Every single person can experience mood swings. It’s not uncommon to go through an ordeal that causes rapid changes in your emotions. You may even see it all the time in friends, family, or coworkers. A normally upbeat person looks sad or a typically grouchy person seems happy. This is typically normal. However, mood disorders are a very real thing that many people deal with. When those changes you notice drag out for a while, it can prove a sign of a mood disorder. However, what exactly is a mood disorder? And how can you get treatment for one?
Specifically What Is a Mood Disorder?
A mood disorder is one of several conditions that create severe and often long-term changes in your emotions. One of the most common examples is depression. In fact, just shy of seven percent of American adults experience major depression in any given year. This mood disorder is characterized by extended periods of sadness and lethargy, often for no particular reason. What is a mood disorder exactly? For example, less common mood disorders include:
- Bipolar disorder
- Seasonal affective disorder
- Cyclothymia
- Persistent depressive disorder
Common Treatments
After you answer the question, what is a mood disorder, the next question is, are there treatments? In fact, treatments exist and fall into two main categories: medication and therapy. Since mood disorders create emotional extremes, doctors use medications that help you get back to a more even keel. For example, antidepressants like bupropion, fluoxetine, and amitriptyline often work well in treating pure depression. Since bipolar disorder also triggers mania, doctors use mood stabilizers that help prevent depression and manic episodes. Specifically, talk therapy also serves two important ends. It lets you learn about warning signs and patterns in your life. Furthermore, recognizing these signs and patterns lets you take action before a full-blown episode occurs. The therapy also provides an outlet for venting the inevitable frustrations. This will help you understand what is a mood disorder and the way to recover.
Co-Occurring Disorders
Doctors use the term co-occurring disorders when two conditions often show up together. For example, doctors see depression and anxiety crop up together on a regular basis. Fortunately, medication and talk therapy also show good results in treating anxiety. Unfortunately, people with emotional disorders often develop substance abuse problems. The thinking is that people use the drugs or alcohol as an attempt at treating their own symptoms. Someone in a manic episode might struggle to quiet his mind when it’s bedtime. Therefore, he drinks enough that he can fall asleep.
About Crest View Recovery Center
Crest View Recovery Center specializes in addiction treatment. Moreover, we also recognize that addiction, depression and anxiety go hand-in-hand. That’s why we offer treatment for addiction, as well as depression treatment and anxiety treatment. Crest View is near Asheville, NC and we’ll help you recognize the answer to what is a mood disorder. Co-occurring mood disorders and addiction can end up controlling your life. However, you can get help for both by choosing the right rehab program. If you think you suffer from addiction and mood disorder, call 866.327.2505 today.