Download Mood Disorders

•Major Depressive Disorder
•Bipolar Disorder
Magnified states of either:
 Depression: Lethargic, listless state characterized by
sadness.
 Mania: Excited state characterized by mental &
physical hyperactivity.
Causes of Mood Disorders
 Runs in Families
 Chemical imbalance: Serotonin
 Learned Helplessness
Major Depressive Disorder
 Must have 5 of the following nine symptoms for 2 weeks:
 Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day.
 Little interest or pleasure in almost all activities.
 Significant changes in weight or appetite.
 Sleeping more or less than usual.
 Agitated or decreased level or activity.
 Fatigue or loss of energy.
 Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt.
 Diminished ability to think or concentrate.
 Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.
Major Depressive, Continued
 Symptoms must produce distress or impaired functioning.
 Often the grief is not tied to a specific event.
 Sadder but wiser effect
 Suicide:
 Passing thoughts of suicide are normal; Its
obsession over it that is concerning.
Schneidman’s 10 Common
Characteristics of Suicidal People










Unendurable Psychological Pain
Frustrated Psychological Needs
Search for a Solution
Attempt to end Consciousness
Helplessness & Hopelessness
Constriction of Options
Ambivalence
Communication of Intent
Departure
Lifelong Coping Patterns
Cognitive Errors in Depression
 Overgeneralizing: A few (or even a single) bad experiences





makes you believe that all similar situations will turn out
badly.
Discounting the Positive: Positive features of a situation
are explained away, they “don’t count”.
Personalization: Mistakenly believing you are the cause of
peoples’ actions.
All or Nothing: Placing things into extreme black or white
categories, ignoring exceptions and shades of gray.
Arbitrary inferences: Drawing negative conclusions in the
absence of sufficient evidence or of any evidence at all.
Emotional Reasoning
Bipolar Disorder
 Alternating periods of mania & depression
 During the manic periods (4-5 days usually):
 Lack of sleep
 Mind is racing
 Grandiose sense of self
 Set impossible goals
 No sense of long-term effect of actions
 Usually Euphoric & Elated
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdYc-CAMeEY
“Baby Blues” &
Postpartum Depression
 Baby Blues: common side-effect after giving birth.
Symptoms last less than a month and include:
 Mood swings
 Anxiety
 Sadness
 Irritability
 Crying
 Decreased concentration
 Trouble sleeping
“Baby Blues” &
Postpartum Depression
 Postpartum Depression: more extreme symptoms than Baby Blues,
interferes with your ability to take care of or bond with your baby.
Symptoms include:











Loss of appetite
Insomnia
Intense irritability and anger
Overwhelming fatigue
Loss of interest in sex
Lack of joy in life
Feelings of shame, guilt or inadequacy
Severe mood swings
Difficulty bonding with your baby
Withdrawal from family and friends
Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby
 Untreated, can last months and become dangerous
 Andrea Yates Case & Postpartum Psychosis
Postpartum Depression Causes
 Physical & Emotional:
 Major drop in hormone levels after giving birth
 Changed levels of chemicals in brain

Causes mood swings
 Lack of sleep


Inability to recover
Causes irritability