What It Actually Is: 

"Mood disorders" is a clinical umbrella term that covers several conditions where your emotional state is the primary problem. Depression falls under here, but so does bipolar disorder, cyclothymia, and other conditions where your moods don't stay where they're supposed to. 

The common thread is that your brain's mood regulation system isn't working the way it should. For some people, that means being stuck in a low. For others, it means cycling between highs and lows in a way that's unpredictable and destabilizing. Either way, you're not in control of your emotional baseline the way other people seem to be. 

This isn't about being "moody" or having a bad day. It's about your internal thermostat being broken. The settings are wrong, or they keep changing without your input. 

What This Looks Like in Real Life: 

It depends on what you're dealing with. Some people have persistent depression, a heaviness that just won't lift no matter what they try. Others swing between extremes. One week you're energized, confident, maybe sleeping less and feeling like you can take on anything. The next, you're in a hole you can't climb out of. 

If you're on the bipolar spectrum, the highs aren't always euphoric. Sometimes mania shows up as irritability, agitation, racing thoughts, or reckless decisions that seem like a great idea until they don't. Hypomanic episodes can be subtler and actually feel productive, until you crash and realize you've overcommitted to everything and alienated people in the process. 

Cyclothymia is like bipolar lite, the swings are less severe but they never really stop. You're always somewhere on the roller coaster, never quite stable. 

What all of these have in common is that you can't trust your own emotional state. You've learned that how you feel today might have nothing to do with how you'll feel tomorrow. That unpredictability wears you down and makes it hard to plan, commit, or trust yourself. 

How This Wrecks Things: 

Relationships suffer the most. People don't know which version of you is going to show up. Your partner or friends might feel like they're walking on eggshells, never sure if today's a good day or not. You might make promises when you're up that you can't keep when you're down. Or you might be so withdrawn during low periods that people stop trying to reach you. 

Work gets complicated. If you're cycling, your productivity is inconsistent. You might knock out a month's worth of work in a week during a high phase, then be useless for two weeks during a low. Employers notice patterns even if they don't know what's causing them. 

The internal experience is exhausting. You don't trust your own perceptions because you know your mood distorts how you see everything. You make decisions you regret. You say things you can't take back. And there'sthis underlying sense that you're not really steering your own ship. 

The Numbers: 

Mood disorders affect about 9.7% of U.S. adults annually. That includes major depression, bipolar I and II, cyclothymia, and other variations. Bipolar disorder specifically affects around 2.8% of adults, though it'sfrequently misdiagnosed as depression initially because people seek help when they're low, not when they're high. 

Early and consistent treatment makes a significant difference in long-term outcomes. The longer mood disorders go untreated, the more entrenched the patterns become and the more damage accumulates in relationships, careers, and self-image. 

What Actually Works: 

Treatment depends on the specific diagnosis. Depression and bipolar disorder don't respond to the same approaches, and getting this wrong can actually make things worse. Giving someone with bipolar disorder an antidepressant without a mood stabilizer can trigger mania. This is why accurate diagnosis matters. 

For bipolar spectrum conditions, mood stabilizers like lithium, valproate, or lamotrigine are usually the foundation. Some people also do well on certain antipsychotics. The goal is to flatten the extremes, both up and down, so you're operating from a more stable baseline. 

For depression, we're typically looking at SSRIs, SNRIs, or other antidepressants, sometimes combined with other agents if needed. 

Psychotherapy helps across the board. CBT works well for depression. For bipolar, interpersonal and social rhythm therapy (IPSRT) focuses on stabilizing daily routines and sleep patterns, which directly impacts mood stability. Therapy also helps you recognize early warning signs of episodes so you can intervene before things get out of control. 

Lifestyle factors matter more than most people want to admit. Sleep is critical, especially for bipolar disorder. Irregular sleep can trigger episodes. So can alcohol, drugs, and high-stress situations. Managing a mood disorder means taking these things seriously, not treating them as optional. 

How We Do This: 

We see patients in person and via telehealth across Washington and Oregon. The first priority is figuring out exactly what we're dealing with. Mood disorders get misdiagnosed a lot, and treatment that works for one condition can make another worse. We take time to get the diagnosis right. 

Once we know what's happening, we build a treatment plan that addresses both the biology (usually medication) and the behavioral patterns that maintain instability. This isn't about numbing you out or turning you into someone you're not. It's about getting your baseline stable enough that you can actually live your life instead of just reacting to your moods. 

We're going to be honest with you about what this requires. Mood disorders don't typically go away on their own. Most people need some form of ongoing management, whether that's medication, lifestyle modifications, or regular check-ins. The goal is stability, not a cure. But stable beats the hell out of chaotic. 

How Often You'll Come In: 

We start with frequent visits, usually weekly or biweekly. Mood stabilization takes time, and we need to monitor how you're responding to treatment and catch any problems early. Once things level out, we can spread visits to monthly or as needed. But if you're on mood stabilizers, you'll need periodic lab work and monitoring indefinitely. That's just part of the deal.