Mood symptoms can present in different ways and may change over time. They may be recurrent and are often associated with an increased likelihood of co-occurring mental health conditions.
Certain mood disorders may also be associated with increased risk, including suicidal behavior.
What should I consider?
Consider symptoms such as:
- Depressed mood
- Anhedonia
- Irritability
- Emotional lability
- Elevated or expansive mood
- Significant shifts from baseline
Consider:
- Reduced need for sleep
- Increased energy
- Psychomotor changes
- Significant changes in goal-directed activity
Consider changes such as:
- Risk taking
- Agitation
- Increased spending
- Substance use
- Other changes in judgment or behavioral control
Consider:
- Duration
- Recurrence
- Prior mood episodes
- Age of onset
- Changes from the client's baseline
Consider symptoms or presentations such as:
- Psychosis
- Severe agitation
- Simultaneous depressive and manic symptoms
Consider:
- Suicidal ideation or behavior
- Self-harm
- Impaired judgment
- Occupational or school disruption
- Relationship challenges
Also consider:
- Substance use
- Medical conditions
- Medication effects
- Recent treatment changes
- Family psychiatric history
- Other stressors
Mood and bipolar screening tools
Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ)
The MDQ is designed for adults and screens for bipolar disorder-related symptoms. It is not a diagnostic tool.
The MDQ includes:
- 13 yes/no questions
- 2 questions addressing co-occurrence of symptoms and functional impairment
It can be self-administered or clinician-administered.
An adolescent-adapted version, MDQ-A, has also been developed and may be used with clinical judgment.
Resource: CEBC - Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ)
Hypomania Symptom Checklist (HCL-32)
The HCL-32 is an adult self-assessment of lifetime experiences of hypomanic features. It can help identify bipolar-related symptoms that may be missed through standard depression screening.