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Mental Status Exam
 
 

Mood

March 4th, 2023
 
 
 
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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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