Twenty questions, six symptom areas, four result bands. Here is exactly what happens between clicking start and seeing your result.
The six areas
Questions are grouped into six areas: elevated mood, decreased need for sleep, grandiosity (an inflated sense of confidence or importance), racing thoughts, impulsivity, and increased energy or activity. Each area gets three or four questions, phrased around recent weeks rather than "always" or "never", since mood-episode patterns are usually described as distinct stretches of time rather than constant traits.
How answers turn into a score
Each question uses a four-point scale, from "not at all" to "most of the time". The tool adds these up into an overall score, and also reports each of the six areas separately, so you can see whether your pattern is concentrated in one or two areas (say, sleep and energy) or spread across most of them.
Reading the four result bands
- Minimal — mood, sleep, and energy came back steady, no notable cluster.
- Mild — a few elevated moments, not dominating the picture.
- Moderate — a noticeable cluster across several areas, worth raising with a professional.
- High — a strong, sustained cluster consistent with a hypomanic or manic episode pattern, where a timely conversation with a psychiatrist is recommended.
None of these bands is a diagnosis, they describe how strongly your answers matched a known pattern.
What to do with a result
Whatever your result, the most useful next step is usually the same: write down what prompted you to take the check-in, note any specific dates or stretches that stood out, and bring that to a doctor or therapist if you decide to follow up. If you scored in the moderate or high range and you are currently in crisis, contact your local emergency services or a crisis line right away rather than waiting for an appointment.