes. Race, culture, and socioeconomic status have no bearing on this incidence. In identical twins, the development of bipolar disorder in one twin translates to a 40 to 70 percent chance of the other twin having the disorder.
Biochemical Imbalance
Physicians do not know whether biochemical changes cause mood swings or are a result of them, but they act in concert together. Normal brain activity involves chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters that carry nerve impulses from neuron to neuron. Patients with hypomania and other mood disorders have a deficiency in the brain's ability to process particular neurotransmitters. Generally, antidepressant drugs are successful at controlling neurotransmitter complexities. According to the Mayo Clinic, imbalanced hormones may also play a part in the development of bipolar disorder.
