Mood disorders are mental health conditions that involve long periods of excessive sadness (depression), excessive elation (mania), or both (bipolar). Depression and mania represent the emotional extremes of mood disorders, and bipolar disorder includes both extremes. Mood disorders affect a person's ability to function and can occur in adults, adolescents, or children.
Mood disorders are mental health conditions that consist of sustained periods of excessive sadness (depression), excessive elation (mania), or both. Sadness and happiness are part of everyday life and are different from severe emotional issues that are diagnosed as the depression and mania that are experienced by people with mood disorders. When these disturbances of mood are long-lasting and affect a person's ability to function, they are considered mood disorders.
Sadness is a natural response to disappointment, defeat, loss, trauma, or catastrophe. Grief or bereavement is the most common of the normal reactions to a loss or separation, such as the death of a loved one, divorce, or romantic disappointment. Usually, bereavement and loss do not cause persistent, incapacitating depression except in people predisposed to mood disorders. In some people, loss of a loved one causes more persistent and disabling depression, which has been termed prolonged grief disorder.
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is another notable depressive disorder.
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Happiness, elation, or joy are emotions people experience when they are feeling positive about something. When these normally pleasant emotions are persistently elevated and last for a week or more, they may be associated with the irritability and increased energy or activity characteristic of a bipolar disorder.
Symptoms and Episodes in Mood Disorders
Mood disorders often include specific episodes of symptoms, including mania and hypomania (elevated or elated mood), depression (depressed mood), and episodes that are a mixture of the two. When a person experiences both mania (or hypomania) and depression, they have bipolar disorder; when they experience only depression they are said to have "unipolar" depression.
Mood disorders in children and adolescents are common, as they are in adults.
Having a mood disorder, particularly one that involves depression, increases the risk of other issues, such as inability to do daily activities and maintain relationships, loss of appetite, insomnia, extreme anxiety, and alcohol use disorder. The highest concern is that many people with untreated depression end their life by suicide.
Depression
An episode of depression includes, on most days over a 2-week period, a depressed mood or loss of interest and pleasure in most activities, as well as several of any of the following symptoms:
Weight loss or gain
Change in appetite
Disturbances in sleep
Psychomotor agitation (restless and excessive motor activity) or retardation (slowing)
Fatigue or loss of energy
Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate quilt
Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
Thoughts of suicide, a specific plan for suicide, or a suicide attempt
Mania
Mania is an abnormal mood state that may feel like happiness to a person who has a mood disorder and is in the middle of a manic episode. It is typically associated with periods of excessive excitement, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. During a manic episode, individuals may experience a decreased need for sleep, inflated self-esteem or grandiosity, racing thoughts, rapid speech, distractibility, and engagement in risky behaviors. Mania is significantly different from a normal range of emotions and can lead to impairment in functioning and relationships.
A mood disorder is diagnosed when sadness or elation is more intense than usual, is accompanied by certain other symptoms, and impairs the ability to function physically, socially, and at work.
Manic psychosis is a more extreme form of mania that may be difficult for the doctor to distinguish from schizophrenia. People may have delusions (for example, of being Jesus or being pursued by the FBI) and, occasionally, hallucinations. Activity level increases dramatically. People may race around screaming, swearing, or singing. Mood become changeable, often causing the person to become irritable. Full-blown delirium (delirious mania) may develop, and the person's thinking and behavior may become incoherent.
Hypomania
Sometimes a person experiences a milder form of mania called hypomania. With hypomania, a person may experience irritability, distractibility, and a changeable mood. They may also experience a brighter mood, less need for sleep, and a noticeable increase in energy that can lead to the perception of creativity, confidence, and improved social functioning. In this version of hypomania, the person may be reluctant to return to "normal."
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Mixed features
An episode of mania or hypomania is said to have mixed features of both mania and depression if 3 or more symptoms of depression are also present for most days of the episode. This condition is often difficult to diagnose.
The risk of suicide during mixed episodes is particularly high.
A major depressive episode is said to have mixed features if 3 or more manic symptoms are present for most days of the episode. A person who has depressive episodes with mixed features is at significant risk for developing bipolar disorder.
Complications of Mood Disorders
Suicide in mood disorders
Suicide is a major risk in people with mood disorders. People with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder are 8 to 9 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. The risk is higher in people with more severe depression if there has been a history of prior suicide attempts, particularly violent ones, as well as the presence of psychotic features, severe sleep disturbance, or substance use.
A suicide threat is an emergency. When people threaten to kill themselves, a doctor may hospitalize them so that they can be supervised until they are treated.
Other complications of mood disorders
Other complications of mood disorders include
Impaired function, ranging from mild to complete inability to function, maintain social interaction, or participate in routine activities
Impaired food intake, sometimes resulting in significant weight loss or gain
Severe anxiety
Decreased immune system function and increased long-term risk of heart disease (see Depression)
More Information
The following English-language resources may be useful. Please note that The Manual is not responsible for the content of these resources.
