Unipolar Mood Disorders - Essay Example

People with this disorder experience extreme mood changes usually from mania to depression. However, between the two episodes (mania and depression), one may experience normal moods. Manic describes a period of restlessness, being talkative, energetic, powerful, euphoric, and having reckless moods. These moods can then change into confusion, anger, and irritation at some point.

On the other hand, depression describes the opposite of manic moods. It is a period of sadness, loss of energy, loss of pleasure, sleeplessness, and low self-esteem. Bipolar is a complex disorder to diagnose. This is because, in every person, the pattern of moods varies, even in normal people. For instance, for some people, mania or depression can last for too long even years in rare occurrences, while in others, the disorder occurs frequently and dramatically. Therefore, in bipolar disorder, the episodes of depression and mania alternate in a person. This does not happen in unipolar disorder, bringing forth the difference between the two (Brainphysics.com, 2012). 

1. Treatment for mood disorders

Pharmacotherapy

This is the use of psychotropic drugs for the treatment of psychological disorders. Antipsychotics are some of the examples of Pharmacotherapy. They are used to treat schizophrenia. Antipsychotics were the first psychotropic drugs to be introduced in the 1950s. Examples of antipsychotics are haloperidol and chlorpromazine. These drugs reduce the positive symptoms of schizophrenia through the blockage of dopamine receptors in the brain system (Fincham, 2012).

            Alternative biological treatments of mood disorders

 As Fincham (2012) explains, medically trained practitioners like psychiatrists, among others normally use biological treatments in hospitals. Examples include; electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), psychosurgery, and drugs used to moderate or control the symptoms experienced. Psychosurgery is mostly used to control aggression and emotional behavior. It involves severing some areas of the brain to administer psychological treatment when there is no clear organic cause of the psychological disorder. Lobotomy, which was later replaced by cingulotomy, was the first developed surgical procedure for psychosurgery with its popularity in the United States.

Psychotherapy

These refer to treatments that do not lead to direct changes in the body but rather use psychological methods. An example is behavior therapy, concerned with the personal behaviors that lead to stress. Behavior therapy is therefore focused on reducing such stress. It enables the victim to understand the environmental stressors and problems that affect them and how they can avoid them. However, behavior therapy is limited to the immediate behavior and does not focus on the early experience (Fincham, 2012).

1. Schizophrenia

            Schizophrenia is a serious disorder that affects the brain. It represents a complex group of mental disorders. Among the major mental illnesses, schizophrenia is the most chronic disabling mental illness. It leads to the distortion of a person's perception of reality, actions, thinking, relationship to others, and expression of emotions. It is a life-long disease with no cure, but if properly treated, it can be controlled. Some of the characteristics of schizophrenia are loss of touch with reality, abnormal thinking, risks of committing suicide, hallucinations, and social problems. There are different types of schizophrenia. These include paranoid, catatonic, undifferentiated, and residual schizophrenia (Webmd.com, 2005).

 Webmd.com (2005) further records that, people with paranoid schizophrenia are always afraid of being punished or persecuted. However, their speech, emotions, and thinking are normal. On the other hand, in disorganized schizophrenia, the victims seem to be incoherent and confused and have disorganized behavior. They have slurred speech and inappropriate childlike behavior. Most often, these people are not in a position to carry out such daily activities as taking a shower. Catatonic schizophrenia is a type of schizophrenia where most of the symptoms are physical. The victims are generally unresponsive and immobile to the things taking place around them. These people are usually very rigid and not willing to make any move. Further, the victims have a habit of repeating words that other people speak and are at a high risk of self-inflicted injuries and malnutrition.

Undifferentiated schizophrenia is another subtype of schizophrenia. It is usually diagnosed when the symptoms of the sufferer do not match any of the symptoms of the other three subtypes discussed above. Residual Schizophrenia represents decreased symptoms of schizophrenia as compared to the original diagnosis. Though such symptoms of schizophrenia as hallucinations may still be evident, their severity is considered to have decreased (Webmd.com, 2005).