Shirley J. Davis (Morgan) · Mentions suicidal thoughts

Everyone experiences days when they feel out of sorts and need someone else’s company to feel better. These folks are able to pull themselves out of the blues and blahs by themselves, where people who have a mood disorder cannot.

Many survivors of childhood trauma are plagued by feelings of sadness, agitation, irritability, and risk-taking behavior. While dissociative identity disorder is not a mood disorder, those of us who have it inevitably will also have a mood disorder.

In this article we shall explore together what mood disorders are and how they can be prevented and treated.

What Is a Mood Disorder?

Briefly, mood disorders are mental health challenges that cause changes in a survivor’s mood, energy levels, and behaviors. There are several types of mood disorders that sometimes overlap.

A short list of syndromes that are considered mood disorders includes:

• Bipolar disorder
• Depression
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
• Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD)
• Cyclothymic disorder
• Postpartum depression
• Prolonged grief disorder

All these disorders are listed as mood disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the bible of the psychiatric community. To receive the diagnosis of having a mood disorder, the symptoms must be present for several weeks (usually two) or longer.

The Symptoms and Effects of Mood Disorders

Mood disorders cause changes in one’s behavior, affecting their ability to perform everyday activities at work and school.

The symptoms of a mood disorder are varied because of the different diagnoses it encompasses. However, there are some common threads between them, including:

• Feelings of sadness
• Irritability
• Hopelessness
• Agitation
• Risk-taking behaviors
• Difficulty concentrating
• Rapid moving or talking
• Insomnia

Those living with a mood disorder have an increased risk of the following, further complicating their lives:

• Alcohol use disorder
• Missing work or school
• Severe anxiety
• Inability to keep relationships

Although mood disorders are life-altering, they are treatable.

Treatment for Mood Disorders

Although the trajectory of one’s life is altered by a mood disorder, it can be treated. The treatment is not an instant fix for all that is going wrong in your life. Rather, the treatments are highly effective in most people, even though it usually takes a while to find a treatment that works for you.

Normally, treatment for mood disorders includes a combination of medication and psychotherapy. One can also explore alternative treatments that have been in the news lately, like brain stimulation therapy.

Psychiatric medicine is one of the basic treatments available to help you live better with your mood disorder. Below I have outlined some of the most common types of medications given for mood disorders.

Antidepressants. The most widely used treatment is antidepressants. There are many different forms of antidepressants that treat different disorders. For instance, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are often ordered to treat bipolar depression. SSRIs and other antidepressants work equally well, with some people responding differently than others. Unfortunately, it takes antidepressants up to six weeks before they begin working.

Mood stabilizers. These types of medications help people regulate the mood swings that occur in bipolar disorder and many other diagnoses. Some of the most widely used include lithium and anticonvulsant drugs.

Antipsychotic drugs. Those living with bipolar disorder experience mania, which can be treated with drugs such as aripiprazole (Abilify). Mental health professionals often prescribe atypical antipsychotic drugs as an added medication to help stabilize the mood disorder.

Always talk with your prescriber before starting, changing, or stopping any medication.

Talk therapy for mood disorders. A common treatment for mood disorders is psychotherapy, aka talk therapy. In psychotherapy, one sits with a mental health professional and begins an adventure of self-discovery. The therapist will not tell you what to do to fix the wrongs in your life, so don’t go to one expecting that. Instead, the therapist will help you find your answers from within yourself.

The Prognosis for Mood Disorders

The outlook for healing when a mood disorder is present depends on how serious the case is. Generally, the prognosis for mood disorders, when properly treated, is good.

The symptoms of bipolar disorder and depression may come back after first treatment, or are often ongoing, requiring long-term treatment.

It is critical to know that one-third of people who have mood disorders also develop psychotic disorders, with another third developing a lifetime anxiety disorder.

Ending Our Time Together

Mood disorders are not pretty and are difficult to deal with. But there is hope, as every year new drugs and treatment modalities are discovered, aiding the lives of those afflicted.

I have a mood disorder known as clinical depression. I have had this disorder since I was six years old, in the depth of the abuse I was enduring. Although the mood disorder medications help my depression, they do not treat my dissociative identity disorder.

It is vital that if you are, or believe you are, suffering from a mood disorder, please get help at once. Unfortunately, mood disorders are often a window to suicidal ideation because they are so harmful to one’s life.

© Shirley J. Davis. Shared on Ivory Garden with the author’s permission.