M - Mood Disorders #AtoZ #MentalHealthAwaress

Mood disorders are a category of illnesses that describe a serious change in mood. If your emotions and moods seem out of your control over a long period of time, you may have a mood disorder. 

Moods are our emotions. They affect us every day. Sometimes we’re sad, other times we’re happy. We might even be sad and happy in the same day. But sometimes people’s mood can get “stuck” on sad. Or the moods might change a lot or become extreme. When this happens, it affects our lives. And it might be caused by a group of mental illnesses called mood disorders.

Mood disorders fall into the basic groups of elevated mood, such as mania or hypomania; depressed mood, of which the best-known and most researched is major depressive disorder (MDD) (commonly called clinical depression, unipolar depression, or major depression); and moods which cycle between mania and depression.

Illness under mood disorders include: major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder (mania - euphoric, hyperactive, over inflated ego, unrealistic optimism), persistent depressive disorder (long lasting low grade depression), cyclothymia (a mild form of bipolar disorder), and SAD (seasonal affective disorder).

These disorders, also called affective disorders, may involve:

• ·         Feeling sad all the time
• ·         Losing interest in important parts of life
• ·         Fluctuating between extreme happiness and extreme sadness

Some examples of mood disorders include:

• ·         Major depressive disorder — prolonged and persistent periods of extreme sadness.
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• ·         Bipolar disorder — also called manic depression or bipolar affective disorder, depression that includes alternating times of depression and mania.
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• ·         Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) — a form of depression most often associated with fewer hours of daylight in the far northern and southern latitudes from late fall to early spring.
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• ·         Cyclothymic disorder — a disorder that causes emotional ups and downs that are less extreme than bipolar disorder.
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• ·         Premenstrual dysphoric disorder — mood changes and irritability that occur during the premenstrual phase of a woman's cycle and go away with the onset of menses.
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• ·        Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) — a long-term (chronic) form of depression.
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• ·         Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder — a disorder of chronic, severe and persistent irritability in children that often includes frequent temper outbursts that are inconsistent with the child's developmental age.
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• ·         Depression related to medical illness — a persistent depressed mood and a significant loss of pleasure in most or all activities that's directly related to the physical effects of another medical condition
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• ·         Depression induced by substance use or medication ― depression symptoms that develop during or soon after substance use or withdrawal or after exposure to a medication

DISCLAIMER: All the information being provided her has been sourced from the internet and books and some also via personal experiences. It has no medical authentication per se so suggestions if followed must be done in consultation with a trained mental health professional.

References:

https://www.mentalhealth.gov/what-to-look-for/mood-disorders

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/ss/slideshow-mood-disorders

This post is a part of April Blogging from A To Z Challenge

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