What Are The Sp3cifiers For Mood Disorders

Question 1

What are specifiers?

Answer 1

➢ Used for depressive and bipolar-related disorders to provide further description of mood episodes
▪ Example: “MDD with melancholic features”
▪ A patient may have more than 1 specifier (or none)

Question 2

What are the examples of mood specifiers?

Answer 2

Select Examples of Specifiers
▪ With melancholic features
▪ With atypical features
▪ With psychotic features
       ▪ mood-congruent
       ▪ mood incongruent
▪ With catatonia
▪ With peripartum onset
▪ With seasonal pattern
▪ With rapid cycling

Question 3

What are melancholic features?

Answer 3

•Used for depressive episodes characterized by symptoms such as:
▪ Severe anhedonia, lack of mood reactivity, profound despondency and guilt
▪ Depression worse in the morning
▪ Early-morning awakenings
▪ Significant appetite loss

Question 4

What are “atypical features”?

Answer 4

Used for depressive episodes characterized by symptoms such as:
▪ Weight increase 
▪ Sleep increase
▪ Mood reactivity
▪ Leaden paralysis

Question 5

What are the psychotic features of a mood disorder?

Answer 5

•Used for depressive or manic episodes characterized by hallucinations and/or delusions

▪ With mood-congruent psychotic features: The content of delusions/hallucinations is consistent with typical themes of that mood state (depression/mania)

▪ With mood-incongruent psychotic features: The content of delusions/ hallucinations does NOT involve typical themes of that mood state (depression/mania)

Question 6

Give examples of “with psychotic features” examples

Answer 6

Example 1
Mood State: manic (euphoric)
Psychotic Content:
 Manic (euphoric)
Auditory hallucinations
(“rotting”, “evil”, “deserves to die”)

Example 2
Mood State: depressed
Psychotic Content:

Depressed
Auditory hallucinations
(“rotting”, “evil”, “deserves to die”

Question 7

What is catatonia?

Answer 7

With Catatonia
•Used for depressive episodes or manic episodes characterized by psychomotor symptoms such as:

▪ Mutism
▪ Immobility
▪ Waxy flexibility
▪ Stereotypies
▪ Other odd posturing

Question 8

What is “with peri-partum onset”?

Answer 8

•Used for depressive or bipolar disorders in which the mood episodes onset during pregnancy or within 4 weeks post-delivery

Question 9

What is “with seasonal pattern”?

Answer 9

•Used for depressive or bipolar disorders that show a consistent temporal relationship between time of year and the mood episode

Question 10

What is “with rapid cycling”?

Answer 10

•Used for bipolar disorders in which >4 mood episodes occur per year (a mood episode could be
mania, hypomania, or depression)