Mood (Affective) Disorders
Descriptions of mood disorders go back to the time of Hippocrates. Mood disorders are primarily characterized by depressed and/or elevated (manic) moods. The essential feature of mood disorders is an episode that is a distinct and persistent change from a person’s typical mood (depression or mania), accompanied by other depressive and manic symptoms, lasting 2 weeks for a major depressive episode and 1 week for a manic episode. Such episodes typically remit and recur over the course of time. Manic episodes define bipolar disorder. Severe depression without manic episodes is diagnosed as major depressive disorder. Mood disorders present a 10- to 30-fold risk for suicide. Effective treatments for mood disorders include medications, brain stimulation modalities, and psychotherapy.