Personality and Mood Disorders
Most people know about personality and mood disorders. However, what many people fail to understand is that personality disorders and mood disorders are two distinct conditions with different features and treatment methods. This shows how mental health problems are far more difficult to distinguish than physical health ailments. There are definitely some overlapping features between the two conditions, which lead to the difficulty in diagnosis. However, distinguishing between personality and mood disorders are essential in finding a right treatment method for a patient’s mental health problem.
Mood disorders are related to the relationship that the patient has with his or her emotions. Mentally healthy people often undergo highs and lows in their mood, but for them these shifts in emotions are short-lasting and easily manageable. For individuals with mood disorders, these mood swings are far longer in duration and more intense, potentially making it difficult for them to carry on everyday tasks. Mood disorders can also be described to be a condition in which an individual has emotions that are not consistent with the situation which they are in. Mood disorders are known to affect around 10% of the American population, which is around 20.9 million people. Despite the large number of patients suffering from the condition, mood disorders are not well understood by the general public.
Common mood disorders include major depression and bipolar disorder, both of which are conditions that many people know, but may not understand them to be mood disorders. Major depression is intensified feelings of hopelessness and lack of self-worth, and is often characterized by apathy in activities that used to bring the patient joy. Less known is dysthymia, a condition of less intense depression that can last for more than a year, which may not be as noticeable but still requires professional attention. Bipolar disorder can be characterized by long periods of depression with brief periods of mania, or elevated mood, in which the patient feels manic happiness and undertakes risky, thrill-seeking behaviors. Typical symptoms of mood disorders include, but are not limited to sadness, irritability, fatigue, and changed appetites.
Personality disorders, on the other hand, are characterized by marked differences that patients have with other people in how they experience emotion. This can extend to how they socialize with others, understand different situations, and think about their problems. Personality disorders can be identified by unhealthy behavioral and thought patterns. They often occur alongside other mental health problems, including depression and substance abuse, both of which are clinically distinct conditions from personality disorder. Individuals suffering from personality disorders often have problems in socializing with others and in making decisions and actions under different contexts, causing issues in both their professional and personal life.
Personality disorders can be categorized into three major groups with different symptoms. Type A personality disorders are characterized by a problem in the patient’s ability to relate with others, making other people think the patient is different. An example of this is paranoid personality disorder, in which the patient is overly cautious and distrustful of the people around him or her. Type B personality disorders are characterized by an individual’s difficulty in regulating his own emotions, which also affects the person’s perspective of other people. An example of type B personality disorder is borderline personality disorder, in which individuals suffer from unstable mood swings and irregular relationships. Patients with type C personality disorder suffer from severe feelings of anxiety and fearfulness which are so overwhelming that it consumes their daily lives, leading them to be withdrawn. An example of this is avoidant personality disorder. It is very common for people to misunderstand individuals for this condition, as it is easy to interpret their overwhelming fear of social rejection as apathy towards socialization. This highlights the importance in proper education and correct diagnosis of mental health conditions.
Knowing the difference between personality disorders and mood disorders is important, even if you are not a medical professional. This is because proper knowledge would help you understand if someone around you is suffering from a mental health condition, and it would allow you to help them to swiftly receive the proper care they may need, which would lead them towards steady progress in their mental health journey. It is important to know that if your loved one is struggling with the symptoms of personality or mood disorders, it is crucial for them to see a psychologist or other trained professional for accurate diagnosis.
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