A Writer's Guide to Mental Illness

Definitions: Mood Disorders

DISCLAIMER: We are not psychologists and these are by no means all mood disorders possible. If you feel we have missed something, please let us know so we can amend our information. 

—

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Yes, there is more than one type of clinical depression. Major depressive disorder is most likely what you think of when someone tells you they're depressed: severely low mood, maybe emotional numbness, a lack of interest in once-enjoyable activities. 

Among the key defining features of MDD is the severity of it—but also the impermanence. People suffering from MDD will often improve—or go into remission—after a period of depression. Of course, that in now way implies that they won't have another episode of major depression. Some people may only suffer one episode, while others remain at the mercy of them for their entire lives.

Approximately 4% of people suffering MDD in the US will commit suicide as a result.

—

Dysthymia

Dysthymia is another classification of depression to describe a chronic low mood. While symptoms of dysthymia are usually not as crippling as MDD, they last a lot longer—easily for years. That's not to say, however, that people with dysthymia are immune to episodes of major depression. If anything, they're more susceptible to it.

Imagine depression as a can of black paint. With MDD, you're splashing all of it at one part of the wall. With dysthymia, you're painting the room.

—

Bipolar Disorder I & II

Much like depression, there are multiple types of bipolar disorder. Also known as manic depression, this disorder is comprised of mood cycles: mania and depression. While both types include episodes of major depression, the mania exhibited varies between them.

Bipolar I is characterized by the cycling of depression and full-blown mania. Depressive symptoms are akin to those of MDD, whereas manic symptoms include delusions of grandeur, hypersexuality, racing thoughts and high-risk behaviour. It can sometimes progress to a full-blown psychotic episode that requires hospital care.

Bipolar II is characterized by the cycling of depression and hypomania. Type II is very similar to Type I, the key difference being the milder manic phase. Hypomania includes many symptoms of full-blown mania, though does not include psychosis or the same high-risk behaviour.

Bipolar disorder is more than just mood swings. Depressive and manic phases can last for months at a time. In rarer cases, rapid cycling can occur, and is defined as four or more depressive and manic phases per year.

—

Cyclothymia

Cyclothymia is to bipolar disorder as dysthymia is to major depression. Sufferers of cyclothymic disorder experience the same up-down cycling as those of manic depression, though they do not approach the severity of manic-depressive symptoms. This, however, does not diminish the difficulties cyclothymia brings, and it should be recognized and treated regardless of it's severity.

—  

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Seasonal Affective Disorder is a subcategory of either MDD or dysthymia that changes with the seasons. Most commonly, it is triggered by the waning of light in the winter, and is considered one of the causes of high suicide rates in nordic countries such as Finland and Sweden, where the sun sets for months at a time.

—

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is pervasive, transcendent and all-encompassing. It is described by the American Psychological Association as "excessive anxiety and worry, occurring more days than not for a period of at least six months, about a number of events or activities". (APA, 2000, p.47) Unlike obsessive-compulsive disorder or social anxiety, GAD is rarely specified to one area of life and can range from fairly moderate to debilitating.

—

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD is a type of anxiety disorder that is comprised largely of two parts: obsessions and compulsions. 

Obsessions are persistent and intrusive thoughts that force themselves into the mind time and time again. Some examples of common obsessions are sanitation (Is this clean? Am I going to get sick if I touch this?), doubt (Did I lock the door? Did I turn off all the lights? Is the fridge door fully shut?), and numbers (Sixteen is an evil number, and if I only do this sixteen times, something terrible is going to happen to me), though any obsessions are possible and none are more valid than others.

Compulsions are ritualistic actions a person carries out in order to control their obsessive thoughts. For example, someone who is obsessed with cleanliness might constantly be washing their hands or refuse to use cutlery that has touched the table. Another person might flick the lights on and off a certain number of times to reassure themselves that they have, in fact, turned them all off. Someone else fixated on numerals might carry out simple actions—such as pressing elevator buttons—a certain amount of times and organize things into clusters of "good" numbers.

—

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Mostly commonly associated with veterans or people who have suffered different types of assault, PTSD is an stress reaction to any traumatic event. It is indiscriminate in terms of what event triggers it; while one person might not find a car accident particularly traumatic, another might be debilitated by nightmares and intrusive flashbacks. Symptoms of PTSD usually start within a few months of the event, though sometimes there is a much longer delay—even years.

—

Social Phobia 

Social phobia is characterized by fear and panic associated with social situations such as dating, playing team sports, conversing with strangers and even just being around other people. This phobia is often driven by fear of embarrassment, but not always. Sufferers tend to avoid many social gatherings and public speaking events.

—

Most importantly, there is no uniform presentation of any of the above disorders; just as any physical disease, they affect each person differently.