Depressed mood is a state that every person experiences during their life. There are different reasons for it - difficult life situations can be responsible for the drop in mood, sometimes this condition appears … theoretically out of nowhere. Is depressed mood always associated with depression? What to do if it occurs: what are the ways to improve a depressed mood?

Contents:

  1. Depressed mood: causes
  2. Depressed mood and depression
  3. Depressed mood: symptoms
  4. Depressed mood: diagnosis
  5. Depressed mood: ways

Depressed moodis the most common mood aberration. Mood can be defined very differently. It is sometimes referred to simply as a mental state that persists in a person for a long time. However, the definition of mood is much more popular, where it is defined as the emotional tinge of various experiences that a given person experiences for a long time, but which can also be observed by those around him.

The mood may be normal - then it is described as euthymic or even. There are, however, a number of different mood disorders - it can be, among others, elevated, but also just lowered.

Depressed mood: causes

As it was mentioned at the very beginning, depressed mood is not a rare phenomenon - in fact, most probably every person in their life experiences this state at least once. This is because the causes of low mood are usually various events that can happen to each of us - examples include:

  • difficulties in the relationship with your partner (e.g. frequent quarrels with him or catching him cheating or breaking up)
  • problems with children (e.g. truancy or dropping out of school)
  • problems of a professional nature (e.g. bad results at work, loss of job)
  • death of a loved one
  • retirement
  • change of residence
  • change of work or school (the latter is a common cause of low mood in children and adolescents)

Above are just a few examples of situations that maybe associated with depressed mood.

The truth is, however, that a much larger number of events may be responsible for a drop in mood - it is impossible to mention all of them, because just like one person, it will not be at all concerned with the fact that the project she has been working on for several months, it did not work at all, so another person may be so worried about it that he will experience a depressed mood.

Depressed mood and depression

A drop in mood is sometimes caused by events experienced in ordinary life, but not only - various disorders and mental diseases can also be responsible for its occurrence.

Depressed mood is most often associated with depression, but here one thing must be clearly emphasized: just as in the course of depression there are mood disorders, a drop in mood definitely does not always mean that the patient has developed depressive disorders.

In order to be able to recognize depression, the patient - apart from mood disorders - must also have other symptoms of this mental disorder, such as:

  • anhedonia
  • sense of losing the meaning of life and helplessness
  • appetite disorders
  • sleep disturbance

In diagnosing depression, the duration of a depressed mood is also important - the criteria for recognizing this individual include the fact that a drop in mood and other symptoms related to depression should last for at least two weeks.

Depression, however, is not the only psychiatric entity in which mood can be depressed. Other problems that may cause such an irregularity include :

  • bipolar disorder
  • dysthymia
  • cyclothymia
  • schizoaffective disorder
  • schizophrenia

A drop in mood may also appear in the case of conditions after the withdrawal of long-term psychoactive substances (such as alcohol or drugs) or drugs (e.g. benzodiazepines).

An increased frequency of depressed mood is also noted in those patients who suffer from one of the distinguished personality disorders.

Depressed mood: symptoms

A person in a depressed mood simply feels worse - he has much less desire to undertake any activities, he sees everything in black colors. However, related to this problem are usually specific ailments, therefore the symptoms of depressed mood can be considered:

  • feeling anxious
  • sadness
  • worrying
  • feeling of chronic fatigue
  • lowering self-esteem and self-esteem
  • feeling frustrated
  • irritability

The duration of a depressed mood can be really different - in some people, worse moments pass very quickly and their mood becomes even in a short time, while in others, the depressed mood lasts much longer, for a dozen or so days, and sometimes even a few weeks, and then it becomes definitely beneficial to go to a specialist for consultation.

Depressed mood: diagnosis

A patient who struggles with low mood for a long time should see a psychiatrist. He is often reluctant to do so, it may be difficult for the family of such a person to convince him to consult this specialist, but in general it is worth making such efforts: a depressed mood can be improved, but first it is necessary to find out what exactly is responsible for its occurrence.

In order to find out the cause of the problem, a psychiatric examination is carried out - during it, questions are sometimes asked about possible depressive symptoms, but also about symptoms of various other diseases that may be associated with a drop in mood (we are talking about the aforementioned schizophrenia or affective disorder bipolar).

However, attention should be paid not only to the mental state, but also to the general he alth of the patient. Sometimes it turns out that the cause of the drop in mood is not a mental disorder, and in fact the problem occurred in connection with some somatic disease.

As an example, we can mention chronic diseases - such as diabetes or hypothyroidism - in which case, especially with insufficient treatment or complete abandonment of the necessary therapy, may lead to a depressed mood.

Sometimes it even turns out that the appropriate treatment of various somatic diseases makes the patient's mood disorders completely disappear.

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Depressed mood: ways

You can fight a low mood, but the methods with which to fight this fight depends primarily on where the problem comes from. This is because when a drop in mood is associated with difficult events that occur in everyday life - e.g. problems in a relationship or difficulties at work - they can really help.prosaic activities. Physical activity, walking or talking to a loved one can definitely help you deal with the crowds of thoughts.

However, a depressed mood that has arisen in connection with a mental disorder requires a different approach. When this condition results, for example, from depressive disorders, the patient may need psychotherapy, but also often pharmacotherapy based on the use of antidepressants.

It is similar in the case of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, in which you can fight the depressed mood either with the help of psychotherapists or with the use of appropriate psychotropic drugs (e.g. in the treatment of bipolar disorder, preparations called mood stabilizing drugs).

About the authorBow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of medicine at the Medical University of Poznań. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.

Category:

Psychiatry