Mood Disorders: Help to Cope
Writer: Aaron Graves
DALHART – No one truly understands a mood disorder unless you suffer from one, or live with someone who does. I should know. I have had to deal with depression since the age of 15.
The term mood disorder applies to a broad range of depression related illnesses. Mood disorders are based in the brain and can make a person's life miserable. The brain, which is electro-chemical in nature, is command central for the entire body. A chemical imbalance in the brain affects the way it functions. True, we all have the ability to think and reason on a matter and make decisions, whether we suffer from a mood disorder or not. But a mood disorder makes that process much more difficult.
Imagine trying to function every day - making phone calls, cleaning your house, reading your favorite book, balancing your checkbook, cooking supper - while the US Army is camped outside and blaring loud heavy metal music at your house day and night. How long would you last?
In a similar vein, those who have a mood disorder combat feelings and thoughts that interfere with normal thinking. Depression, for example, can cause unfounded and unwanted feelings of sadness and guilt to dominate a person's thoughts, week after week after week. The ongoing battle against such feelings can wear a person down mentally, and some who suffer severe depression may eventually turn to suicide.
Mood disorders can have many different causes, but they all share one thing in common. A mood disorder is a real affliction. Something in the body is "out of whack" and it is interfering with the brain. Thus, if you think you may suffer from a mood disorder, please seek treatment. It is just as real as other internal diseases, like heart disease and cancer, and a mood disorder can be just a fatal.
Following are some helpful links.
Mayo Clinic - provides an overall look at various mood disorders and treatments available.
Watchtower.org - a spiritual outlook on life, hope for the future, and knowing what the Bible says about illness can go a long way in helping a person cope.