Life is a roller coaster of emotions. One minute it feels like flying high, everything is going up. The next minute, life takes a turn and things plummet dramatically. These mood fluctuations come and go. When your mood starts to impact daily activities, you end up suffering from a mood disorder. These uncontrollable shifts in mood can impact a person’s personal life, work, and other areas. They may also include addiction and substance abuse as a means of coping with the stress of a mood disorder.
How Mood Disorders Work
Mood disorders are a serious change in mood that disrupts a person’s life. A major depressive disorder is characterized by a depressed mood. Elevated moods are characterized by mania or hypomania. The cycling of manic to depressed is what makes up bipolar mood disorders. The disorders may vary in intensity and severity. Dysthymic and cyclothymic disorder is recognized as similar to, but less severe than, bipolar disorder.
Depressive Disorder
Someone suffering from depression may feel very negative about life and have a negative focus. Many have mood, cognitive, behavioral, whole body, and weight effects. This may result in a loss of interest in things that once were pleasurable. It may include thoughts of suicide, problems sleeping, social isolation, and restless behavior. Depression often impacts weight as well.
Mania
Manic moods are characterized by unusually high energy and mood. Feelings of euphoria may be present. Elevated moods last three days or more, with mania symptoms including:
- Rapid speech patterns
- Less sleep than normal
- Poor judgment
- Impulsive behavior
- Reckless decision making
When thinking about what causes mood disorders, researchers and medical professionals are not always clear on exactly what causes them to happen. Many factors go into it, including biological and environmental ones. Traumatic life events are also part of the equation of mood disorder onset. Mood disorders can impact work life and school life, while also intruding on personal relationships. This may also include medications, substance abuse, and other issues as the cause behind the disorder.
Treatment Options
Mood disorders are diagnosed in a few ways. This may include physical examinations and mental health evaluations. A physician will perform a physical exam to rule out underlying medical conditions. If ruled out, a mental health provider may perform assessments to determine mood stability and mental health. Mood disorders are treated mostly through medications and psychotherapy. It is not uncommon for mood disorders to persist for a person’s lifetime. Education round this helps people suffering recognize patterns of behavior that are thought to indicate a mood disorder resurfacing. Some of the following are helpful for treatment:
- Medication
- Anti-anxiety meds
- Talk-therapy
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Group therapy or work with a substance abuse treatment program for co-occurring disorders
Quite often, people with mood disorders use substances as a means of coping. When this occurs, a person needs help dealing with co-occurring use disorder so they can heal in recovery. When they are able to get help they need, they often recover from both mood disorders and addiction and begin to put their life back together again.
The Guest House is based on a Therapeutic Communty model. We help people learn how to live free of addiction. Our community support provides structure while trained counselors offer life skills training and therapeutic techniques to help you move past addiction. Our program provides special focus for professionals including chiropractors, nurses, doctors, lawyers, and more who need help with addiction recovery. Call us to find out more: 855-483-7800.Mood Disorders