Mood Disorders Q & A

What are mood disorders?

Mood disorders are mental health conditions that negatively impact your emotions. They cause persistent sadness, despair, anger, and other feelings that affect your thinking and ability to cope.

Some mood disorders are life-long conditions, while others are curable with proper treatment. Whatever mood disorder you have, the Guadalupe Psychiatric and Mental Health Services team offers effective therapies delivered with compassion.

What mood disorders might affect me?

Common mood disorders include:

Major depressive disorder (MDD)

MDD causes intense feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, and unrelenting misery. Nothing brings you happiness, however hard you try to improve your mood. Severe depression makes it impossible to work or study, causes relationship difficulties, and leads to suicidal thoughts.

Dysthymia

Dysthymia is chronic depression that persists for two or more years. People with dysthymia suffer from low moods but function in daily life.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

SAD affects people when there’s insufficient daylight; in the US, it’s more common during winter.

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)

Women with PMDD suffer mood swings resulting from hormonal changes during their menstrual cycle.

Bipolar disorder

People with bipolar disorder experience moods that switch from depression to euphoria and back in a constant cycle. These mood changes are rapid and severe, seriously affecting your behavior and ability to maintain routines.

Cyclothymia

Cyclothymia is a form of bipolar disorder with less extreme mood swings.

How are mood disorders treated?

Mood disorder treatments available at Guadalupe Psychiatric and Mental Health Services include:

Psychotherapy

Discussing your feelings and experiences with a skilled therapist is invaluable when you have a mood disorder. Several approaches can help, including individual psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Individual psychotherapy helps you understand problems that make you vulnerable to mood disorders and work through them. CBT helps challenge your thoughts and make them realistic and positive.

Medication

Antidepressant medications address chemical imbalances in your brain. They boost levels of dopamine and serotonin — neurotransmitters for brain cells that regulate moods and communication.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

TMS helps when psychotherapy and medication aren’t improving your symptoms. The treatment is painless and noninvasive, using magnetic energy to stimulate the brain’s mood center.

Spravato®

Spravato is a nasal spray containing esketamine, a form of the anesthetic drug ketamine. Spravato almost instantly affects people whose depression is resistant to other treatments.

The team also recommends full-spectrum light for patients with SAD.

Call Guadalupe Psychiatric and Mental Health Services today or book an appointment online for effective mood disorder treatments.