Depression

There are many people that suffer from mood disorders and don’t even know it.  What may seem like just a bad day or rough week can actually mean something more serious.  If you are worried that you are someone you know may be suffering from one of the many mood disorders present today, then read on to learn more about the more common types.

A major depressive disorder is the more technical term for depression, and can seriously affect every aspect of your daily life.  The general symptoms that a physician would look for when diagnosing depression are:
•    A steady feeling of sadness, irritability, or anxiety that does not go away when it should.  Most often there is no apparent reason for the feelings.
•    A loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities or hobbies including sexual activities
•    An over all lack of energy, feeling tired even when you haven’t done anything
•    A loss or increase in appetite, with weight loss or weight gain
•    Difficulty with sleeping normally, at times insomnia or sleeping too much
•    A feeling of restlessness or feeling of a weight on you slowing you down
•    Unable to steadily make decisions or concentrate
•    Feeling worthlessness or hopelessness about life, or guilt
•    Thinking of suicide or death

A person with a mood disorder or mood disorders like depression can present with any number of these symptoms and the degree of them differ from person to person.  If you believe you are presenting with any of these symptoms you should consult with a doctor to see if you are suffering from depression.  If these symptoms are presenting a serious crisis, contact your local hospital or emergency room.

Another type of disorder to mention is Dysthymia.  It is a disorder that resembles major depression above, but on a lesser scale.  This type of disorder can find those suffering from it having feelings of depression most every day for about a two year period.

Furthermore, there are many other mood disorders that present with depression symptoms.  These included seasonal major depression (seasonal affective disorder), postpartum depression, and bipolar disorder.

Seasonal Affective Disorder
This disorder is aptly named because the symptoms of depression come seasonally.  For example, a person that suffers from this disorder may become depressed during the winter months or during the fall.

Postpartum Depression

Mood disorders like this one are only seen in women.  Symptoms of depression present in women who have given birth recently, most often times in the first few months of giving birth.  However, it is also known to happen within a year after.

The symptoms themselves are like those with major depression.  The results of this are that the mothers are often unable to bond with their infant.  This is a very common and serious illness and should be spoken about with your doctor.  However, it should not be confused with “baby blues”.  This is often seen within days of delivery and will pass as quickly as it came on.

Bipolar Disorder
This is another one of the major mood disorders.  While many of those mentioned above are like major depression, bipolar disorder, or rather, manic depression is not.  This type of disorder presents with extreme highs and lows in mood. For example, peoel suffering from this disorder will experience periods of extreme pleasure and happiness then periods of severe depression.