A mood disorder is a mental health problem that primarily affects a person’s emotional state. It is a disorder in which a person experiences long periods of extreme happiness, extreme sadness, or both.

It is normal for someone’s mood to change, depending on the situation. However, to be diagnosed with a mood disorder, symptoms must be present for several weeks or longer. Mood disorders can cause changes in your behavior and can affect your ability to deal with routine activities, such as work or school.

What you will learn:
• What is a mood disorder?
• Depression
• Bipolar disorder
• Other mood disorders
• What causes mood disorders?
• What are the symptoms of common mood disorders?
• How are mood disorders diagnosed?
• How are mood disorders treated?
• Medications
• Psychotherapy
• Brain stimulation therapies
• Treatments for seasonal depression
• What’s the outlook for people with mood disorders?
• Living with Bipolar Disorder
• Get involved in your treatment
• Monitor your symptoms and moods
• Reach out for face-to-face connection
• Develop an active daily routine
• Keep stress to a minimum
• Watch what you put in your body

Two of the most common mood disorders are depression and bipolar disorder. This article will review these disorders and some of their many subtypes.

Depression (major or clinical depression). Depression is a common mental disorder. Grief or sadness is a typical response to a traumatic life event or crisis, such as the death of a spouse or family member, loss of a job, or a major illness. However, when the depression continues to be present even when stressful events are over or there is no apparent cause, physicians would then classify the depression as clinical or major depression. For a person to be diagnosed with clinical depression, symptoms must last for at least two weeks.

There are several different types of depression. Symptoms may vary depending on the form of the disorder.

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