MOOD DISORDERS

Mood Disorders – a class of disorders marked by emotional disturbances of varied kinds that may spill over to disrupt physical, perceptual, social, and thought processes. Continuum with manic episodes on one end & depressive episodes on the other. Unipolar disorders suffer only on one end. Bi-polar disorders suffer on both ends.

Depressive Disorder – people show persistent feelings of sadness and despair and a loss of interest in previous sources of pleasure. Quit hobbies they enjoy. Reduced appetite, insomnia, lack of energy. Sluggish, talk slowly. Estimated that 12-14% of population will suffer from a depressive disorder at sometime.

Bipolar Mood Disorders – marked by the experience of both depressed and manic periods. Manic episodes are opposite of depressive episodes –Optimism, energy, extravagant plans. –May go days without sleep. –Talk rapidly, shift topics, mind races at breakneck speeds. –Impaired judgment!!!

Bipolar Types Bipolar I – episodes of severe mood swings Bipolar II – milder episodes of hypomania that alternate with depression Cyclothymic – mild, but somewhat rapid changes, can swing multiple times throughout the day. Mixed – can see symptoms from both ends of the mood continuum at the same time.

DISORDER PROJECT You need to act out your disorder for the amount of time given. It is important that you are diligent about living the disorder 100%. After you have acted out the disorder you will need to write a 3-4-paragraph reflection on your experience. Try to answer the following in you writing:. Include a short narrative of your experience. What classification of disorder do you believe your disorder would fall under? What inconveniences did you experience? How did other people react to your strange behavior? Do you have a new found empathy for people that suffer from psychological disorders? Why or Why not?