What Are Mood Disorders?
This term encompasses several psychiatric disorders, including major depression, dysthymia (long-term, low-grade depression), and bipolar disorder. (Mood disorders have also gone by older names, such as “neurosis” or “manic-depression”; these terms are now considered obsolete.) Some 10–20 million Americans suffer from a mood disorder.
These disorders, sometimes called collectively or “clinical depression” or simply “depression,” are very real disorders, with a physiological basis. They are not simply personality traits, over-sensitivity, laziness, etc. They are real problems requiring real solutions. Left untreated, depression can be fatal — via suicide. So it’s a serious health problem which can have a profound effect on the lives of those who have them as well as everyone around them.
Who Gets Depression?
Depression affects people from all walks of life — rich and poor, men and women, young and old. No one is immune!
While depression seems to be more likely to afflict women than men, this is not true of bipolar disorder, and in any event, it still afflicts men in large numbers.
What To Do About It?
If you think you may have depression, call your doctor or another professional qualified to evaluate you (a clinical social worker, psychologist, psychiatrist, etc.). If you know someone who may be depressed, help them to make an appointment for an evaluation — or, if they’re already in treatment, encourage them to stick with their treatment and offer your support.
Our Internet Links page offers many informative Web sites and other resources. You can find out about mood disorders both from a clinical perspective and a personal one; discover treatments, including therapy, medication, and others; and there are resources specifically devoted to friends and family of those with mood disorders.
Support Groups
Informal, peer-oriented support groups are a marvelous way for those affected by depression, to help themselves. Knowing that there are others who’ve gone through the same thing, can be comforting. Shared experiences make it easier to get through the bad days (and there are many of those).
For friends and families, support groups can help by providing them with an idea of what to expect, and how to help. They can also share theire own burdens among each other and help sufferers see how their illness affects them.
Of course, informal support groups are no substitute for proper medical treatment! If you are on medication or in therapy — or both — you should stick with them, above all else. Support groups are a help, but they cannot be your whole treatment.
