APPRAISALS OF AND RESPONSES TO HYPOMANIC STATES IN BIPOLAR AFFECTIVE DISORDER
There has been an increased interest in the last decade in studying the cognitive processes that could explain the development and maintenance of bipolar affective disorder. Further research is needed to understand the interpretations people with bipolar affective disorder make about their energetic, positive moods and the mechanisms used to regulate their mood states. This study investigates the presence of extreme, personalised beliefs about internal states and cognitive strategies of positive mood regulation amongst remitted clinical participants with a diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder. The inter-relation between positive and negative appraisals of energetic, agitated states on one hand and enhancing as well downregulating positive mood strategies on the other hand is also explored. Remitted bipolar participants (N= 30) were compared with healthy controls (N= 27) on measures of interpretations of hypomanic states (Hypomanic Attitudes and Positive Predictions Inventory, Mansell & Sadhani, 2007) and ruminative responses in regards to positive mood (Response to Positive Affect Questionnaire; Feldman, Joorman & Johnson, 2008). Levels of current mood at the time of data collection were assessed. Results indicated that people with a diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder, in a remitted phase, showed elevated levels of positive extreme beliefs about their hypomanic states as well as higher levels of catastrophic, self-and-other critical and loss of control beliefs than people with no history of mental health difficulties. It was found that remitted bipolar affective participants are ambivalent about positive mood states, engaging in both enhancing and down-regulating positive mood strategies. Tendency to dampen positive affect was positively correlated with catastrophic and self-and-other critical beliefs about activated states. A positive association was also found between selfactivating beliefs and positive rumination strategies. The findings bring further evidence for VIII the theory driven cognitive model developed by Mansell, Morrison, Reid, Lowens & Tai, (2007), highlighting the importance of focusing in clinical practice on the interpretations people with bipolar affective disorder make about their internal states and the need to incorporate emotion regulation techniques in the treatment of this client group.
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