This document provides learning outcomes and resources for a unit on mood disorders and anxiety disorders. The unit aims to describe treatments for mental illness, examine psychopathological disorders, and discuss specific diagnoses within mood and anxiety disorder categories. Resources include chapters on mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and a study guide comparing the two. Key topics covered are descriptions of depressive disorders like major depression; bipolar disorders types I, II, and cyclothymic; etiology and treatments; and descriptions of anxiety disorders and their etiology and treatments.

1. PSY 2301, Abnormal Psychology 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
5. Describe current treatments for mental illness.
5.1 Discuss at least two current treatment protocols for mood
disorders and for anxiety disorders.
6. Examine various psychopathological disorders.
6.1 Discuss what constitutes a specific diagnosis within the
mood disorder category and one within
the anxiety disorder category.
Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes
Learning Activity
5.1
Unit Lesson
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

2. Unit III Reflection Paper
6.1
Unit Lesson
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Unit III Reflection Paper
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 5: Mood Disorders
Chapter 6: Anxiety Disorders
Unit Lesson
Introduction
The chart below represents the point that anxiety and mood
disorders are separate from one another. Mood
disorder is a term that covers depressive and bipolar condi tions
only. Anxiety disorder is separate. When the
term mood disorders is used within psychology, it goes beyond
a bad mood and actually encompasses
certain diagnosable psychological conditions. Though bipolar
and depressive disorders are listed in two
separate chapters of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the term mood disorders
itself should bring to mind a sort of family of conditions. In
fact, you can compare the idea of unipolar
(meaning one) to bipolar (meaning two). In unipolar depressive

3. conditions, the symptoms include a depressed
and low state; with bipolar depressive conditions there is a low
state and a high (manic) state, occurring at
different times. Since bipolar symptomology includes both
mania and depression, there is a natural
connection to the next category of depressive disorders. Anxiety
disorders, comorbid though they may
sometimes be, are organized in a separate category from mood
disorders (American Psychiatric Association,
2013).
UNIT III STUDY GUIDE
Mood Disorders and
Anxiety Disorders
PSY 2301, Abnormal Psychology 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
(Adapted from Sylverarts, n.d.)
Unipolar Depression

4. Depression itself is certainly a term that has been absorbed into
the public vernacular and used to describe a
multitude of situations from grief over a loss to having a bad
day at work. However, for people who suffer from
major depressive disorder (MDD), the term depression has a
different meaning. For purposes in the world of
psychology, the term depression relates to certain diagnoses,
including some mixture of suicidality, feelings of
excessive worthlessness or guilt, minimal energy, changes in
sleep or weight, low self-esteem, an inability to
feel pleasure, and other related symptoms (Kring & Johnson,
2018).
Sufferers of depression may focus on negative aspects of life
and situations, experience exhaustion, and
encounter a decrease in sexual functioning, as well as a host of
other disturbances, prior to developing
symptoms. Symptoms may include difficulty with concentration
or thoughts about death and suicide. These
symptoms are not new. The Ancient Greeks wrote about people
who could not derive pleasure from life.
Sigmund Freud viewed depression as aggression turned inward
on the self. Cognitive theorists have pointed
to negative thought processes, which seem to be automatic in
depression sufferers. DSM-5 has eight specific
diagnoses, which fall under the depressive disorders category,
but the symptomology discussed above
should paint a picture of the overall idea (American Psychiatric
Association, 2013). Important, too, in selecting
the correct diagnosis for depression, is the length of time one
has been experiencing symptoms and the
severity of the symptoms. Individual diagnoses are discussed in
relation to prevalence, gender, cultural

5. implications, identified risk factors, and instances of
comorbidity in DSM-5.
Depressive Disorders
Depressive disorders are a prevalent psychological diagnosis in
the United States (Kring & Johnson, 2018).
The specific diagnoses of focus are highlighted below
(American Psychiatric Association, 2013). It is
interesting to note that depression occurs twice as often among
women as men. In addition, depression rates
change based on socioeconomic status (SES) and countries of
origin. According to the American Psychiatric
Association (2013) and Kring and Johnson (2018), there are
four types of depressive disorders.
PSY 2301, Abnormal Psychology 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
• Major depressive disorder (MDD) is five or more pervasive
symptoms of depression for 2 weeks or
more (quite possibly much longer).
• Persistent depressive disorder is low mood at least half the
time for at least 2 years.

6. • Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is five or more
symptoms leading up to menses, including
irritability, anger, and sleep disturbance.
• Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder is severe temper
responses, which do not match the situation
or age/development level for at least one year in addition to
negative affect.
Bipolar Disorders
The other large category of mood disorders deals with bipolar
disorders. Bipolar disorders, known as manic
depression in earlier years of psychological diagnosis, include
symptoms of mania, defined as “…a state of
intense elation or irritability, along with activation and other
symptoms …” (Kring & Johnson, 2018, p. 127–
128). According to Kring and Johnson (2018), there are three
main diagnoses of bipolar disorder as outlined
below.
Bipolar I Disorder
Bipolar I disorder is diagnosed by a weeklong episode of mania
at any point in one’s lifetime, though it may
certainly recur or ebb and flow with major depressive episodes.
While these depressive episodes are not
required for bipolar I diagnosis, three of the following
symptoms must be present:
• increased goal-directed activity or psychomotor agitation,

7. • rapid speech,
• racing thoughts,
• decreased need for sleep,
• increased self-esteem,
• lack of attention, and
• increase in risky activities (Kring & Johnson, 2018).
Sufferers who have an episode of four days (rather than a full
week) can be labeled hypomanic—less
extreme mania.
Bipolar II Disorder
Bipolar II disorder is perhaps more easily recognizable by name
because it has two extremes: an episode of
depression and an episode of hypomania. Hypo is translated as
low/lower, so this is not as extreme as full-
blown mania like in bipolar I disorder. It is this relationship of
polar opposites, some depression and some
hypomania, which originally led to depressive and bipolar
disorders to be grouped together under the label of
mood disorders in DSM-5.
Cyclothymic Disorder
Cyclothymic disorder is a chronic form of bipolar II disorder
(just as dysthymia is a chronic form of
depression). The criteria for a cyclothymic diagnosis include
numerous hypomanic episodes as well as
numerous periods of depressive symptoms.

