Eminence. Patients with bipolar II disorder, as well as their family members, tend to have leadership roles and prominence in journalism, media, and entertainment, fields that require interpersonal charm and eloquence. Those are common features of the “hyperthymic” temperament.
Creativity. Artists, poets, painters, and musicians who experience depression are more likely to have bipolar II disorder than MDD.
Biographical instability and/or excess. This is exemplified by going to 3 colleges and not necessarily obtaining a degree, or by frequently changing one’s line of work or city of residence. A classic example is a professor of medicine who also practices law and regularly sings in the opera, or a physician who is board-certified in 3 distinct specialties.
Activity junkies. Examples include a person with boundless energy, such as a novelist who writes 3 books a year or a professional who regularly works 12 hours a day without getting exhausted but seeks treatment for depressive episodes.
Multiple substances of abuse, such as nicotine, alcohol, stimulants, and opiates.
Continue to: Multiple psychiatric comorbidities