Hypomania Checklist (HCL-33) Test

People who notice recurring shifts in energy, sleep, confidence, sociability, or impulse control may use the Hypomania Checklist (HCL-33) Test to organize those experiences against their usual pattern. Used as a hypomania screening questionnaire, it is intended for self-reflection by someone wondering whether activated periods may be relevant to a history of recurrent depression or possible bipolar-spectrum symptoms. The result offers a structured starting point for reviewing mood changes.

What This Assessment Explores

Changes from a person’s usual state are central. Items cover sleep, energy, confidence, activity, sociability, thinking speed, mood, irritability, arguments, risk-taking, spending, substances, medication, gambling, eating, and other behavior changes.

A single result is reported for this HCL-33 questionnaire: the Hypomania Scale, scored 0-33. It assesses hypomanic symptoms, screens for bipolar II disorder, and helps differentiate recurrent depression from bipolar disorder. The displayed bands are Low likelihood (0-16) and Elevated likelihood (17-33).

The main themes represented by the questions are:

• Sleep and activation show whether reduced rest accompanies increased energy or activity.
• Social and cognitive change captures confidence, contact, creativity, faster thoughts, and distractibility.
• Mood and interpersonal strain reflects optimism, impatience, irritability, arguments, or tiring behavior.
• Risk and reward behavior covers spending, driving, substances, medication, gambling, sex, and overeating.

Methodology and Evidence Base

Each item asks whether a change is present compared with usual experience, with Yes or No as response options. Each response is recorded as Yes or No, and the displayed result summarizes reported hypomanic experiences. Memory, current mood, self-awareness, and willingness to disclose can influence self-report.

The evidence base includes HCL-33 (Feng et al., 2016), which supports this self-completed screening approach. Earlier HCL-32 research established the related format, while Mosolov et al. (2021) studied a Russian HCL-33 version in recurrent depression. Hantouche, Angst, and Akiskal (2003) examined hypomanic, cyclothymic, and bipolar-spectrum traits. This online questionnaire is conceptually consistent with those sources, not a direct adaptation of one study; their findings should not be transferred without documented version equivalence.

Interpretation should consider the timing, duration, distinctiveness, and consequences of mood changes. For a person considering a bipolar II screening test, an elevated result is one part of that review. Sleep loss, stress, substances, medication changes, and personality variation can affect answers, so persistent or impairing patterns warrant broader assessment.