Irritability in Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Irritability is common in children and adolescents presenting with mood and anxiety disorders and was recently introduced in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) as a diagnostic category under the name of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD). The aim of this chapter is to describe the distinct phenomenology, epidemiology, and correlates of irritability in the context of bipolar disorder, DMDD, depression, and anxiety disorders. The course of irritability is episodic in bipolar disorder and depression and is commonly accompanied by elated and depressed mood, respectively. In contrast, the irritability seen in DMDD is chronic and recurrent. In anxiety disorders, the experience of irritability is usually related to the presence of the feared situation. Regardless of these differences, irritability seems to be associated with higher rates of comorbidity and greater functional impairment and may need attention in its own right.