What core features and duration define a manic episode in bipolar I disorder?

What core features and duration define a manic episode in bipolar I disorder?

• A. Depressed mood lasting two weeks with low energy.
• B. Abnormally elevated, expansive, or irritable mood with increased energy/goal-directed activity for at least 1 week (or any duration if hospitalization is required) plus at least three (or four if only irritable) additional symptoms.
• C. Hypomanic symptoms lasting 3 days with impairment.
• D. Mood swings lasting less than 24 hours.

Answer: (B)

Manic episodes require a period of abnormally elevated, expansive, or irritable mood with a noticeable increase in energy or goal-directed activity. The key is duration and the number of additional symptoms: at least one week (or any length if hospitalization is needed) plus three additional symptoms, or four if the mood is only irritable. This combination produces a distinct, high-energy state that markedly deviates from normal functioning and can lead to impairment or require hospitalization. This choice matches that pattern exactly: the mood is elevated/irritable with increased energy, lasting at least a week, and accompanied by multiple additional symptoms. By contrast, one option describes a depressive episode, another implies hypomania with too-short duration or inappropriate impairment, and the last is mood changes that are too brief to be mania.

Manic episodes require a period of abnormally elevated, expansive, or irritable mood with a noticeable increase in energy or goal-directed activity. The key is duration and the number of additional symptoms: at least one week (or any length if hospitalization is needed) plus three additional symptoms, or four if the mood is only irritable. This combination produces a distinct, high-energy state that markedly deviates from normal functioning and can lead to impairment or require hospitalization.

This choice matches that pattern exactly: the mood is elevated/irritable with increased energy, lasting at least a week, and accompanied by multiple additional symptoms. By contrast, one option describes a depressive episode, another implies hypomania with too-short duration or inappropriate impairment, and the last is mood changes that are too brief to be mania.