Cyclothymia is characterized by

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Cyclothymia is characterized by

Cyclothymia involves chronic mood instability with mood swings that combine periods of depressive symptoms and periods with elation or hypomanic-like symptoms, but these subthreshold states never meet the full criteria for a major depressive episode or a hypomanic/manic episode. This pattern persists for a lengthy period (at least two years in adults, one year in youth), causing distress or impairment, yet the episodes are milder than those seen in bipolar I or II disorders. That combination of persistent fluctuation and subthreshold episodes is why this description fits cyclothymia best. The other options describe either full manic or major depressive episodes, a consistently normal mood, or depressive episodes only, none of which capture the chronic, subthreshold fluctuations characteristic of cyclothymia.

Cyclothymia involves chronic mood instability with mood swings that combine periods of depressive symptoms and periods with elation or hypomanic-like symptoms, but these subthreshold states never meet the full criteria for a major depressive episode or a hypomanic/manic episode. This pattern persists for a lengthy period (at least two years in adults, one year in youth), causing distress or impairment, yet the episodes are milder than those seen in bipolar I or II disorders. That combination of persistent fluctuation and subthreshold episodes is why this description fits cyclothymia best. The other options describe either full manic or major depressive episodes, a consistently normal mood, or depressive episodes only, none of which capture the chronic, subthreshold fluctuations characteristic of cyclothymia.

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