Mental Illness: Mood Disorders

DISCLAIMER: Please read the "DISCLAIMER" section of this website before reading the material in this portion of the website.

Mental illness is a hidden epidemic for two reasons

1. People refrain from talking openly about mental illness because in our society it has a stigma.
2. Most mentally ill people are "high-functioning." This means that they are able to control themselves in public and thereby conceal their mental illness. But it all comes out at home!

The next few pages take a quick look at some common mental illnesses. However, please be aware that every case of mental illness is as unique as the person who carries it. And the degree of severity varies considerably. Also realize that the boundaries between various types of mental illnesses are "fuzzy." All of these make diagnosis difficult, even for professionals. This is no place for amateur diagnosis!

Let's begin with mood disorders. As the name implies, a mood disorder is a mental illness that affects your moods in a way that causes intense distress, chronic relational difficulties, deviates strongly from societal norms, or otherwise makes it difficult for a person to live a normal life. The video below provides an introduction to bipolar disorder, a mood disorder which according the National Institute of Mental Health affects 2.8% of Americans. For similar videos on mental health issues, see the "Psych2Go" website.