Mood disorders are mental health conditions that alter how you feel and think. They trigger negative emotions that can overwhelm you, making it difficult to function in daily life. Examples of mood disorders include:
Major depressive disorder (MDD)
Major depressive disorder causes despair, sadness, and hopelessness that persists for months. Without treatment, it can make life so unbearable people sometimes consider suicide the only escape.
Dysthymia
Dysthymia (persistent depressive disorder) is depression that lasts for years. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
SAD is depression that develops when you don’t get enough daylight. In the United States, it primarily affects people in the winter months when the days are short.
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
PMDD triggers severe mood swings every month when a woman’s hormone levels change during her menstrual cycle.
Bipolar disorder
People with bipolar disorder endure depressive episodes that can last for many months. Between bouts of depression, they experience manic episodes when they feel full of energy, overconfident, and reckless. Cyclothymia is bipolar disorder where the mood changes are less extreme.
