Guide
Guide | Reference

13  Affect and Mood Experiences

This chapter starts the Atlas: patient-near descriptions of experience before labeling. Most useful when clarifying phenomenology.

13.1 Summary

  • Shifts in emotional tone, intensity, or range that shape how a person feels, thinks, and functions.

13.2 Patient-Language Phrases

  • “I feel empty or numb.”
  • “Nothing feels enjoyable anymore.”
  • “My mood swings fast.”
  • “I feel unusually energized and wired.”

13.3 Core Features

  • Sadness, emptiness, or anhedonia.
  • Irritability or emotional lability.
  • Elevated or expansive mood with increased drive.
  • Emotional numbing or shutdown.

13.4 Boundary Markers

  • What it is: sustained or recurrent mood states that affect function.
  • What it is not: brief, proportional reactions to clear events.

13.5 Quick Structure

  • Variants / Spectrum
    • Low mood with loss of interest.
    • Irritable or mixed mood states.
    • Elevated mood with increased energy and reduced sleep.
    • Emotional flattening or detachment.
  • Severity (0-4)
    • 0: Typical mood range and reactivity.
    • 1: Mild shifts, limited impact.
    • 2: Moderate, persistent, impacts function.
    • 3: Severe, marked impairment or risk.
    • 4: Extreme, disabling or unsafe.
  • Time-course
    • Episodic mood changes.
    • Chronic low mood or blunted affect.
    • Cyclic or seasonal shifts.
  • Functional impact
    • Work/school: reduced performance or overactivity.
    • Relationships: withdrawal, conflict, or instability.
    • Self-care: disrupted routine, sleep, or appetite.
  • Developmental expression
    • Childhood: irritability or withdrawal.
    • Adolescence: mood lability, risk-taking, sleep shifts.
    • Late life: somatic focus, grief overlap.
  • Cultural/context notes
    • Mood expression varies by culture and context.
    • Grief and loss processes can mimic low mood.