Mood Disorders

Mental Health

Nov 19

2S/LGBTQIA+ individuals are at a greater risk for experiencing mood disorders, and contributing factors include societal and institutional prejudice and discrimination leading to personal shame and guilt about their identity and behaviors. Institutional discrimination resulting in mental health disparities include barriers to health care and health insurance and lack of power to make medical and legal decisions on behalf of their partners. 2S/LGBTQIA+ individuals report higher unmet mental health care needs.

Bisexual individuals are at greater risk for mood disorders, which may be due to the unique stigma that they face – pervasive stereotypes and negative attitudes about bisexuality are present not only among the heterosexual population, but among lesbian and gay populations, resulting in a “double stigma.”

Mood disorders are medical problems that impact your moods, thoughts and actions — this includes self-image, self-esteem and aspects of daily life and health. Common mood disorders include:

Depression: causes you to feel sad or hopeless much of the time.
- Symptoms may include: Changes in appetite and weight, sleep disturbances, loss of interest in work, hobbies, people or sex, withdrawal from family members and friends, feeling useless, hopeless, excessively guilty, pessimistic or low self-worth, agitation or lethargy, irritability, fatigue, difficulties with concentration, memory or decision making, thoughts of suicide or loss of touch with reality, hearing voices (hallucinations), or having strange ideas (delusions).
Bipolar disorder: causes extreme mood changes from manic episodes of very high energy to periods of depression and low energy.
- Symptoms depend on state of mood, and may include feeling very happy, energetic or on edge, feeling like you need very little sleep, feeling overly confident, doing impulsive things like spending a lot of money,feeling sad or hopeless, difficulty concentrating and making decisions,having racing thoughts or losing interest in things or activities you used to enjoy.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD): type of depression that affects you during the same season each year, most commonly experienced during the fall and winter months.
- Symptoms come and go at the same time each year, and may include feeling sad, grumpy, moody or anxious, losing interest in your usual activities, increased appetite, weight gain, or sleeping more and feeling drowsy during the daytime.

Help Available

Mood disorders can be treated with:

Counseling
Medications such as antidepressants, mood stabilizers,antipsychotics or benzodiazepines

Light therapy is the main treatment for SAD, utilizing a special kind of lamp which may help minimize symptoms during months with less sunlightRecognizing Suicidal Behaviours

Resources:

CMHA (Edmonton) – Advocacy:

Call (780) 414-6300 or email main@cmha-edmonton.ab.ca
Provides referrals to free and low-cost and counseling services
Mental health education and support for caregivers
Help locate programs for mental health recovery, education, or employment training

CMHA (Edmonton) - 211:

Call 211, available 24/7, in over 170 languages
Provides information and referrals to community, social and government services, such as counseling/support groups, employment resources, health care, legal services, etc.

Organization for Bipolar Affective Disorders