Emotional symptoms include anger, anxiety, disgust, excitement, fear, happiness, joy and sadness, to name a few. Emotional symptoms can be positive or negative and can come from within you or be a reaction to your environment. Emotional changes can be normal, temporary responses to events; however, disproportionate, extreme, persistent or unstable emotional reactions may indicate an underlying disorder.
Emotional symptoms can cause legal or financial problems, relationship difficulties, and problems at home, school or work. They can be associated with aggression, agitation, feelings of emptiness, guilt, helplessness and hopelessness, and loss of pleasure. Alternatively, feelings of enthusiasm, grandiosity and hopefulness may be present. Emotional symptoms can lead to inappropriate behaviors, increased accidents, poor judgment, self-harm, violence, and suicide.
Abnormal emotional symptoms are associated with several psychiatric illnesses, including anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, dysthymic disorder, major depression, postpartum depression, seasonal affective disorder, and substance abuse. Emotional symptoms can also be seen with personality disorders, such as borderline personality disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. Furthermore, behavioral disorders and conditions, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), can also have emotional symptoms.