MOOD DISORDERS
MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER
Major Depressive Disorder is defined as a low or irritable mood that occurs for a prolonged duration of time (more than 2 weeks). Such individuals may not be able to experience pleasure or lose interest in things they normally enjoy doing. They may also feel hopeless, helpless or worthless and experience fatigue. Typically, difficulty sleeping and loss of appetite occurs. Although unusually the inverse may occur i.e. sleeping more than usual, eating more than usual and/or eating more than usual "comfort feeding".
It is not uncommon for one’s mental faculties to be affected. Impairment in memory and concentration are common experiences. Some individuals may:
forget where they leave things, experience difficulty finding words,
forget important steps in order to complete a task
take longer to complete a task
In others it can be quite pronounced where they may fail to recollect people’s names or how to go about performing a task .i.e. Pseudodementia (pseudo loosely translated as 'not actually'). This condition mimics a Dementia, which is characterized by marked memory impairment among other symptoms.
Suicide can range from just a thought of dying to a plan to end one’s life, or even and attempt.
BIPOLAR DISORDER
It is important to keep in mind that mood variation is normal. Marked variations on the other hand is pathological. A depressed individual or even a stressed or anxious person can present with irritability or an unstable mood. Therefore, more than just mood symptoms are required in order to make a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder.
Bipolar I Disorder (Mania)
Is characterized by a clear period of an abnormally elevated or irritable mood that persists for at least a week.
Other symptoms include:
Goal directed behavior: engaging in a behaviour to achieve a particular objective e.g. studying, working or even increased libido. In the case of manic individuals, they typically engage excessively in multiple activities. Once again this is atypical of anxiety or depression which is generally associated with fatigue and poor motivation. An anxious or depressed individual however may experience insomnia and restlessness and, for example, may wake up at night to clean or pack cupboards in an attempt to avoid the distressing thoughts.
Self-esteem: typically heightened. For example, a normally conservative individual will not have difficulty communicating and socializing. Sometimes they may feel a greater sense of self-importance. In contrast the opposite would be expected in a depressed or anxious individual
Talkative: they tend to talk a lot more than usual and perhaps even excessively or can’t stop talking.
Distractible: easily losing focus or jumping from one thing to another. This may be reflected in their conversation and/or actions.
Activities associated with potential harm: e.g. spending money they don’t have or sexual indiscretions.
It is not uncommon for such individuals to experience psychotic symptoms. Psychosis is when a person is not in touch with reality. For e.g. believing that they have inherited large sums of money or won the national lottery.
Bipolar II Disorder (Hypomania)
This condition is similar to Mania, however the the intensity and duration is much less. The duration is at least 4 days. Psychotic episodes do not occur in Hypomania.