Mood disorders are mental health conditions that significantly impact a person’s emotions, thoughts, and daily functioning. Common symptoms may include prolonged sadness, intense irritability, or extreme mood swings that interfere with work, school, and relationships. Living with a mood disorder can be overwhelming, leaving you feeling stuck, fatigued, or disconnected from the people and activities you care about.
At Excel Psychology, we provide comprehensive psychological assessments and personalized therapy to help diagnose your condition, develop effective coping strategies, and support your lasting emotional well-being.
Understanding Mood Disorders
Mood disorders are mental health conditions that cause ongoing disruptions in a person’s emotional state. These are not simply changes in mood that come and go. Instead, the feelings are more intense, last longer, and often interfere with daily life, relationships, school, or work.
While occasional shifts in mood are normal for most people, a mood disorder is different. Symptoms persist for weeks or more and are often intense or disruptive compared to the situation that triggered them.
These conditions can affect children, teens, and adults, though symptoms may appear differently across age groups. A mood disorder is more common in women. The two most recognized types of mood disorders are depression and bipolar disorder.
Types of Mood Disorders
Mood disorders are generally grouped into depressive disorders and bipolar disorders. Each set has its unique symptoms, but both significantly affect how a person feels, thinks, and functions.
Depressive Disorders
Depressive disorders involve persistent feelings of sadness, emptiness, hopelessness, or loss of interest that last for weeks or longer. These conditions can affect energy levels, sleep patterns, appetite, concentration, relationships, and overall quality of life.
In the USA, about 21 million adults experience at least one major depressive episode, with rates higher among women than men.
Types of depressive disorders include:
- Major Depressive Disorder (MDD or Clinical Depression): It is characterized by intense sadness, loss of pleasure in activities, and changes in sleep or appetite lasting at least two weeks.
- Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia): A long-term form of depression that lingers for two years or more. Symptoms may be milder than major depression but are more chronic.
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): It is a type of MDD that occurs in a predictable seasonal pattern, most commonly in the winter when there is less sunlight.
- Depression with Psychosis: A severe form of depression where symptoms are accompanied by hallucinations or delusional thoughts.
- Postpartum Depression: Postpartum depression, also known as Major Depressive Disorder with Peripartum Onset, can begin during pregnancy or after childbirth. It is often linked to hormonal changes and the emotional adjustments of becoming a parent.
Symptoms of Depressive Disorders
Depressive disorders affect mood, energy, and daily functioning. Common symptoms of depression may include:
- Persistent sadness, emptiness, or hopelessness
- Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
- Changes in appetite or weight
- Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
- Fatigue or low energy
- Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
- Trouble remembering things
- Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or self-blame
- Thoughts of death or suicide
Symptoms can vary in intensity and may interfere with school, work, or relationships. Early diagnosis and treatment can help manage these symptoms and improve quality of life.
Bipolar Disorders
Bipolar disorders are mental health conditions marked by extreme mood swings that cycle between emotional highs and lows. The high phases, called mania or hypomania, involve unusually elevated or irritable moods, increased energy, decreased need for sleep, rapid thoughts, and sometimes impulsive or risky behavior.
The low phases, or depressive episodes, involve feelings of sadness, hopelessness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, changes in appetite or sleep, and loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities. These mood shifts can significantly affect daily functioning, relationships, work, and school performance.
Types of bipolar disorders include:
- Bipolar I Disorder: This type of bipolar disorder includes at least one manic episode, which may be preceded or followed by depressive episodes. Manic episodes can be severe, sometimes requiring hospitalization, and may include psychotic features. Occurrence of depressive episodes is not required for diagnosis.
- Bipolar II Disorder: It involves recurrent depressive episodes alongside hypomanic episodes, which are milder than full mania and typically do not cause severe impairment or hospitalization. People with bipolar II often spend more time in depressive states than in hypomanic states.
- Cyclothymic Disorder (Cyclothymia): A chronic, fluctuating mood disorder lasting at least two years in adults (one year in children/adolescents). It involves periods of hypomanic symptoms alternating with periods of mild depressive symptoms that do not meet criteria for full hypomanic or depressive episodes but still cause noticeable distress or functional impairment.
