Mood Disorders: Depression and Bipolar

Mood Disorders

• A psychological disorder characterized by the elevation or lowering of a person's mood, affecting their everyday emotional state.
• Nearly one in ten people aged 18 and older have or have had a mood disorder.
• Three main types of mood disorders: depressive disorders, bipolar disorders, and other mood disorders (substance-induced or due to general medical conditions).

Depressive Disorders

• Characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and anxiety.
• Symptoms include:
  • Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day.
  • Significant weight loss or weight gain, or decrease/increase in appetite.
  • Insomnia or hypersomnia.
  • Psychomotor agitation or retardation.
  • Fatigue.
  • Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt.
  • Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness.
  • Recurrent thoughts of death, recurrent suicidal ideation.

Types of Depressive Disorders

• Major depression: severe symptoms.
• Psychotic depression: severe depression with some form of psychosis (hallucinations, delusions, etc.).
• Postpartum depression: women experience overwhelming anxiety/sadness after having a baby.
• Seasonal affective disorder: depression during the winter season, related to lack of natural sunlight.

Bipolar Disorder

• Also known as manic-depressive illness, characterized by alternating periods of depression and mania.
• Symptoms include:
  • Inflated self-esteem.
  • Decreased need for sleep.
  • More talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking.
  • Flight of ideas or subjective experience that thoughts are racing.
  • Attention easily drawn to unimportant or irrelevant items.
  • Increase in goal-directed activity.
  • Excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences.

Types of Bipolar Disorder

• Bipolar I Disorder: mainly defined by manic or mixed episodes that last at least seven days.
• Bipolar II Disorder: characterized by depressive episodes shifting back and forth with hypomanic episodes.
• Cyclothymic Disorder or Cyclothymia: mild form of bipolar disorder, characterized by episodes of hypomania that shift back and forth with mild depression.

Differences Between Depression and Bipolar Disorder

• Depression: persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and anxiety.
• Bipolar Disorder: alternating periods of depression and mania.

Factors Affecting Depression

• Biological factors: hormonal changes, neurotransmitter imbalance.
• Life cycle factors: women experience higher rates of depression due to hormonal changes, pregnancy, and menstruation.
• Psychosocial factors: stress, relationships, and environment.

Causes of Mood Disorders

• Combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors.
• Neurotransmitters out of balance.
• Trauma, loss of a loved one, or stressful situations.
• Substance abuse: triggers mania and depression.
• Anxiety disorders: PTSD, etc.
• Genetics: 6 times more likely to develop if a parent or sibling has the disorder.

Treatment Options

• Mood stabilizing medications: Lithium, Depakote, Topamax, etc.
• Atypical antipsychotic medications: Zyprexa, Seroquel, Risperdal, etc.
• Antidepressant medications: Prozac, Paxil, etc.
• Psychotherapy: "talking it out".
• ETC (Electroconvulsive Therapy).