Mental Health History Flashcards

1
Q

What questions could you ease if someone is presenting with depression ?

A

How are you today ?
How have you been feeling recently ?

Ok can you tell me anymore about that ?

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2
Q

What are the screening questions for depression ?

A

During the past month have you :

Felt low, depressed or hopeless ?
Had little interest or pleasure in doing things ?

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3
Q

What are some biological symptoms to ask about for depression ?

A

Sleep - waking up early or difficulty getting to sleep
Low mood - recently, any particular times of the day, does it vary ?
Any appetite changes ?

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4
Q

What are some cognitive symptoms to ask about for depression ?

A

Reduced concentration - do you get distracted easily ?
Negative perception of current / future situation - how do you feel about your current situation or about the future
Negative perception of self - how do you feel about yourself, do you blame yourself a lot ?

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5
Q

What to ask to assess suicide risk ?

A

When people feel down and depressed, they can feel that life is no longer worth living. Have you ever felt like this ?

Have you had any thoughts of taking your life ?
How often do you think about this ?
Have you ever thought about how you would do this ?

Have you made any plans to end your life ?

Have you ever tried to end your life ?

What things stop you from ending your life ?

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6
Q

What can be asked about in the social history for depression ?

A

Type of accommodation
Personal support network
Has their mood affected friendships ?
Are they in a relationship ? Has this been affected ?
Smoking ?
Alcohol ?
Recreational drug use ?

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7
Q

What can be asked about to see if a person has insight into depression ?

A

What do you think is the cause of the problem ?
Do you think you have a problem at the moment ?
Do you feel like you need help with your problem ?

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8
Q

What can be asked about when someone is having auditory hallucinations ?

A

Do you ever hear noises or voices when there is nobody there ?
Can you hear them in your ears or are they in your mind ?
How many voices are there ?
Do you recognise the voices ?
What do they say ?
Do they tell you to do things ?
Do they talk to you or about you ?
Are they present all the time ?

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9
Q

What is a somatic hallucination ?

A

A perception of being touched in the absence of a sensory stimulus. This can feel like your being touched, assaulted or that insects are beneath the skin.

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10
Q

What are some thought abnormalities ?

A

Thought blocking
Thought withdrawal
Thought insertion
Thought broadcasting

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11
Q

What to ask about for thought abnormalities ?

A

Do you feel able to think clearly ?
Do you ever experience your thoughts suddenly stopping ?
Is there anyone or anything taking thoughts out of your head ?
Are your thoughts your own ?
Is anyone putting thoughts in your head ?
Can anyone hear your thoughts ?

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12
Q

What questions are there to ask about if someone presents with delusions ?

A

Do you sometimes have thoughts that others tell you are false ?
Do you have any beliefs that aren’t shared by others you know ?
Do you ever feel that people are out to harm you ?
Do you ever feel that a specific event in the world is related to you in some way ?

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13
Q

What are some questions to ask if someone is experiencing passivity ?

A

Do you ever feel as though you are being controlled by someone or something ?
Do you ever think that someone or somebody is controlling you ?
Are your thoughts / mood/ actions under your control or is someone forcing you to behave in this way ?

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14
Q

What is examined in an MSE ?

A

Appearance and behaviour
Speech
Mood and affect
Thoughts
Perception
Insight and judgement
Risk

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15
Q

What is examined for in appearance in the MSE ?

A

Personal hygiene
Clothing
Stigmata of disease
Weight
Any objects around them

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16
Q

What is examined for in behaviour in the MSE ?

A

Engagement and rapport
Eye contact
Facial expression
Body language
Psychomotor activity - restlessness, paucity of movement and delayed responses
Abnormal movements

17
Q

What is examined for in speech in the MSE ?

A

Rate of speech
Quantity of speech
Tone of speech
Volume
Fluency and rhythm

18
Q

What is examined for in mood in the MSE ?

A

Low mood
Anxious
Anger
Euphoric
Guilty
Apathic

19
Q

What is examined for in affect in the MSE ?

A

Apparent emotion - sadness, anger, hostility and euphoria
Range and mobility of affect
Intensity - flat or heightened

20
Q

What is examined for in thought form in the MSE ?

A

Speed of thoughts
Flow and coherence of thoughts - loose associations, flight of ideas, neologism, word salad

21
Q

What is examined for in thought content in the MSE ?

A

Delusions
Obsessions
Compulsions
Overvalued ideas
Suicidal thoughts

22
Q

What are some examples of questions which can be used to screen for thought content abnormalities ?

A

What’s been on your mind recently ?
Are you worried about anything ?
Do you sometimes have thoughts that others say are false ?
Do you ever feel like others are out to harm you ?

23
Q

What is examined for in thought possession in the MSE ?

A

Thought insertion
Thought withdrawal
Thought broadcasting

24
Q

What is examined for in perception in the MSE ?

A

Hallucinations
Illusions - the misinterpretation of an external stimulus
Pseudo - hallucinations - the same as a hallucination but the patient knows it’s not real

25
Q

What are some examples of questions which can be used to screen for perceptual abnormalities ?

A

Do you ever see, hear, smell or taste things that are not really there ?
Did you feel that this was real at the time ?
Do you ever feel like the world around you its real ?

26
Q

What is examined for in cognition in the MSE ?

A

Orientated in time, place and person
Attention span and concentration levels
Short term memory is like

27
Q

What examples of questions are used to assess insight in the MSE ?

A

What do you think the cause of the problem is ?
Do you think you have a problem at the moment ?
Do you feel you need help with your problem ?