1. Myers PSYCHOLOGY Seventh Edition in Modules
Mood Disorders
James A. McCubbin, Ph.D.
Clemson University
Worth Publishers

2. Major Depressive Disorder Major Depressive Disorder
Mood Disorders
Mood Disorders
characterized by emotional extremes
Major Depressive Disorder Or
Bipolar Disorder
Major Depressive Disorder
Bipolar Disorder

3. Major Depressive Disorder
Depression
The “Common Cold” of psychological disorders
Represents pervasiveness but not seriousness
Often a response to present or past loss
Main reason people seek psychological help
Leading cause of disability in the world
More common in women
Kind of psychic hibernation for self preservation
Slows body down, avoids attracting predators, stops futile efforts, and evokes support
Temporarily stop to think, reassess one’s life and redirect energy in better ways

4. Major Depressive Disorder
Dysthymic Disorder
Between normal blue moods and MDD
a “down-in-the-dumps” mood that fills most of the day, nearly everyday, for 2 years or more
Symptoms
low self-esteem and energy
Difficulty concentrating and making decisions
Sleep and eat either too little or too much

5. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Characterized as recurring depression during the winter’s dark months
People suffering from this disorder may have special lights in their house that feel like sun light

6. Depression

7. Depression Canadian depression rates
☹ Depression is at its peak in the early twenties and decreases with age ☹

8. Major Depressive Disorder
When Depression becomes MDD
when signs of depression last 2 weeks or more without any notable cause
Signs of this include lethargy, feelings of worthlessness, and/or loss of interest in family and friends
Two Week Calendar
Monday √
Tuesday
Wednesday√
Thursday
Friday√
Saturday√
Sunday√
Wednesday √
A √ represents depression

9. Bipolar Disorder
a mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania
formerly called manic-depressive disorder
Jump between depression and manic episodes
Occurs in about 1 percent of the population

10. Bipolar Disorder Manic Episode
a mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state
Opposite of depression
Depression involves living in slow motion while mania is living in fast motion

12. Bipolar Disorder Mania’s Symptoms
Mania has maladaptive symptoms such as high optimism and self esteem
These symptoms can lead to reckless investments and spending sprees.
During a manic episode, people rarely sleep.
At milder forms, mania can result in creativity.

13. Bipolar Disorder
There are many artists and writers that have been known to suffer from this mood disorder.
An Unquiet Mind
Key Redfield Jamison recalls her life and how bipolar disorder affected every action and decision that she made. This book allows readers to understand what people with bipolar disorder suffer through.

14. Mood Disorders-Bipolar
PET scans show that brain energy consumption rises and falls with emotional switches
Depressed state
Manic state

15. Mood Disorders- Suicide
☆Men are more likely to succeed at a suicide attempt☆

16. Suicide Statistics
Canada, Australia and the United States have double the suicide rate than England, Italy, and Spain
White Americans are twice as likely to commit suicide than black Americans
Women are more likely to attempt suicide but men are four times more likely to succeed
Lethal weapons, such as a gun, are used in 6 out of 10 suicides
The rate of suicide in teenagers has doubled within the last thirty years
People rarely commit suicide while in a depressed state. It usually occurs when they are rebounding from it and are capable of following through with it.

17. Explaining Mood Disorders
Many behavioral and cognitive changes accompany depression
Depression is widespread
Common causes
Compared with men, women are twice as vulnerable to major depression, even more so if they have been depressed before
Most major depressive episodes self-terminate
Stressful events related to work, marriage, and close relationships often precede depression

18. Depression and the Generation
The rate of depression is increasing with each generation and is striking people earlier (in the late teens)
Teens can easily hide it from their parents: In Australia, 90 percent of parents perceived their depressed teen as not suffering from depression
In North America, young adults are three times more likely then their grandparents to report that they have suffered from depression

19. Biological Perspective
Tend to run in families ⇒ genetic predisposition
If one twin has a disorder the other is much more likely to be diagnosed with the disorder at some point (Identical twins are more likely to be diagnosed then fraternal twins)
Gene control the body including biochemical messengers that control mood
So genetics affect moods
Mom
Dad
Twin A
Daughter C
Twin B
☆Names with a green box around them have the mood disorder☆

20. The Depressed Brain
Norepinephrine – neurotransmitter that increases arousal and boosts mood
Is overabundant during mania and scarce during depression
Smokers
Serotonin – also scarce during depression.
Remedies to increase both

21. Social-Cognitive Perspective
People sometimes slip in to depression for no apparent reason
Negative thoughts affect biochemical events in the brain changing moods
Self-defeating beliefs and learned helplessness help feed the cycle of depression
Bad moods cause depression and depression cause bad moods
(Chicken and the egg)

22. Mood Disorders-Depression
Altering any one component of the chemistry-cognition-mood circuit can alter the others

23. Mood Disorders-Depression
The “vicious cycle” of depression can be broken at any point