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More about Mood Disorders:
Definition Causes and symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Alternative treatment Prognosis Prevention Resources |
The most effective treatment for mood disorders is a combination of medication and psychotherapy. The four different classes of drugs used in mood disorders are:
- heterocyclic antidepressants (HCAs), like amitriptyline (Elavil)
- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI inhibitors), like fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertra-line (Zoloft)
- monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI inhibitors), like phenelzine sulfate (Nardil) and tranylcypromine sulfate (Parnate)
- mood stabilizers, like lithium carbonate (Eskalith) and valproate, often used in people with bipolar mood disorders
A number of psychotherapy approaches are useful as well. Interpersonal psychotherapy helps the patient recognize the interaction between the mood disorder and interpersonal relationships. Cognitive-behavioral therapy explores how the patient's view of the world may be affecting his or her mood and outlook.
When depression fails to respond to treatment or when there is a high risk of suicide, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is sometimes used. ECT is believed to affect neurotransmitters like the medications do. Patients are anesthetized and given muscle relaxants to minimize discomfort. Then low-level electric current is passed through the brain to cause a brief convulsion. The most common side effect of ECT is mild, short-term memory loss.
— Robert Scott Dinsmoor
