What You Should Know About Mood Disorders

At Texas Psychiatry Associates, we see many patients suffering from mood disorders. The two most commonly encountered mood disorders are major depression and bipolar disorder. Having one of these conditions can drastically affect a person’s quality of life and relationships. Prompt diagnosis and treatment are important.

We have to start by accurately assessing patients here at Texas Psychiatry Associates. Proper treatment can only begin after the right diagnosis is obtained. Treating someone based on a wrong diagnosis can cause serious consequences. Rest assured that our psychiatrists have plenty of experience in dealing with mood disorders and other psychiatric conditions.

Major Depression

Major depression is a condition that often goes undiagnosed. Patients might hesitate to seek medical help leading to a progression of the condition. Fortunately, the stigma around major depression and other psychiatric conditions is starting to fade away. There’s nothing wrong with having depression, and being depressed doesn’t mean you have a weak personality.

Depression is caused by low serotonin levels and needs to be treated using medications and cognitive behavioral therapy. The duration of treatment depends on how long you’ve been depressed, your age, how many prior episodes of depression you had, and other factors.

Some women can get depression after giving birth. This is different from a milder condition called postpartum blues. Postpartum depression is serious and needs to be treated to protect the mother and baby from harm.

Bipolar Disorder

There are two types of bipolar disorder. These are bipolar I and bipolar II. Bipolar I is more severe and is diagnosed if a patient has episodes of mania. Mania is defined as a period of increased energy, restlessness, lack of need for sleep, and sometimes psychosis. These symptoms must occur spontaneously without illicit drug use. Bipolar II is milder and characterized by hypomania.

It’s called bipolar disorder and not simply mania because patients are very likely to suffer from episodes of depression too. That’s why patients with bipolar disorder are treated with mood stabilizers and not regular antidepressants.

If you feel like your mood is different and affecting your life, visit us at Texas Psychiatry Associates. We’ll do everything we can to help.