Psychology2016

Psychological Disorders 563

Disorders of Mood: The Effect of Affect

When was the last time you felt down and sad? Or maybe a period of excitement or
jubilation? Did these come about as the result of normal, day-to-day events or circum-
stances and change accordingly? Imagine how the experience of such feelings would
impact your life if they lasted for much longer periods of time, were much more per-
sistent across life events, and if you were unable to identify the source or cause for such
emotions. That is often the case when someone experiences a disordered mood.

Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorders

14.9 Describe different disorders of mood, including major depressive disorder
and bipolar disorders.

In psychological terms, the word affect is used to mean “emotion” or “mood.” Mood
disorders are disturbances in emotion and are also referred to as affective disorders.
Although the range of human emotions runs from deep, intense sadness and despair
to extreme happiness and elation, under normal circumstances people stay in between
those extremes—neither too sad nor too happy but content (see Figure 14.1). It is when
stress or some other factor pushes a person to one extreme or the other that mood disor-
ders can result. Mood disorders can be relatively mild or moderate (straying only a short
distance from the “average”), or they can be extreme (existing at either end of the full
range). While we will examine disorders of mood together here, note that in the DSM-5,
disorders of mood can be found under “Bipolar and Related Disorders” or “Depressive
Disorders.”

MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER When a deeply depressed mood comes on fairly sud-
denly and either seems to be too severe for the circumstances or exists without any
external cause for sadness, it is called major depressive disorder. Major depression
would fall at the far extreme of sadness on Figure 14.1. People suffering from major
depressive disorder are depressed for most of every day, take little or no pleasure in
any activities, feel tired, have trouble sleeping or sleep too much, experience changes
in appetite and significant weight changes, experience excessive guilt or feelings of
worthlessness, and have trouble concentrating. Some people with this disorder also suf-
fer from delusional thinking and may experience hallucinations. Most of these symp-
toms occur on a daily basis, lasting for the better part of the day (American Psychiatric
Association, 2013).
Some people with depression may have thoughts of death or suicide, including
suicide attempts. Death by suicide is the most serious negative outcome for the person
with depression. It is now the second leading cause of death among young people from
15 to 34 years of age in the United States, and more than 90 percent of suicides are associ-
ated with a psychological disorder, with depression being the most likely cause (Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015; Hyman & Cohen, 2013). If you or someone
you know is thinking about suicide, confidential assistance is available from the National
Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Figure 14.2 The Range of Emotions
Most people experience a range of emotions over the course of a day or several days, such as
mild sadness, calm contentment, or mild elation and happiness. A person with a disorder of mood
experiences emotions that are extreme and, therefore, abnormal.

Extreme
sadness

Mild

sadness

Normal

emotions

Mild

elation

Extreme

elation

affect

in psychology, a term indicating

“ emotion” or “mood.”

mood disorders

disorders in which mood is severely

disturbed.

major depressive disorder

severe depression that comes on

suddenly and seems to have no

external cause, or is too severe for

current circumstances.