The nurse is assessing a patient in the manic phase of bipolar disorder. While assessing the patient, the nurse can expect to observe:

Explanation

•Mania is a distinct period during which mood is abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable.

•At least three of the following symptoms accompany the manic episodes: inflated self-esteem or grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, pressured speech, flight of ideas, distractibility, increased involvement in goal-directed acitivities, or psychomotor agitation.

•Dysphoria is an unpleasant mood or feeling of hopelessness or unhappiness. Dysthymia is persistent depression that has symptoms such as fatigue and low self-esteem.

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