A mood disorder is a type of mental health condition where there is a disconnect between actual life circumstances and the person’s state of mind or feeling. A mood disorder can negatively affect your ability to function normally. It can have serious consequences in all aspects of life, from personal to professional.
Mood disorders are conditions that affect a person’s emotional state. There are several different types of mood disorders:
- Bipolar disorder
- Major depressive disorder
- Cyclothymic disorder
- Persistent depressive disorder
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
Doctors don’t know the exact cause of mood disorders. They may be caused by brain changes, a chemical imbalance in the brain, genetic factors, certain medical conditions, use of psychoactive substances or other factors.
Sometimes, people with mood disorders have brain regions that are larger than they should be, including the amygdala, which helps to control a person’s emotions and feelings, and ventricles, the spaces within the brain that hold cerebrospinal fluid.
People may also experience mood disorders if brain chemicals, including serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, are out of balance.
When mood disorders are caused by use of psychoactive substances (e.g., cocaine), symptoms typically resolve when use of the particular substance is stopped.
These medical conditions are linked with mood disorders:
– Brain tumors
– Encephalitis
– Syphilis
– Multiple sclerosis
– Heart disease
– Chronic kidney disease
– Thyroid disease (hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism)
– AIDS
– Influenza (the flu)
– Cancer
– Q fever, which spreads from animals to people
– Metabolic changes linked to hemodialysis
– Certain genetic diseases such as Wilson disease