A PowerPoint presentation (no narration) containing much
of this information is available at the below web page.
Viewers who have PowerPoint software installed on their
computers can view the actual PowerPoint presentation (look
for the "emotion_health.ppt" file), or those without
PowerPoint can view the information as a webpage, but only
with MS Explorer 4.0 or above (look for
"emotion_health.mht" file).
http://facweb.northseattle.edu/troot/HEA150/
Mood Disorders
The following are a list of disorders characterized by disturbances or exaggerations of
a person's mood. A few examples of mood disorders
include a major depressive episode, manic
episode, and bipolar disorders.
Major Depressive Episode
Most everyone becomes "depressed,"
or sad, at some point in their lives. Such
'situational' depression may require counseling
or some other form of treatment. Clinical
depression, however, is a more serious depressive
state, generally attributed to a chemical
imbalance within the brain. A Major Depressive
Episode is characterized by several of the
following symptoms: extreme sadness, insomnia or
hypersomnia (a difficulty in sleeping or sleeping
too much), a loss of interest in most daily
activities, significant weight change, recurrent
thoughts of suicide or death, fatigue or loss of
energy nearly every day, diminished ability to
concentrate and extreme impairment in daily
functioning. In the diagnosis of a Major
Depressive Episode, chemical substances must be
ruled out in the cause. For general information
about depression, travel to the
National
Mental Health Association. (O)
Travel to Illumistream.com to view a
three-minute clip, "What
is Depression?" (R)
Manic Episode
A manic episode may be diagnosed if a person
has experienced an uncontrollable, heightened
state of irritability, excitability, and/or
euphoria lasting a week or longer. A person
experiencing a manic episode may exhibit an
inflated self-esteem, be extra talkative, feel a
decreased need for rest/sleep, be physically
agitated, extremely talkative and be easily
distracted. The individual, for example, may
enthusiastically pursue a project, abandon it,
and become heavily involved with another. The
manic experience impairs normal day-to-day living
and, in severe circumstances, may even include
delusions and/or hallucinations. The occurrence
of anyone experiencing only a single manic
episode without a concomitant episode of
depression or mixed episodes of both conditions
is quite rare. A hypomanic episode lasts at least
four days, is characterized by symptoms seen in a
manic episode, but are less severe and subsequently do not
warrant hospitalization.
Travel to
Youtube.com
to watch a video about mania, featuring an individual
experiencing a manic episode. (R)
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar Disorder, known more informally as
"manic depression," involves dramatic
mood swings of depression, mania and/or hypomania. The person
suffering from bipolar disorder may endure several
episodes of depression, interspersed with one or
more bouts of mania. Although the time periods of
mood disturbance can be short or long, both
extremes of mood are evident.
Travel to Illumistream.com to view a
three-minute clip about
bipolar
disorder (R). Illumistream.com also features a three-minute
clip on the
diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorder (O).
There are two classifications of Bipolar
Disorder: Bipolar I and Bipolar II.
Bipolar I
In Bipolar I the affected person experiences
at least one manic or "mixed" episode,
where the mixed episode refers to evidence of
both depression and mania. There may also be major
depressive episodes or hypomania experienced by
the person with Bipolar I. Bipolar I symptoms are thought of as
classic manic-depressive characteristics. If interested in a
better understanding of Bipolar I, travel to the
Internet
Mental Health website (O).
Bipolar II
In Bipolar II, the affected person has a
history of one or more major depressive episodes,
a history of one or more hypomanic episodes, no
manic or mixed episodes, and has suffered extreme
distress from the symptoms.
As evidenced by
this brief and complicated description, bipolar
disorder is not experienced by all people in the
same way to the same degree.
Psycheducation.org provides information about
Bipolar II disorder (R).
At psych-net-uk.com, there is information
available on the different
Bipolar
I and Bipolar II diagnoses (O).
Educational
Enrichment
American
Psychiatric Association
American
Psychological Association
Online
Depression Screening Test, from NYU's
Department of Psychiatry
Carol E. Watkins, M.D. writes about Seasonal
Affective Disorder and Light Therapy
Seasonal Affective Disorder
A Seasonal Affective Disorder sufferer
experiences symptoms similar to
depression--fatigue, lack of energy, sleep and
appetite difficulties. These depressive symptoms,
however, appear to be due to the darkness and
gloominess of the winter months. In the United
States, sufferers are more commonly seen in the
northern regions, where the days are shorter and
the nights longer. One of the more
commonly-publicized treatments for SAD includes
light therapy, researched and pioneered by
Dr. Norman
Rosenthal (O). The National Mental Health
Association has more information about
seasonal
affective disorder (O).
Youtube.com contains an eight-minute clip about a
Non Drug
Approach for Treating Seasonal Affective Disorder (O).
Last Revised: 1-8-10
