The psychiatrist confirmed her early diagnosis, calling it Bipolar II, a less severe form of the disorder. The diagnosis is given to patients who have had at least one episode of depression and one episode of hypomania, a state in which a person may have a reduced need for sleep, inflated self-esteem, and unremitting energy. Unlike mania, hypomania (meaning “less than mania”) doesn’t necessarily impair a person’s functioning—sometimes it even temporarily improves it.