Are mood disorders epidemic? It depends on who you ask, but it's pretty likely that mood disorders aren't "officially" classified as epidemic yet. But consider the numbers: twenty percent of US adults are depressive. Twenty percent. Is there any other affliction in the US that affects a full twenty percent of the population? Twenty percent in this case is an astounding amount, particularly when put into actual numbers: twenty percent of US adults equals millions and millions of people. And those numbers are just for depression. Other mood disorders have lower rates of affection than depression does, but the percentages are fairly close.
When mood disorders are considered, depression is typically the first -- and often the only -- mood disorder that comes to a person's mind. Depression is the most common mood disorder, and is represented most frequently in the population. Depression is so basic now, in fact, that it's become synonymous with any number of conditions and states of feeling. A person in grief may be described as, or describe themselves as, being depressed. A lonely person may be described as depressed. And so on. While it may not be a huge issue to incorrectly define depression, the reality is that depression is a specific and a specifically symptomatic condition.
Some other common emotional disorders include generalized anxiety and social anxiety -- a more specific form of anxiety -- phobias, obsessive-compulsive behavior, and other conditions as well. These conditions are not as common as depression, but they aren't especially rare, and their effects can be debilitating.
A common, an absolute, characteristic of mood disorders -- all mood disorders, for all intents and purposes -- is their high rate of going untreated. There are far more people moving through society who have untreated mood disorders than there are people with mood disorders who are actually receiving treatment for them. Why? What explains this?
Ignorance is one explanation, though perhaps one that doesn't come across too politely. But, in fact, if someone doesn't know they have something, how likely are they to seek treatment for it?
The most common reason for not seeking out treatment for a mood disorder has certainly got to be stigma. The stigma against acknowledging and treating emotional or psychological problems is very real, and still very prevalent. The need for mental help is an admission of insanity or weakness, or so the thinking often seems to go.
There's good news to be heard about mood disorder treatment however. There is now lots of exceptional self-help available for mood disorders. Books, articles, web sites, and other types of references can all offer assistance, privately, conveniently, affordably. Help is there to be had, regardless of who you are or where you come from. Suffering is no longer the only option.
You can get help for anxiety and depression at depression treatment. Find more online articles at article exchange directory. Get your own completely unique content version of this article.
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