Mood Disorders: The Truth
By: Nate DiStasio
Why don't you just snap out of it (depression)?
This is a common misconception about depression that someone can snap out of it. The problem is that depression is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain and can't just be snapped out of.
Depression can only occur after something bad occurs.
Depression is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain and can be hereditary, meaning someone can just be depressed not due to bad events, but due to physical problems, although bad things can lead to depression, but not that is not the lone cause.
Postpartum Depression is not an excuse for being a bad mother.
It is a serious problem that causes legitimate depression in 10% of women. It can cause intense worry about your baby and even fears of harming the baby.
You can't treat depression.
This is not true, there are treatments for depression that include medication like antidepressants, or psychotherapy.
Antidepressants and lithium help any mood disorder.
While this would be a great thing it isn't true. Antidepressants do help to treat depression, but they do not work for everyone and the same goes for lithium and bipolar disorder.
There are no signs of depression.
In fact there are many signs of depression which include diminished interest in activities that were once enjoyed, fatigue or loss of energy, weight loss or weight gain, insomnia or hypersomnia, suicidal thoughts, etc.
Mania is Fun!
While having mania can make you feel invincible and great it has a lot of problems that come with it such as minimal sleep, and having impulses to purchase excessive amounts of items that could leave you in debt.
People with mood disorders do not hallucinate.
People with mood disorders can very well hallucinate, especially if someone with a mood disorder is treated with the wrong medication it can lead to side effects like hallucinations.
Bipolar Disorder is thought to have the same effects on everyone.
People with bipolar disorder suffer with different effects. Some suffer with more mania than depression and others suffer with more depression than mania.
It is said suicide only occurs with people who are depressed.
Depression isn't the only cause of suicides, there are other causes such as having a substance abuse disorder, family history of suicides, adverse events, or having an impulse.