Mood Disorders

Types of Mood Disorders

• Major depressive disorder — prolonged and persistent periods of extreme sadness
• Bipolar disorder — also called manic depression or bipolar affective disorder, depression that includes alternating times of extreme sadness (depression) and extreme happiness (mania)
• Cyclothymic disorder — a disorder that causes emotional ups and downs that are less extreme than bipolar disorder
• Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) — a long-term (chronic) form of depression
• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) — a form of depression most often associated with fewer hours of daylight in the far northern and southern latitudes from late fall to early spring
• Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder — a disorder of chronic, severe and persistent irritability in children that often includes frequent temper outbursts that are inconsistent with the child’s developmental age – in our clinic this is seen as a kind of “regulatory disorder of childhood” and probably related to “dysfunction of the limbic system”
• Depression related to medical illness — a persistent depressed mood and a significant loss of pleasure in most or all activities that’s directly related to the physical effects of another medical condition
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder — mood changes and irritability that occur during the premenstrual phase of a woman’s cycle and go away with the onset of menses