Energy

Energy in the psychobiological sense is the level of activation of the brain–body system — how awake, driven, accelerated, and emotionally charged we feel and behave. It includes wakefulness, speed of thought, intensity of emotion, and readiness for action. Energy is distinct from mood or motivation. We may feel confident or distressed at many energy levels. High energy can exist alongside emotional pain or impaired judgment. In bipolar disorder and hypomanic personality, energy regulation is unusually sensitive, making surges or crashes more likely in response to sleep loss, circadian disruption, or reward cues. In sum: energy describes how “revved up” or “powered down” the system is, not whether that state is pleasant, healthy, or intentional.