last updated 3/25/24
Bipolar II is the name given to the yellow and orange region. Technically, it means “depression with hypomanic episodes”.
It’s not “mania”
The name is a problem. Here’s why.
- There are no dividing lines on this Mood Spectrum, no point of obvious changes in symptoms or treatment response.
- Hypomania is not just seen in Bipolar II. Hypomania itself forms a spectrum from none to obvious (see the Hypomania page for examples and details).
- People in the yellow/orange region of the Mood Spectrum spend much more time depressed than hypomanic; and hypomania can be so subtle it’s hardly noticed, or not noticed at all.
- The experience of untreated “Bipolar II” is much more like the experience of untreated depression than it is “bipolar”.
- People hear the term Bipolar II and think “I know what mania is, and I know I don’t have that. So this “bipolar” diagnosis is wrong.” They end up getting treatment for depression instead — usually an antidepressant, which often makes things worse. So the very name Bipolar II is not helping; it’s doing the opposite.
Treatment
Use “mood stabilizers with antidepressant effects”. Because the goal is to (A) get out of the depression you’re in, but also to (B) prevent the next episode! Or at least not make a next episode more likely.
These “mood stabilizers with antidepressant effects are the main ingredients in treating the middle of the mood spectrum. Take that link below for the next steps. Or pause for a classic description of hypomania. Or see lots of detail about how Bipolar II fits in the mood spectrum (from my old site. Wow, I used to just go on and on…).