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HYPOMANIA
Broadcast starting week of March 15, 2006

This week on The Infinite Mind, with host Dr. Peter Kramer, we’re talking about hypomania, a symptom of bipolar disorder that starts out as exhilaration but can spiral out of control. On the plus side, it’s characterized by quickness of thought, high energy, and grand ambitions. But it’s also accompanied by irritability and an inflated ego. Broadcast journalist Jane Pauley tells us how hypomania made her motivated and vivacious, but so impulsive that she bought a cottage on a whim. Psychiatrists Dr. Sheri Johnson and Dr. Ronald Kessler discuss hypomania and bipolar disorder, and why people who experience hypomania can seem like creative visionaries. Ben Bardy describes his high-flying hypomanic dream of building an amusement park. Best-selling author and psychologist Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison tells us about hypomania and exuberance in her own life, as well as the lives of some of America’s most beloved historical figures. Also offering a personal testament is Chris Louviere, a bipolar folk singer and guitarist who performs his song “Benzo Train.” Andy Behrman, author of “Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania,” reminisces about his years in New York City, America’s mecca of hypomania. And psychologist Dr. John Gartner and psychiatrist Dr. Peter Whybrow ponder the idea that hypomania is a natural way of life for Americans, and discuss whether its dominance in our culture is making us more productive or burning us out. With commentary from John Hockenberry. 

Dr. Peter Kramer begins with an essay describing how hypomania can be rewarded in the workplace – and in our culture. Life moves fast in America. Is it a nation shaped by hypomanics, for hypomanics? And should we encourage that kind of lifestyle? .Kramer wonders whether hypomania is really characteristic of our country, and if so, whether it should be a source of pride or potential danger.

To help us see the issue from inside, we hear from TV newswoman Jane Pauley, who experienced hypomania – and discovered a latent tendency toward bipolar disorder – after being put on steroids and anti-depressants for an unrelated case of hives. As Pauley writes in her memoir "Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue", her hypomania made her vivacious, ambitious, and so full of ideas that she even thought about starting her own line of clothing. She also found herself buying a house she didn't need, not to mention all the accoutrements to fill it. But toward the end of her first (and last) hypomanic episode, her train of thought turned more ominous, and she found herself identifying with a formerly suicidal teenage girl she had interviewed. That, she says, was when her doctor decided things had gone far enough.

To better understand what Pauley was experiencing – and to get an idea of how common it is – we speak with Dr. Sheri Johnson, a psychologist at the University of Miami, and Dr. Ronald Kessler, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. Although official statistics find bipolar disorder in just one percent of the population, Dr. Kessler says it’s probably much more common, affecting more than four percent of Americans. The reason for the disparity, he says, is that the official numbers don’t include mild cases of bipolar disorder, cases like Pauley’s that are drug-induced, or people who experience hypomania with no corresponding depression. Dr. Johnson tells us that people across the hypomanic spectrum are naturally energetic and creative, but not necessarily smarter than average – they just do more with the brains they have. Dr. Johnson tests Dr. Kessler for specific traits as she would a patient, asking him about hypothetical and extreme goals he might have, such as making a movie or being named to a magazine’s list of the sexiest people alive. (He fails the test.)

Ben Bardy, on the other hand, would almost certainly earn a high score. The Infinite Mind’s Bill Lichtenstein spoke with Bardy in 1991 for the award-winning documentary “Manic Depression: Voices of an Illness.” Bardy, who has bipolar disorder, said he was in a state of hypomania during the interview. In a clip from that conversation, we hear him telling Lichtenstein about his grand vision to build a $10 million amusement park in Cleveland with unmistakable confidence despite admitting that he has just 85 cents to spend on it.

Another person who’s experienced the joys and troubles of hypomania – and also studied the condition as a researcher – is Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University. She joins Dr. Peter Kramer to talk about some of America’s merriest figures, from President Teddy Roosevelt to biologist James Watson, as detailed in her new book "Exuberance: The Passion for Life." Jamison explains the difference between exuberance and hypomania, and notes that sometimes the distinction can seem arbitrary. She also tells us that many exuberant and even hypomanic people have resilience built into their temperaments – and that the ability to bounce back after failure may be the key to success. Finally, she talks about experiencing hypomania in her own life, and how difficult it is to accept that enthusiasm can sometimes be pathological.

Then, folk singer and guitarist Chris Louviere joins us to tell his own story of bipolar disorder and to play the song “Benzo Train” from his new album, appropriately titled “Hypomania.” Louviere’s mother suffered from misdiagnosed bipolar disorder, and he explains how fear of a similar predicament kept him out of treatment for years – even though he knew he had inherited his mother’s illness. In “Benzo Train,” he sings about his attempts to slow down his racing thoughts, albeit with the wrong drugs. For more information on Chris Louviere, his album, and his family history of bipolar disorder, visit his website.

Next, we pay a visit to America’s most hypomanic city -- New York. The Infinite Mind’s Mary Carmichael describes early research that found high rates of bipolar disorder in cities. She speaks with Andy Behrman, author of “Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania.” Behrman moved to Manhattan with undiagnosed bipolar disorder; his time there included 22-hour days and manic nights as a go-go boy and gossip columnist. New York, he says, really was the city that never slept – and with his urban lifestyle egging him on into a state of mania, he didn’t sleep much either. You can learn more about Andy Behrman at his website.

After hearing from several people who have experienced mania and hypomania firsthand, we discuss whether a culture can also exhibit signs of the condition – and whether it drives productivity, or drives people to exhaustion. First, Dr. Peter Kramer speaks with Dr. John Gartner, who sees hypomania as one of the major reasons America is a successful nation. Gartner believes that the country’s founders had a high proportion of genes for bipolar disorder and that they passed those genes down to us. As a result, he says, America is a society that’s hard-working, excitable, and just a bit eccentric. Hypomania, he says, is often found in charismatic leaders and entrepreneurs. As explained in his new book "The Hypomanic Edge," Gartner also diagnoses hypomania in famous historical figures, including Alexander Hamilton, the Puritans, and the “wild character” Christopher Columbus.

Not everyone who compares our culture to hypomania is happy about it. Dr. Peter Whybrow, head of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California- Los Angeles, tells Dr. Peter Kramer that American life has gotten so fast-paced that we’re due for a crash. In his new book, "American Mania: When More Is Not Enough," Whybrow links together seemingly unrelated points – the dot-com bubble, the increasing length of the average workday, the “Starbucks phenomenon” – as evidence that Americans are living a lifestyle disturbingly similar to mania. Having high energy is great, he says, but we need to do a better job of constraining ourselves.

Finally, The Infinite Mind’s John Hockenberry worries that maybe this show is cutting a little close to the bone for his taste.

Heard on this week's program:

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