Why Medication is Absolutely Essential for Mood Disorders

You've been diagnosed with a mood disorder? Now what?

Mood disorders are caused by genetic factors and they are not the patient's fault. Erratic behavior before medication is like a past life. Nothing can be done about it. There is no blame. The mind, with an imbalance of neurotransmitters like Serotonin, Dopamine, Norepinephrine and GABA or Glutamate can be completely out of control, either in the wild actions of a person with the mania of Bipolar 1, or the deep depressed state of a person with Bipolar II. Medication is the sensible alternative. Without medication, a counselor is spinning their proverbial wheels, trying to help the person heal.

The good news about a mood disorder diagnosis is that medications will take you a very long way toward normalcy, perhaps even more stable than the average person on the street. Without medication, the person is enslaved by the fluctuating balance of neurotransmitters and is unpredictable and potentially dangerous to themselves or others.

The most essential medication for a mood disorder is a mood stabilizer, like Lamictal, Depakote or, in severe cases, Lithium. Lithium is a difficult drug to manage and not often used. Modern medications like Latuda and Abilify also help and there are many others now coming onto the market.

Secondly, for Bipolar 1 and rapid-thinking mania problems, a moderate dose of an antipsychotic may be used, along with the mood stabilizer. This is to slow down brain patterns when in mania. Even medicated, people still have the up and down wave of emotions. The medications put a floor and ceiling to them. They are never fully diminished but they can be controlled by a substantial margin for the wave.

For Bipolar II, the depressed mood disorder, an antidepressant may be applied with the mood stabilizer. The stabilizer will shore up the valley of the depressed state and the antidepressant will boost efficiency for neurotransmitters that can lift a person out of despair.

Any counselor who tells you then can effectively treat a mood disorder without the involvement of a medication prescriber is questionable. You can't talk your way out of a chemical imbalance in the brain. The counselor can, however, help you to put aside guilt and shame from your pre-medication life. They can teach you how to find joy in life and to see your abilities and traits that can make life much better. But.......medication is first and foremost with mood disorders and you should run from any mental health person who says otherwise.

Technically, anxiety disorders, seasonal affective disorders and other more common emotional problems are considered mood disorders but they are not the same as a bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorders can ruin your life. Get help. Get on medication so you can have a life.