|
Moods come in many colors. Up to half
of people with depression have experienced other shades to their mood which
are important to identify; examples include:
Anxious Mood
Worried,
nervous, tense, overwhelmed, stressed, fearful.
Irritable Mood
Easily
annoyed, angry, argumentative or aggressive.
Depressed Mood
Sad,
down, tired, unmotivated, tearful, low self-esteem; thoughts that turn to
guilt or pessimism. It can feel like there’s no reason to live.
Patterns of sleeping and eating may change and physical pain may
worsen.
Empty Mood
Unable
to find pleasure in anything, not interested in people or activities (the
medical term for this is anhedonic, which means “lack of pleasure”).
Brightly Elevated Mood
Self-confident,
happy, out-going, active, running on high energy and little sleep,
spontaneous or impulsive, thinking quickly, creative, making lots of
plans.
Darkly Elevated Mood
Edgy,
agitated, impulsive, impatient, irritable, distracted and unfocused, not
sleeping much, anxious, spending too much money, making unwise choices,
feeling distrustful or paranoid.
Often this mood makes people want to self-medicate with alcohol,
caffeine or other drugs.
You
can see from these descriptions that moods involve more than just
emotions. In fact, it is the part of
the brain which connects emotions to action which is usually altered during
mood episodes (called the limbic system and frontal lobes). Mood disorders also bring about physical
changes in the body, affecting the health of the heart, immune and hormonal
systems.
The Types of Mood Disorders
Mood
disorders go by different names, depending on which moods occur, how severe
they get, and how they change over time.
Getting the right diagnosis is a critical step in finding the right
treatment; there are two
self-tests that can help in this.
Examples of mood disorders include:
Major Depression
A
depressed or empty mood that lasts at least 2 weeks. It may occur only once or keep recurring
throughout life. It may go away
entirely or continue at a low-grade level.
Dysthymia
A
low-grade depressed or empty mood that persists for at least two years.
Cyclothymia
Moods
that fluctuate frequently, usually for brief periods. Any of the above moods may occur, but
typically it is a depressed or empty mood alternating with an elevated or
irritable one.
Bipolar-II
Depressed or empty moods predominate
in this condition, but there are also periods of mildly elevated mood as
well (called hypomania). This
condition is very common (affecting 1 in 30 people) but is often
misdiagnosed as major depression.
Bipolar-I
(Manic-Depression)
Depressed or empty moods alternate
with extremely elevated moods (called mania).
Bipolar Spectrum
This category represents people with
depression who also have other moods, but not to the extent that would
qualify for bipolar-I or II. It is
an important category because it can identify people who look like they
have depression but may not respond well to antidepressants. Often people with bipolar spectrum
disorder have relatives with full bipolar disorder.
There
are also descriptions for how moods shift: rapid cycling (at least 4 cycles per year), ultra-rapid cycling (at least 2
cycles per month) and ultradian cycling
(cycling up and down within a day).
Symptoms of elevated and depressed moods can also overlap together in
various degrees; this is called a mixed
state.
A Word of Hope
I hope you’ll remember that you are not your
illness, and that even a mood disorder can be a strength.
People who come out of depression often find renewed appreciation for life
and more compassion for the world around them. Research has found that,
despite its bleakness, depression gives people a more accurate view of
reality. Those with mood disorders
are among the most creative, talented and industrious in our society. They include great leaders like Abraham
Lincoln and Winston Churchill, artists and writers such as Vincent Van
Gogh, William Blake and Irving Berlin, and actors Robin Williams, Carrie
Fisher and Ben Stiller (click
here for complete list).
-Chris Aiken, M.D.
Updated 2/6/2006
|
No. 6 (Red, Green & Violet) by
Mark Rothko. Rothko was believed
to have bipolar disorder.
Treatments for Mood Disorders
Medications
Psychotherapy: mindfulness and self-activation.
Light therapy
Related Books
Self-help workbooks: CBT, ACT and DBT
Feeling
Good: The New Mood Therapy, by David D. Burns.
This guide to cognitive-behavioral therapy helps you to become aware
of, and change, the patterns of thinking that lead to depression. His second volume, The
Feeling Good Handbook, is an expanded version which offers help for
anxiety and other related conditions.
Get
Out Of Your Mind And Into Your Life, Steven C. Hayes. This book guides you through a
new version of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) called “acceptance
and commitment therapy” (ACT).
Both ACT and CBT are effective for depression. ACT differs in that it is does not focus
on logical ways to change thoughts but rather on acceptance, mindfulness, and
action.
Don't Let Your Emotions Run Your
Life: How Dialectical Behavior Therapy Can Put You in Control, by
Scott E. Spradlin. Like the book above, this is a guide to
an updated version of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This therapy, called dialectical
behavioral therapy (DBT) is specifically tailored to people who have
trouble with mood swings.
The
Bipolar Survival Guide, by David J. Miklowitz
(2002). The author developed a form of psychotherapy to help patients and
families with bipolar illness. His
book provides an up-to-date summary of ways to manage bipolar illness
through stress-reduction, self-monitoring and life-style modification.
Educational books
Surviving
Bipolar Illness by E. Fuller Torrey
(2005). Written by a physician who
has made important discoveries in bipolar illness, this guide is
particularly strong on the causes of and medication treatments for bipolar.
Bipolar
Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families, by
Francis Mondimore (2006). A thorough and
compassionately written account of the treatments and causes of bipolar,
written by a psychiatrist at UNC-Chapel Hill. It gives equal focus to medications and
lifestyle management.
A
Mood Apart: The Thinker’s Guide to Emotion and It’s Disorders by Peter C. Whybrow (1999). This book is more
introspective than practical, but is an excellent guide to the science
behind mood and mood swings.
TOUCHED
WITH FIRE: Manic Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament, by K.
Jamison. A biographical exploration of the lives of writers and artists who
were presumed to have bipolar illness (see side-bar at right).
An
Unquiet Mind, by K. Jamison. The author is a prominent
scientist in the field of bipolar who also suffers from the condition. Her
experience, which reflects classic bipolar-I illness, is described
eloquently here.
Online Resources
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar-II Disorder
Bipolar: A Guide
for Patients and Families (PDF, 2004)
Bipolar News a guide to the latest research on bipolar,
for clinicians, patients and families.
Harvard Bipolar Research Program
Depression and Bipolar Support
Alliance
Online Bipolar Support Group
Child and Adolescent Bipolar
Foundation
Visit the National Institute of
Mental Health; under “Select A Topic” choose “Bipolar
Disorder” to find useful brochures.
Depression
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
National Foundation for Depressive
Illness
Depression in Older Adults (Large
Print or Small
Print )
Depression
and Pregnancy (PDF, 2001)
Depression
and Menopause (PDF, 2001)
Premenstrual
Depression (PDF, 2001)
Postpartum
Depression (PDF, 2001)
Postpartum
Depression Fact Sheet (PDF, 2001)
|
|
|