Mood Disorders:
Mood Disorders, including Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder, and Premenstrual Dysphoria, cause a great deal of personal distress and significant impairment in a person’s life. In the United States, they afflict 21% of the adult population at some point in their lives. Women are twice as likely as men to be affected by these conditions.
When Do Mood Disorders Occur?
Mood Disorders can occur at any age including in young children. However, symptoms often manifest in adolescence and young adulthood. It is common for a person to have a Mood Disorder for decades without getting diagnosed and treated. Mood Disorders also occur with other psychiatric conditions such as ADHD and Substance Use Disorders.
What Are the Common Characteristics of Mood Disorders?
Mood Disorders are characterized by major extremes in one’s emotions. Additionally, they are marked by a significant disruption in one’s sleep, appetite, sex drive, energy level, focus and concentration, memory, motivation, and ability to enjoy life. They often include extreme irritability and angry outbursts toward their loved ones and co-workers.
If left untreated, Mood Disorders invariably lead to suicidal thoughts. When the Mood Disorder has gone untreated for some time, a person can develop psychotic symptoms including hallucinations and delusions. There is usually a significant deterioration in a person’s relationships and ability to function at work.
How Is Bipolar Disorder Unique Compared to Other Mood Disorders?
There are four different types of Bipolar Disorder. Among all four types, a person’s mood can swing from one extreme to the other. Namely, one can experience wide fluctuations from depression to mania. When a person is “manic,” they are usually unable to sleep, are extremely energetic, have a euphoric mood, are extremely optimistic, and can be quite irritable and “moody.” When someone is in “mania,” they usually make sudden, extreme changes in their lives and are involved in very risky behaviors like gambling, unprotected sex, and suddenly quitting their jobs or moving.
Bipolar Disorder is frequently accompanied by substance use and ADHD. It is often tricky to diagnose someone with all these conditions because patients who are manic seldom seek help from a professional. They simply feel too good. Patients usually see a doctor only when they are depressed, if ever. It becomes critical for the doctor to make an accurate diagnosis as effective treatments vary greatly among Mood Disorders.
How Do Mood Disorders Affect the Brain?
Studies have shown that the parts of the brain that are affected in Mood Disorders include the amygdala and the orbitofrontal cortex. On brain imaging, people with these conditions have enlarged amygdalas. With repeated episodes of mood disruption, the ventricles are expanded.
Neurotransmitters, chemical signals in the brain, play an important role in Mood Disorders. Serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine are three neurotransmitters that are implicated in causing impairment.
Can Certain Medical Conditions or Other Influences Lead to Mood Disorders?
Many medical conditions can lead to Mood Disorders such as infections, auto-immune diseases, vitamin deficiencies, hormone imbalances, anemias, cancers, medications, alcohol, and illegal substances, to name a few. It is imperative to check for all these possible causes and treat for them.
While the causes of Mood Disorders are multifaceted, family and adoption studies have shown the significant role that genetics plays. These psychiatric conditions tend to run in families, over multiple generations.
In addition, stressful life changes and traumatic events in childhood are two major risk factors for the development of Mood Disorders later in life. Recent research shows that neuroimmunologic factors play a role as well.
How Do You Treat a Patient Who Has a Mood Disorder?
Making an accurate and complete diagnosis is critical to creating an individualized treatment plan. This will, in turn, lead to multiple treatment options. These options include a key role for the use of medications to treat the Mood Disorder. The use of psychiatric medications can be life transforming. Medications include antidepressants, mood stabilizers, anti-anxiety drugs, and sleep aids.
In addition, psychotherapy is often a necessary and beneficial intervention. Many options exist including interpersonal, cognitive behavioral, dialectic behavioral, mindfulness, and psycho-dynamic therapies. Research has shown them all to be very effective and, in combination with psychiatric medications, offer the best outcomes.
Lifestyle changes are critical to improvement as well. They include developing new habits to sleep nine hours a night, exercise regularly, and improve one’s nutrition. For optimal results and a rapid recovery, they are included along with medications and psychotherapy at the initial visit.
Research has shown that there is a place for newer treatment modalities. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), ketamine infusions, and psilocybin use have shown some promise to treat Mood Disorders. Research using these treatments is ongoing in clinical trials throughout the country.
In treatment-resistant situations, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is extremely effective and has shown to be lifesaving.
Is Smoking Cessation Related to Optimizing Mood as well as to Decreasing Anxiety?
Smoking cessation has been known to decrease anxiety and improve mood. This lifestyle change can be addressed in treatment using both medications and behavioral changes.
Research has shown that identifying and treating Mood Disorders early not only improves one’s quality of life and functioning but also reduces subsequent, recurring episodes. Proper diagnosis and treatment is literally lifesaving. The earlier you get properly diagnosed and treated, the better your chances for a successful and satisfying life.