Altered mood Flashcards
What is the male:female ratio of people affected by depression?
M:F 1:2
How long does someone need to have been experiencing symtpoms to be diagnosed with depression?
2 weeks
What are the three core symtpoms of depression?
- Low mood
- Anhedonia
- Anergia
What is anhedonia?
Inability to feel pleasure from normally pleasurable activities
What is anergia?
Abnormal lack of energy
Other than the three core symptoms, what are the other symptoms of depression?
Loss of confidence/self esteem
Self-reproach/excessive guilt
Recurrent thoughts death, suicide, suicidal behaviour
Reduced concentration
Change in psychomotor activity
Sleep disturbance
Change in appetite
What are the symptoms of the somatic syndrome of depression, and how many are needed for diagnosis of somatic syndrome?
Marked loss of interest or pleasure in activities that are normally pleasurable
Lack of emotional reactions to events or activities that normally produce an emotional response
Waking in the morning 2 hours or more before the usual time
Depression worse in the morning (diurnal variation)
Objective evidence of marked psychomotor retardation or agitation (remarked on or reported by other people)
Marked loss of appetite
Weight loss (5 % or more of body weight in the past month)
Marked loss of libido
Need 4 or more for diagnosis
How might someone with depressions’ speech be affected?
Reduced rate
Lowered in pitch
Reduced in volume
Reduced intonation (monotonous)
Increased speech latency
Limited content
How might someone with depressions’ thinking be affected?
Slow thought, poverty of thought
Negative cognitive distortions
Obsessions, ruminations
Thoughts of death, excessive guilt
Delusions –usually mood congruent: guilt, nihilism, hypochondriasis
How would someone with depressions’ perception be noted on mental state examination?
Hallucinations in any modality - usually mood-congruent
Auditory most common- second person and derogatory
Illusions
How might someone with depressions’ cognition be affected?
Subjectively- slow thinking, poor memory
Objectively- deficits in working memory, planning and attention
“Pseudodementia”
What is mixed anxiety and depression?
Symptoms of anxiety and depression not significant enough to justify individual diagnosis
Most common diagnosis
What is dysthymia?
Persistent mild depression: tired and depressed for months at a time but usually able to cope with the demands of life
What are the features of mania?
Elevated mood
Increased energy
Overactivity
Pressure of speech
Decreased need for sleep
Disinhibition
Distractability
Inflated self esteem
Grandiose ideas
Taking risks
Overspending
Perceptual disturbance
Irritability/suspicion
What is hypomania?
A mild form of mania, marked by elevation and hyperactivity
