Chat Live Now!
24/7 HelplineWhat’s the difference between a bad mood and a mood disorder? For one thing, a bad mood goes away. A mood disorder stays around, and is often so severe it affects a person’s ability to perform in school, maintain a job or even engage in fun activities with friends. Mood disorders include major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.
To people with a mood disorder, their problems feel insurmountable. Unlike a temporary bad mood, mood disorders alter a person’s perspective and ability to reason. It is part of the reason people with untreated mood disorders often turn to substance abuse for relief. However, all mood disorders respond well to mood disorder treatments. Sovereign Health’s residential treatment center in Rancho San Diego provides mental health help for teens dealing with mood disorders.
Mood Disorders
The phrase “mood disorders” describes a wide family of illnesses, all of which cause dramatic mood swings, either elevating or lowering the mood. Bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic depression), major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder are all mood disorders.
Depression is a serious – and treatable – illness. Unlike a temporary case of the blues, depression sticks around, seriously impacting a person’s ability to enjoy and engage in life. Depression occurs along with other serious disorders as well. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates 27 percent of people with a substance abuse disorder also experience depression, and between 50 to 75 percent of people with an eating disorder experience depression.
Depression’s also estimated to be the culprit behind more than two-thirds of the suicides which occur in the U.S. each year. Suicide, meanwhile, is one of the leading killers of adolescents. In 2015, NIMH estimated 12.5 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 had at least one major depressive episode.
Some mood disorders don’t include depression: disruptive mood dysregulation disorder causes children to experience chronic and severe anger. It also creates frequent outbursts of temper.
Treatment for mood disorders depends on its type and severity and other factors. Effective treatment for mood disorders can normally be found at mood disorder treatment centers such as Sovereign Health of Rancho San Diego.
