The mental health crisis created by mass-scale disemployment and loss of income, financial distress, isolation, loss of liberty, fear of infection and death and concern regarding social 60 isolation, etc., has further strengthened the grip of anxiety, depression, stress on people’s well being in India.
The lockdown has caused unprecedented changes in people’s lives. According to the ‘Rebooting 2020: A Story of COVID-19, and Shifting Perceptions’ survey by Mavericks India, sixty-one per cent of Indians are experiencing mental-health-related issues during this lockdown. This situation is not being given the attention and intervention it demands.
A UN brief published by the UN describes how many people who were previously coping well are now finding it hard to deal with distresses due to multiple stress factors that have emerged in the pandemic and the political response.
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A mood disorder is a mental health problem that primarily affects a person’s emotional state. It is a disorder in which a person experiences long periods of extreme happiness, extreme sadness, or both.
It is normal for someone’s mood to change, depending on the situation. However, to be diagnosed with a mood disorder, symptoms must be present for several weeks or longer. Mood disorders can cause changes in your behaviour and can affect your ability to deal with routine activities, such as work or school.
What is mood disorder?
Given the high incidence of mood disorders, it is essential that you take a look to understand the issue better. The term mood disorder can be applied to different mood disorders such as mania, anxiety disorder, dysthymic disorder, bipolar disorder, and more. . About 19 million adults (19 million adults) of various age groups are affected, and sadly, some do not seek treatment for their condition until it is too late. An early diagnosis can make all the difference, and can even lead the patient to resume their normal life.
Treatment can take various forms from regular counselling sessions to fitness regimens; One of the reasons why different clinics and doctors adopt different methodologies to treat this condition is that nothing is still understood about the condition. If your loved one begins to display different moods within a short period of time, displaying all extremes from manic depression to agitation, then this mood disorder There may also be a symptom of mood disorder. This is why it is important to consult a health professional at the earliest, as early diagnosis can lead to treatment and rehabilitation
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Types of mood disorders
Three types of mood disorders have been described in the DSM-IV (TR) which are as follows
Depressive disorder—It can also be called a unipolar disorder. The main symptom of this mood disorder is sadness and depression in the person. Apart from this, loss of appetite, sleep, and body weight can be seen in this and the activation level of the person becomes very low. Depressive disorder is then divided into two parts:
(i) Dysthymic disorder – In this mood disorder, the nature of depressive mood is chronic, that is, the mood of the person is depressed for many years. The person does not feel interested or pleasure in anything for many years. In between, his mood may become normal for a few days, but the state of depression remains high.
(ii) Major depressive disorder – In this mood disorder the person has experienced one or more major depressive episodes. The person has lost his interest in everything and he does not feel like doing any work. In such a situation, lack of sleep, loss of body weight, fatigue, inability to think properly, feeling worthless and unworthy, a tendency towards suicide, etc. For this pathology, it is necessary that such symptoms have been seen in the person for at least the last two weeks.
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What are the symptoms of mood disorder?
Some of the known symptoms of a mood disorder are –
- Feeling suicidal
- Often contemplates suicide and also researches various methods for the same
- Lack of interest in social activities
- Remains withdrawn
- Feeling unduly pessimistic
- Wild mood swings, downright pessimism from elation
- hyperactive behaviour
- being obsessive
- Being impulsive and making rash decisions
Treatment of Mood Disorder.
When it comes to treatment, most physicians recommend a course of therapy including prescribing certain drugs with psychoactive properties. The point, however, is that much is not yet understood about the mood disorder or what causes a patient to develop it for a specific period of time. If you feel that you are suffering from wide-ranging moods, and it is interfering with your normal life, you need to consult your doctor immediately.
In addition, your counsellors can suggest personality-building exercises as well as a healthy fitness workout, which helps your brain feel good and increase the feel-good dopamine hormone. (feel-good dopamine hormone) is released.
Prevention to avoid Mood Disorder.
Since the condition is being thoroughly investigated, it is still difficult to determine what may help prevent a healthy adult from developing a mood disorder. However, what most practitioners agree on is that in regular social life, along with regular exercises and fitness workouts, one should maintain a positive outlook. Helps to keep. And of course, needless to say, it is essential that you make sure you communicate your feelings and emotions to the people around you and avoid keeping everything bottled up.
Withdrawal symptoms of a mood disorder.
Your doctor may prescribe a course of mood-altering drugs to help fight the long-term effects of depression and treat your mood disorder. While these drugs are not considered addictive, you will experience some withdrawal symptoms should you stop taking the drug for one reason or the other. Some withdrawal symptoms include –
- Dry or cottonmouth
- more reclusive and withdrawal
- Resting in the ‘Mood Disorder’ Phase
- extreme irritability for any reason
- being tired, tired all the time
- These are some of the withdrawal symptoms you may face, should you stop taking prescribed medication to help treat your mood disorder.
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