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In order to receive this diagnosis, a mental health professional or physician must first determine that a general medical condition is present. This, of course, may already be established if a person with a medical disorder seeks treatment for problems with his or her mood.
Having clinical depression is not a normal part of coping with a medical condition. In fact, the presence of clinical depression can complicate a person's recovery from a medical condition. One problem is that having a mood disorder along with a serious medical condition can increase the risk of a person attempting and completing suicide. The greatest risk of suicide is related to the more chronic, painful, and incurable illnesses such as spinal cord injury, head injury, AIDS, malignant cancer, etc.
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Diagnosis of Mood Disorder Due to a General Medical Condition Summarized from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- Fourth Edition A. A person has significant disturbance in mood that includes either (or both):
C. Another disorder does not better explain the mood disturbance. D. The mood condition is not present only when a person is delerious. E. The symptoms are a cause of great distress or difficulty in functioning at home, work, or other important areas. |
Possible specifiers used to describe the mood:
With Depressive Features: A person has depressed mood, but his/her symptoms are not enough to meet criteria for a major depressive episode.
With Major Depressive-Like Episode: A person's depressive symptoms meet criteria for a major depressive episode.
With Manic Features: A person's symptoms are primarily euphoric, heightened, or irritable.
With Mixed Features: A person has symptoms that are both depressive and manic and neither are dominant.
(Show descriptions of "specifiers" in a new browser window)
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