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Suggest Treatment For Mood Swings
Question: Hi, I have a friend, who has severe mood swings. in one second he is very happy and excited talks a lot. in a moment he goes very depressed. even starts crying. sometimes doesn't even talk to anyone for days. are these symptoms of depression ? and how should we handle this?
Brief Answer:
your friend needs medicines at earliest
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I have read your question carefully and from the symptoms mentioned, I can say that your friend has mood disorder.
Mood disorders are characterised by fluctuations in mood with or without any precipitating factor. Sometimes the mood fluctuation may last for days to months or may become fine in few hours; these ups and downs can be unperdictable and patient does not have much control over its intensity.
In such cases, the medicines should be started at the earliest.
Depression and mania are two spectrum of mood disorder but the symptom you mentioned donot have enough detail to label it just as depression. It looks like bipolar type (with symptoms of both high and low mood).
You can try to take the patient to a psychiatrist. If not possible, please discuss this with the family of the patient and make them doso. Without proper drugs this will become worse and he may become voilent or even try to harm his own self.
Try not to leave the patient alone and donot enter into arguments with him/her, as his thinking is disturbed at present.
Arguments and trying to make him/her understand something will mostly lead to irritation and drain you.
He/she might be required to get some basic blood tests- liver, kidney, thyroid, lipid and sugar to get the baseline assessment before giving meds.
Such patients can resist treatment in the begining but it is the duty of caregivers to get them to doctor and supervise meds.
With treatment your friend will surely improve.
Hope the reply is useful for you; please ask more questions for clarification.
Wish you good health.
Dr. Manisha Gopal
MD Neuropsychaitry
your friend needs medicines at earliest
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I have read your question carefully and from the symptoms mentioned, I can say that your friend has mood disorder.
Mood disorders are characterised by fluctuations in mood with or without any precipitating factor. Sometimes the mood fluctuation may last for days to months or may become fine in few hours; these ups and downs can be unperdictable and patient does not have much control over its intensity.
In such cases, the medicines should be started at the earliest.
Depression and mania are two spectrum of mood disorder but the symptom you mentioned donot have enough detail to label it just as depression. It looks like bipolar type (with symptoms of both high and low mood).
You can try to take the patient to a psychiatrist. If not possible, please discuss this with the family of the patient and make them doso. Without proper drugs this will become worse and he may become voilent or even try to harm his own self.
Try not to leave the patient alone and donot enter into arguments with him/her, as his thinking is disturbed at present.
Arguments and trying to make him/her understand something will mostly lead to irritation and drain you.
He/she might be required to get some basic blood tests- liver, kidney, thyroid, lipid and sugar to get the baseline assessment before giving meds.
Such patients can resist treatment in the begining but it is the duty of caregivers to get them to doctor and supervise meds.
With treatment your friend will surely improve.
Hope the reply is useful for you; please ask more questions for clarification.
Wish you good health.
Dr. Manisha Gopal
MD Neuropsychaitry
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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