To explore aspects of prestige in the bipolar disorders.

Conceptualisation around bipolar spectrum disorders is in its infancy, in particular with relation to their neurobiological and evolutionary underpinnings. While research has privileged proximate causation, a separate, nascent dialogue in relation to the ‘aboutness’ of affective syndromes exists. Arguably, affective disorders can be considered in relation to the social group phenomena of self-esteem and prestige. A conceptualisation of Panksepp’s PLAY and Thayer’s energetic arousal systems combined- Hedonic Energetic Social Engagement- can be invoked as a mechanism for bipolarity. This has been acted upon by prestige competition to create a selection pressure for prestige. In this model, bipolar spectrum conditions evolved as a by-product of this process.