A mood disorder is more than a normal change in mood; a mood disorder will last for days, weeks, months or more. Common mood disorders are:
- Depression disorder – a “unipolar” mood disorder. (See our description on this page.)
- Dysthymia disorder – a less severe form of depression that lasts for a much longer period of time – sometimes for years. Think of this as a low-grade depression that lasts for a long time.
- Bi-Polar disorder – Formerly known as manic-depression. The mood swings from a high manic cycle to a low depressive cycle for no apparent reason. The cycles may be a day or two, or a week or more.
Mood disorders may be organic or induced, normally by drug use. Organic mood disorders are often inherited, much like red hair or brown eyes. Normally there is someone up the family tree with the disorder. Drug induced mood disorders occur due to the interference of normal brain mood regulation brought about by the drug. This occurs in drug addicts and alcoholics.
Some mood disorders may be caused by a medical condition like cirrhosis, cardiovascular disease, dementia, thyroid disease and more.
Diagnosis of a mood disorder requires multiple examinations by a psychiatrist and a psychologist and sometimes a licensed counselor. It may take several weeks to properly diagnose a mood disorder as cycles may take time to observe.
Arrowhead Lodge’s clinical staff includes a psychiatrist, psychologist and several licensed counselors. We are able to diagnose and treat most mood disorders in alcoholics and drug addicts; however, we require our clients to commit to 90-days of care so that an accurate diagnosis may be made and the client has time to get stable on medications to treat the disorder.
