According to Stein, Kupfer, Schatzberg, and American Psychiatric Publishing (2006), mood disorders are a mental condition with features such as changes in the attitude of an individual which may include elevation or lowering of the mood. Depression and bipolar mood disorders are the common types of mood disorders. Others include cyclothymia and seasonal affective disorder. Depression is a condition in which an individual has low mood; the person does not enjoy things that qualified as interesting before the onset of the condition and has low self -esteem with the feeling of unworthiness. Bipolar, on the other hand, is a condition with marked elevation of mood (mania) and low mood (depression). Manic patient has feelings of high self-worth.
Pathophysiology
The establishment of the causes of mood disorders has not been determined yet, but Stein et al. (2006) argue that some studies show that it can be genetical in that inheritance of an individual gene increases the risk of developing mood disorders especially bipolar mood disorder. According to Stein et al. (2006), studies of molecular psychiatry suggest that mood disorders result from nervous signal transmission disturbance and neurotransmission impairment due to abnormalities in neurotransmitters. Deficiencies in neurotransmitters such as serotonin, GABA, dopamine and norepinephrine lead to depression. Their primary function is to increase motor control, arousal and reinforcement and, therefore, deficiencies in them may lead to depression where there is no arousal. In mania and depression, the receptors may be ineffective in that the transmission interferes with inhibiting their activity.
Causes
The definite causes of mood disorders have not been well established, but attributed to three factors. According to Stein et al. (2006), these three factors are as follows:
Gene inheritance-mood disorders such as bipolar are common to people with the first-degree relative with the condition, for example, a child from a parent.
Neurotransmitters- neurotransmitters impairment and disturbance in neurotransmission has an association with the development of mood disorders. The decrease in their activities is reduced due to the impairment and thereby contributing to conditions such as depression.
The biological difference- there are changes in the brain of patients with mood disorders. The differences in the brain make-up could be a cause.
Treatment
Stein et al. (2006) suggest two categories of treatment these are medication and psychotherapy. Drugs used in the management of mood disorders include mood stabilizers such as lithium and valproic acid, antidepressants for depression such as fluoxetine, but since they can initiate a manic phase, they are used in combination with mood stabilizers. Other drugs used are antipsychotics such as risperidone.
Psychotherapy is another management strategy whose application is on the individual, family and group. The primary psychotherapy methods applied are the cognitive behavioral therapy, which involves identifying undesired behavior to change them to desired ones. Psychoeducation is also important, and it means educating both the individual and the family about the disorder enabling them to accept the condition and, therefore, sought for support and treatment.
Epidemiology
Women are twice more likely to develop some mood disorders such as major depression than men. Bipolar is common in adults as well as children between the ages 1-17 years leading to hospitalization of many children in the United States in 2011. The incident of bipolar disorder in men is almost equal to that in women.
References
Stein, D. J., Kupfer, D. J., Schatzberg, A. F., & American Psychiatric Publishing. (2006).The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Mood Disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Pub.
