K
ay Redfield Jamison, a psychologist who studies mood
disorders, is uniquely qualifi ed to report and refl ect on
such disorders. Not only has she made mood disorders her
area of professional expertise, but she has also lived with such
a disorder. In her memoir, An Unquiet Mind (1995), Jamison
recounts her experiences. The youngest of three children in a
military family, she and her siblings attended four different
elementary schools—some in foreign countries—by the time
she was in 5th grade. She describes her father, a meteorologist
and Air Force offi cer, as expansive, with infectious good moods,
and impulsive, often giving the children gifts. It was “like having
Mary Poppins for a father” (Jamison, 1995, p. 17). However,
he also suffered periods when he was immobilized by depres-
sion, and he generally had trouble regulating his emotions.
As we’ll see in this chapter, Jamison herself developed diffi culties
regulating her emotions. She recounts that when she was a senior in
high school, her mood became so dark that her thinking... was torturous. I would read the same passage over and over again only
to realize that I had no memory at all for what I had just read. Each book
or poem I picked up was the same way. Incomprehensible... I could not
begin to follow the material presented in my classes.... It was very fright-
ening... [my mind] no longer found anything interesting or enjoyable or
worthwhile. It was incapable of concentrated thought and turned time
and time again to the subject of death: I was going to die, what difference
did anything make? Life’s run was only a short and meaningless one, why
live? I was totally exhausted and could scarcely pull myself out of bed in
the mornings.... I wore the same clothes over and over again, as it was
otherwise too much of an effort to make a decision about what to put on.
I dreaded having to talk with people, avoided my friends whenever possi-
ble, and sat in the school library in the early mornings and late afternoons,
virtually inert, with a dead heart and a brain as cold as clay.
(Jamison, 1995, pp. 37–38)
In this passage, Jamison describes problems arising from her mood,
a persistent emotion lurking in the background, regardless of what
is occurring. The category of psychological disorders called mood
disordersencompasses prolonged and marked disturbances in mood
that affect how people feel, what they believe and expect, how they
think and talk, and how they interact with others. In anyparticular
year, about 8% of Americans experience a mood disorder
(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
[SAMHSA], 2008). Mood disorders are among the leading causes of
disability worldwide (World Health Organization [WHO], 2008).
Chapter Outline
Depressive Disorders
The Building Block of Depressive Disorders:
Major Depressive Episode
Major Depressive Disorder
Dysthymic Disorder
Understanding Depressive Disorders
Treating Depressive Disorders
Bipolar Disorders
Building Blocks for Bipolar Disorders
The Two Types of Bipolar Disorder
Cyclothymic Disorder
Understanding Bipolar Disorders
Treating Bipolar Disorders
Suicide
Suicidal Thoughts and Suicide Risks
Understanding Suicide
Preventing Suicide191Mood Disorders and Suicide
Alan Witschonke
CHAPTER
6
Mood disorders
Psychological disorders characterized by
prolonged and marked disturbances in mood
that affect how people feel, what they believe
and expect, how they think and talk, and how
they interact with others.