Proposals in the upcoming DSM-5 psychiatric manual for diagnosing "mixed" mood states may be muddled, according to a new paper.
The mixed state - the name alluding to a mix between depression and mania - has traditionally been viewed (more or less) as combining the dysphoria of depression with the energy of mania. Anger, agitation, restlessness and so forth.
I've been depressed and I know only too well the difference between that "active" depression and the "inactive" kind; if I had to choose, I'd always go for the latter, because at least you're in less danger of doing or saying something you later regret.
However, in the proposals for DSM-5, "mixed" episodes as such will be abolished. Instead, a depressive episode will have "mixed features" if it is associated with at least 3 of 7 symptoms normally seen in (hypo)mania. But - and here's the key novelty - those 7 ...
