Which term best describes a mood episode with abnormally elevated mood lasting at least one week?

• A. Hypomania
• B. Cyclothymia
• C. Mania
• D. Major depressive episode

Answer: (C)

Mania is the term that fits an episode of abnormally elevated mood lasting at least one week. In mania, the mood is not just elevated but abnormally elevated or irritable, with increased energy or goal-directed activity and other features (such as reduced need for sleep, pressured speech, racing thoughts, or risky behavior) that last most of the day, nearly every day, for at least a week or until hospitalization occurs. This duration criterion distinguishes mania from hypomania, which also involves elevated mood but lasts at least four days and does not cause marked impairment or require hospitalization. Cyclothymia involves long‑standing, subthreshold mood fluctuations, not meeting full criteria for mania or major depressive episodes, and a major depressive episode centers on depressed mood rather than elevated mood. So the best match for an elevated mood lasting at least a week is mania.