Mood disorders are mental disorders characterized by disturbance in one’s mood. The mood disturbance may be severe and can include depression, mania, or hypomania, or any combination of these.
Bipolar disorder is a type of mood disorder. It involves swings in mood from elation to depression without identifiable external cause. A person having bipolar disorder experiences swings from depression to mania. In the manic phase of this disorder, the patient may show unnecessary, unwarranted silliness. They may also show poor judgment and recklessness and may be argumentative. A manic person may speak rapidly, have unrealistic ideas, and jump from subject to subject. They possibly cannot sit still for very long. These symptoms are predominant for a specific period of time lasting for a few months. Hospitalization can often be necessary to keep the person from harming themselves and others. The other side of the bipolar coin is the depressive episode. Bipolar depressed patients often sleep more than usual and are lethargic. Distinguishing it from major depression, they usually has trouble sleeping and is agitated. Irritability and withdrawal symptoms can be seen during bipolar depressive episodes.
What causes mood disorders is not well known. There are chemicals in the brain, called endorphins, that are responsible for positive moods. Other chemicals in the brain, called neurotransmitters, regulate endorphins. Most likely, depression and other mood disorders are caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Life events such as unwanted changes in life may also contribute to a depressed mood. On the other hand, genetic factors could be a prospect in causing bipolar disorder. Since it is related to depression, a gene may be responsible for the occurrence of the disorder. And this gene may be triggered by the environment, such as serious life-changing events. Evidence suggests that environmental factors play a significant role in the development and course of bipolar disorder, and that individual psychosocial variables may interact with genetic dispositions.
Moreover, some limited long-term studies indicate that children who later receive a diagnosis of bipolar disorder may show subtle early traits such as sub-threshold cyclical mood abnormalities, full major depressive episodes, and possibly ADHD with mood fluctuation. There may be hypersensitivity and irritability. There is some disagreement whether the experiences are necessarily fluctuating. An account of stimulant utilize in childhood is found in large numbers of bipolar patients and has been found to cause an earlier inception of bipolar disorder, worse clinical course, independent of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Bipolar disorder is often treated with mood stabilizer medications, and sometimes other psychiatric drugs. Psychotherapy also has a role, often when there has been some recovery of stability. In severe cases in which there is a threat of damage to oneself or others involuntary commitment may be used; these cases generally involve severe manic episodes with depressive episodes with suicidal intention.
Furthermore, because the pattern of highs and lows varies for each person, bipolar disorder is a complex disease to diagnose. There are some people where mania or depression can last for weeks or months, even for years. For some, bipolar disorder takes the form of frequent and dramatic mood shifts.
According to a clinical psychiatrist named Michael Aronson, MD, there are discoveries in bipolar disorder that shows that there is a wide range of symptoms and mood changes in this disorder. It’s not always dramatic mood swings. In fact, some people seem to get along just fine. The manic periods can be very, very productive. They think things are going great. The threat comes when the mania grows much worse. Changes can be very dramatic, with catastrophic outcomes. People can get involved in reckless behavior, spend a lot of money, there may be sexual promiscuity, sexual risks. The depressed phases can be equally dangerous: Frequent thoughts of suicide can really harm.
Entries (RSS)