[3] The depressive and hypomanic symptoms in cyclothymia last for variable amounts of time due to the unstable and reactive nature of the disorder.
[1] Most people with cyclothymia are generally fatigued and tend to sleep frequently and for long periods of time.
[1] In contrast to a regular manic state that would be associated with bipolar I, symptoms in the hypomanic phase generally occur in a less severe form.
First-degree relatives of a bipolar I individual may have a higher risk of cyclothymic disorder than the general population.
[10] Improper diagnosis may lead some people with cyclothymia to be treated for a comorbid disorder rather than having their cyclothymic tendencies addressed.
[10] Cyclothymia is often not recognized by the affected individual or medical professionals due to its ostensibly mild symptoms.
Cyclothymia is also often confused with borderline personality disorder due to their similar symptoms,[13] especially in older adolescents and young adults.
[10] Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is considered potentially effective for people diagnosed with cyclothymia.
[10] Cyclothymia is diagnosed in around fifty percent of people with depression who are evaluated in psychiatric outpatient settings.
Cyclothymia is also classified as a subtype of bipolar disorder in DSM-5, but some researchers disagree with this classification and argue that it should be primarily defined as an exaggeration of mood and emotional instability.
[10] In the past, cyclothymia has been conceptualized to include other characteristics in addition to the flux between depression and hypomania, such as mood reactivity, impulsivity, and anxiety.
Cyclothymia is typically not described in research studies or diagnosed in clinical settings, making it less recognizable and less understood by professionals.
Additionally, the current diagnostic criterion for cyclothymia emphasizes that symptoms are persistent, which suggests that they are enduring traits rather than a psychological state, thus, it has been argued that it should be diagnosed as a personality disorder.
Since the symptoms tend to overlap with personality disorders, the validity and distinction between these two diagnostic categories has been debated.
[16] These issues prevent consensus on the definition of cyclothymia and its relationship with other mental disorders among researchers and clinicians.
This lack of consensus on an operational definition and symptom presentation is especially pronounced with children and adolescents because the diagnostic criteria have not been adequately adapted to take into account their developmental level.
[18] Actor Burgess Meredith wrote of his cyclothymia in his 1994 autobiography So Far, So Good, describing the violent mood swings he experienced due to the disorder.
[20] Cyclothymia is derived from the Greek word κυκλοθυμία (from κῦκλος, kyklos, "circle"[21] and θυμός, thymos, "mood, emotion").