If you have 1,000 friends on Facebook, right now at least 200 of them are having mood symptoms. Everyone gets the blues sometimes. Or bounces with enthusiasm. Even feel kinda numb at some point. But if you feel sad, tired, have trouble sleeping. Or elated, irritable, talk a-mile-a-minute. For 2 weeks straight. Well, you probably have a mood disorder. The more open we are in talking about a condition, the more people are getting help. The two main treatments for mood disorders are talk therapy and medication. Eg cognitive behavioral therapy and antidepressants. Its been shown that if you give talk therapy and social support to someone with mild mood symptoms, you can bring them back to normal. And they dont go into major depression or mania. It takes training and experience to do this right. Its like hypnosis, the talk is very specific and not everyone can do it. So if you or someone you know is having symptoms, get them (or yourself) to make an appointment with a therapist. But talk doesnt always work, or its too late for that to work all by itself. Now its time for medication. Finding the right medicine in the right dose is both an art and a science. Everyones brain is different and theres no way to predict which molecule has the right chemistry (yet). Though there are ways to avoid the *wrong* medicine. Some people are resistant to taking medicine, and that is actually a consistent symptom of mood disorders. I dont want to do that, Nothing works, Theres nothing wrong. Yes, there is something wrong and you have to try the meds. For 6 weeks. It takes that long to change brain chemistry in mood disorders. Theres a lot of misinformation about health care and science, and that goes double for mental health. People hear reports about side effects and that scares them into not taking treatment until its too late. They suffer with prolonged symptoms that reduce creativity and productivity and they feel terrible. Or they jump off a bridge. Finding a doctor or NP who will start low and go slow, who listens to your complaints and adjusts, that has both knowledge and intuition, may take a while. But any competent caregiver can start the process and they have a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right anyway. Ive seen lives changed, complete transformations. From withdrawn and weeping to outgoing and happy. Housebound to a busy social life. People can blossom like a garden after a good rain. Healthy food, daily exercise, socializing, counseling, taking your meds. Thats how you manage mood. A good movie helps too. (Photos of two people with mood disorders. One got treatment.)
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 04:41:44 +0000
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