Mood Disoders

Mood disorders are defined as psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes. There are two forms of extreme emotional mood disorders. The first mood disorder is called major depressive disorder. The other major mood disorder is called bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic depressive disorder).

Most people know what depression feels like. We all have probably experienced it at some point in our lives. It is more common to experience depression in the dark winter months than in the bright summer months. Each and everyone of us have feelings of being blue or down in the dumps sometimes. These brief bouts of sad feelings or discontent with the way our life is going are normal. Sad feelings that last for only a few hours, a few days, or even a week are still not classified as depression.

Depression is so widespread that it's called the "common cold" of mental disorders. If sad feelings linger for a month or more, and you feel deeply unhappy and demoralized, you probably are in a state of depression. More than 250,000 people in the United States of America are hospitalized every year for depression. Some of the symptoms experienced in depression are: changes in sleep patterns, changes in appetite, decreased energy, feelings of worthlessness, loss of interest in family, friends or activities, difficulty concentrating, and feelings of guilt. If you suffer from some or most of these symptoms you may be experiencing what is known as major depressive disorder.

No one is immune to depressive disorders. Not students, professors, mothers, fathers, laborers, or even the rich and famous like Tom Cruise. Even great writers such as Ann Sexton and Ernest Hemingway and famous statesmen such as Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill have fallen victim to depression.

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