- Other Specified or Unspecified Bipolar & Related Disorders: These categories include mood disturbances that cause clinically significant impairment but do not meet full diagnostic criteria for the above types. Symptoms may include rapid mood shifts, subthreshold manic or depressive episodes, or atypical features.
Symptoms of Bipolar Disorders
People with bipolar disorders may experience symptoms such as:
- Elevated, euphoric, or irritable mood (mania/hypomania)
- Increased energy, goal-directed activity, or restlessness
- Racing thoughts, rapid speech, or distractibility
- Impulsive or risky behaviors (spending sprees, reckless driving, risky sexual behavior)
- Decreased need for sleep while maintaining high energy
- Depressive episodes with sadness, hopelessness, fatigue, and loss of interest in activities
- Difficulty concentrating, making decisions, or functioning at home, school, or work
Causes & Risk Factors of Mood Disorders
Mood disorders can be influenced by a combination of biological, genetic, and environmental factors. While the exact cause is not fully understood, research suggests that imbalances in brain chemicals, known as neurotransmitters, play a central role.
- Biological Factors: Certain brain regions, like the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex, help regulate emotions. Study shows that people with mood disorders may have structural or functional differences in these areas, including an enlarged amygdala.
- Genetic Factors: Mood disorders often run in families, indicating a hereditary component. Having a close relative with a mood disorder increases the likelihood of developing one, suggesting that genes can make some people more vulnerable.
- Environmental Factors: Stressful life events, such as the death of a loved one, chronic stress, childhood trauma, or abuse, can trigger mood disorders. Long-term physical health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, and chronic pain, may also increase risk.
- Neurological & Medical Conditions: Mood disorders frequently occur alongside neurological disorders, including multiple sclerosis, dementia, stroke, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, and movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease. Chronic illnesses and neurological conditions can affect brain chemistry and increase the risk of depression or other mood disorders.
Diagnosis of Mood Disorders
At Excel Psychology, we provide thorough, personalized psychological testing and evaluations to help identify mood disorders and guide effective treatment. If you or a loved one is experiencing symptoms such as persistent sadness, extreme mood swings, or changes in energy and behavior, please reach out.
Our provider starts by reviewing your overall health to rule out medical causes like thyroid issues, vitamin deficiencies, or other conditions that can affect mood. We also take a look at your current medications and family history of mood disorders.
Our psychologists then conduct structured interviews and assessments to understand your symptoms, sleep and eating habits, daily functioning, and emotional patterns. We use criteria from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) to guide accurate diagnoses.
A mood disorder is typically diagnosed when emotions such as sadness, irritability, or elation are:
- Intense and persistent over time
- Accompanied by other symptoms, including changes in sleep, appetite, or activity levels
- Interfering with daily life, school, work, or relationships
Our goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding of your emotional health. After evaluation, we deliver detailed results along with a practical, individualized care plan to support treatment, coping strategies, and improved quality of life.
Management of Mood Disorders
At Excel Psychology, we provide personalized therapy to help manage mood disorders and improve overall emotional well-being. Talk therapy, or psychotherapy, is a cornerstone of treatment.
Psychotherapy helps you explore your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors with our licensed mental health professional, gaining insight, coping strategies, and practical tools to manage symptoms. Therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) provide a structured, goal-oriented approach proven to help manage depression, anxiety, and other mood disorder symptoms effectively.
Whether it’s helping you manage current mood episodes, prevent future relapses, or strengthen coping skills, our team works closely with you to create a plan that fits your life and goals.
Expert Mood Disorders Testing & Treatment in Utah
If you or a loved one is struggling with persistent sadness, extreme mood swings, or changes in energy and daily functioning, seeking help early can make a meaningful difference. At Excel Psychology, our team provides thorough assessments and personalized therapy plans to help manage symptoms, improve emotional well-being, and support everyday life.
With convenient locations in Provo, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, we make specialized mental health care accessible throughout Utah. To schedule an appointment, please call our office or complete our online form.
