Mood
Overview
- Mood is the patient's subjective assessment of their emotional status.
- Ask about their mood, and whether they have been happy or sad over recent months.
Happiness
Interpretation
- Euphoria / Ecstatic / Elevated mood: exaggerated positive moodMania, intoxication
- Euthymia: normal mood, neither depressed nor elevated.
- Dysphoria: feelings of sadness.Classically associated with depression
Reactivity of Mood
Interpretation
- Reactive mood - mood brightens when good events occur.Normal behaviour
- Non-reactive mood - mood does not brighten at all, even when very good events occur.Associated with depressive disorder
Irritability
- Explosive - outbursts of anger that are disproportionate to the situation.
- Irritable - agitation with minimal stimulus.
- Calm - lack of agitation.
Causes of Irritability
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Mania
- Delirium
- Dementia
- Psychosis
- Intoxication
- Assessment of irritability is more useful in the context of assessing risk than for diagnosis.
Stability of Mood
- Stable: mood does not fluctuate
- Labile: mood fluctuates spontaneously, with time of day or with environment
Causes of Labile Mood
- Mania
- Depression
- Psychosis
- Borderline personality disorder
- Delirium
- Post-stroke disorder
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