

Are entrepreneurs hypomanic? - codeismightier
http://infoproc.blogspot.com/2009/07/optimism.html

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fsm
Hypomania is pretty much a temporary phase in bipolar/schizoaffective
disorders. There isn't really such a thing as being in a perpetual state of
hypomania. The debilitating effects of the other aspects of these illnesses
(psychosis, mood swings into depression, etc) are likely to greatly outweigh
the short-lived advantages of being in a mild state of hypomania.

In the real world, this means the visionary plans and energy levels
experienced during hypomania are most likely to be washed away in a tide of
depression, or lead to the sufferer doing something irrational like joining a
pyramid marketing scheme. There will be exceptions, particularly in creative
fields or environments where the sufferer is able to coast or be supported
through the negative cycles. Ever work with one of those people who slacks off
and fails to meet their schedule most of the time, but occasionally delivers
something incredible out of nowhere in the space of a few days?

So, are entrepreneurs hypomanic? The real lesson of this article is to beware
of how easy it is to confuse DSM-style bullet point symptom lists with medical
diagnoses.

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ricaurte
To be "normal", you are by definition average, and to achieve anything, you
need to be "above average" in some way. If you're "above average", then you
must by definition be "abnormal". Considering anything "abnormal" is a disease
in psychiatry, then anyone that achieves anything must have some type of
psychiatric disease. :)

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donaq
Wellll, not to nitpick, entrepreneurs aren't necessarily achievers.

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ricaurte
And not to nitpick as well, but I never said that entrepreneurs necessarily
were. :)

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ulf
"* He is witty and gregarious.

* His confidence can make him charismatic and persuasive.

* He is also prone to making enemies and feels he is persecuted by those who do not accept his vision and mission."

hm, this reads like the next line should be "he is the most interesting man in
the world"...

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biohacker42
The feelings of specialness combined with frequent impulsive decisions with
often bad consequences and the easy enemy making and feelings of
persecution... those remind me of sociopathy.

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aufreak
A sample size of ONLY 10 CEOS (not all entrepreneurs are CEOs and 30 is a
respectable sample size), no control group to see if just about anyone will
answer "yeah, that about describes me" to the same questions, no control
questions to see if the entrepreneurs will answer "yes, that's me" to stuff
that is not hypomanic. What kind of conclusions can you draw from such a
study?

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edw519
Quite a few of these remind me of myself at work except, "He acts out
sexually." Where do I sign up for that one?

