Mood Disorder

DEPRESSIN:

This is an altogether different type of mental illness. The features of this illness are slow growing feeling of sadness with or without any major cause, inability to carry out routine work and slow decline in all interests, noticeably declining interest in the family, and also in work or business, decline in sociability and no desire to meet friends or relatives. Sometimes there is history of similar illness or suicidal behavior in the family. This stands sharply in contrast to earlier cheerful and friendly attitudes. He becomes quiet and withdrawn and gets pre-occupied with gloomy thought most of the time. They develop fear of work or any other major or minor responsibilities, which never bothered him earlier. Such people are usually very hard working and conscientious people but slowly lethargy and disinterestedness in surroundings develops and in extreme cases they think of even ending their life. Along with these features, they become very anxious restless and agitated and their sleep gets disturbed. This sleep disturbance is also very peculiar. They say that the moment they put their head on the pillow, they go off to sleep but wake up after mid-night and then they cannot sleep. They keep falling to sleep and waking up and like this they spend restless nights. Later in the illness sleep totally disappears.

They admit that their moods are low and depressed first thing in the morning and later in the day, they improve and by evening they could be quite cheerful. This diurnal variation of mood is characteristics of this type of depression. Stand to reason, no magician can produce such changes, they are part of illnss. There can be retardation of all bodily activities. They have no appetite for food or sex, in contrast to their earlier life.

MANIA:

Some people have an alternating illness called Bipolar Disorder, where few months or even days of depression alternates with severe excitability and over activity – a complete reversal of depressive phase. They behave exactly in an opposite manner and become extremely sociable and even indulge in excessive drinking and incurring debts. Their normal and usual restraint in behavior vanishes and they could even indulge in unsavory acts, including use of foul language and unrestrained social and objectionable behavior. This is the time they think that they are perfectly all right and they do not seek treatment. They do not suffer this phase of illness but the family suffers humiliation because of their behavior and sometimes unnecessary quarrels are caused by their irritable and excitable behavior.

Sometime they think that they have become great people and have even acquired fortune and begin to behave accordingly. They behave like a privileged person, entitled for preferential treatment as a VIP. If others try to correct them or make fun of them, they become irritable, angry, aggressive and violent. They develop a tendency to indulge in erratic, irrational and illogical arguments and no amount of convincing can help. These are abnormal thoughts and there is no point in arguing with them. They require treatment and when they become normal, they are then amenable to suggestion, explanation, and clarifications. But then they go into a cycle of remorse, guilt and shame, which can be equally painful but only to them.

THEY ARE NOT PREPARED TO LISTEN TO YOU OR SEE YOUR POINT OF VIEW, WHEN THEY ARE SICK. THEY COOPERATE WITH YOU AND LISTEN TO YOU WHEN THEY ARE WELL AGAIN. IF THE DISEASE HAS BEEN LONGER THAN FEW WEEKS THEN IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO REMOVE THE DOUBTS AND SUSPICIONS.