MOOD DISORDER

What Is A Mood Disorder?

Mood disorders are a broad umbrella term used for conditions in which disturbance of mood is the central feature. Common mood disorders include different types of depressive and bipolar disorders.

Mood disorders are found to affect about 20% of the general population at any given time. Specifically, in the US for instance, 17% of the population is thought to struggle with depression over the course of their lifetime, with bipolar disorders affecting 1% of the general population.

Whilst the rate for bipolar disorders is significantly lower, many researchers agree that many instances of manic moods (describing the emotional ‘highs’ of bipolar disorder) often go unnoticed or are deemed unproblematic, meaning that many people may go undiagnosed.

Major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder is characterized by prolonged and persistent periods of extreme sadness.

While it is normal to experience sadness or grief during traumatic life events, if this depression continues even when the events are over, or there is no apparent cause for the sadness, this may classify as clinical or major depression.

This is a very common mental disorder that is accompanied by a variety of physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms.