AFFECTIVE DISORDERS

AFFECTIVE DISORDERS

It is also known as Mood Disorders.  They are characterised by severe disturbances of mood.  The mood swings are the primary features of these disorders and all other symptoms are secondary and referable to them. The mood swings in their extremes, range from profound sadness in depression to euphoria and boundless hilarity in mania.

The terms ‘affect’ and ‘mood’ refer to the feeling tone of the individual. Affect, when sustained over a period of time is called mood.

Main categories of Mood Disorder:

1.       Manic episode

2.       Bipolar Affective Disorder

3.       Depressive Episode

4.       Recurrent Depressive Disorder

5.       Persistent Mood Disorder

6.       Other mood disorders

Manic Episode: It refers to a single episode of mania (not recurrent) and includes hypomania which is a lesser form of mania, and mania with and without psychotic features. Delusion, hallucination, excitement and flight of ideas are the psychotic features.

Bipolar Effective Disorder: Recurrent episodes of mania alone or mania and depression. Depression may be mild or severe.  Psychotic symptoms may or may not be present in mania or in depression.

Depressive Episode: There is only a single episode of depression. Depression may be of various grades (mild, moderate or severe) and when severe may or may not have associated psychotic symptoms.

Recurrent Depressive Disorder: Recurrent episodes of depression of various grades with or without psychotic features.

Persistent Mood Disorders: Mood disturbances which are persistent for longer periods of time, sometimes for years together.

Other mood disorders: Mood disorders which are brief and recurrent and those where there is an ad mixture of both depression and elation (mixed affective disorder)