8. PSY 2301, Abnormal Psychology 4
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Bipolar disorders are less prevalent than major depression, and
they are more prevalent in the United States
than in other countries (Kring & Johnson, 2018). The course of
bipolar disorders can be extremely
challenging. Many people are unable to work or to retain their
employment long-term after manic episodes.
Suicidal attempts occur more often in bipolar sufferers than
sufferers from the majority of illnesses in the
DSM-5.
Etiology of Mood Disorders
What causes such severe disorders as major depression
and bipolar II? The question of etiology, or again, causation,
is a chief concern of the psychological community. Your
textbook describes several factors and theories that may
contribute to the development of mood disorders (Kring &
Johnson, 2018). Genetic factors have been studied between
family members and twins, which indicate a hereditary
component in some instances of depressions and manias.
Research is ongoing to determine which genes are
specifically involved, and work has been done to understand

9. the impact of neurotransmitter functions in the brain with
mood disorders. We do know that classes of drugs thought
to target specific neurotransmitters can provide relief to
some depression sufferers. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter
involved with the brain’s reward system; one can see that
too much or not enough dopamine might be a part of manic
or depressive symptoms. Additionally, there is evidence that
the amygdala, a primitive part of the brain that handles
stress response, appears to be overly taxed in depression
sufferers.
Life events certainly have an impact on patients suffering
from mood disorders, and neurological evidence suggests that
some people are wired to handle stressors
better than others are. Such events that elicit a great amount of
stress can include an illness, a cross-country
move, a failing grade, etc. It appears that some persons are
more vulnerable to psychosocial stressors.
Consider, then, a vulnerability within the brain coupled with the
stresses of life. A hormone called cortisol is
sometimes called the stress hormone and is linked to sexual
desire, issues with appetite and weight
management, and quality sleep (Kring & Johnson, 2018). See
how complex it is to answer the big question of,
“Why do people get depressed?”
Clinical psychology (as opposed to the neurological
considerations above) poses additional theories to further
understand the etiology of mood disorders. According to Jorm et
al. (2000, as cited in Kring & Johnson,
2018), “neuroticism, a personality trait that involves the
tendency to experience frequent and intense negative
affect” (p. 139), has been linked to people who experience
greater instances of depressive mood disorders
and may also have a correlating genetic component. Then again,
we know that Sigmund Freud viewed

10. depression as aggression turned inward. What do you think of
this concept?
Cognitive theorists point to the negative thoughts and
pessimistic belief symptoms, as well as the
hopelessness theory, which addresses pessimism and feelings
that sufferers have no control in life (Kring &
Johnson, 2018). Ruminating, or thinking over something
(negative) repeatedly, has also been linked to
depression. The triggers for mania are not as well resear ched,
but sleep deprivation and reward sensitivity
are thought to play a role. Reward sensitivity deals with how
much pleasure someone derives from reaching a
goal, which can spiral into an increased confidence and feelings
of euphoria.
Treatment of Mood Disorders
So what do we do about these very serious diagnoses?
Treatments for mood disorders often include
psychotherapy working from a variety of theoretical
orientations. Interpersonal psychotherapy addresses
issues of life transition and their exploration. Cognitive therapy
works to undo the automatic thoughts and
beliefs that lead to repeated negative thought processes.
Behavioral therapy involves working with positive
reinforcement and activities in which the sufferer will attain
this esteem-building feedback. Analytic
Amygdala location in the brain
(Adapted from Normaals, n.d.)

11. PSY 2301, Abnormal Psychology 5
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
psychology works to unearth the internal struggles that can
torment mood disorder sufferers and to make
these unconscious phenomena known. Psychoeducation is often
beneficial so that patients have a greater
understanding of their own illness. Different medications are
often prescribed to alleviate symptoms, though
clinical psychologists sometimes argue that this is treating the
symptom, not the disease.
The Threat of Suicide
Suicide is an increased risk factor for persons suffering from
mood disorders. Suicidal ideation
(thoughts/plans for suicide) and actual suicide attempts must be
taken very seriously. As with the causes of
depression and bipolar disorders, many factors contribute to
suicide, and each school of thought has views
and recommendations to prevent it (Kring & Johnson, 2018).
Psychological disorders like the ones described
in this unit can put a person at risk. So, too, can low levels of
serotonin, a neurotransmitter that can promote
feelings of happiness. Some suicide attempts are a cry for help,
and this is certainly influenced by the internal
mind and the outside environment. Thankfully, there are trained
professionals available to facilitate matter-of-

12. fact discussions, treatment for underlying psychological
disorders, therapeutic interventions (including
hospitalization), and prevention hotlines.
Anxiety Disorders
Now, let us turn our attention to anxiety disorders, which are
closely linked in some ways to the depressive
disorders discussed above. Anxiety is defined as increased focus
over an anticipated problem (Kring &
Johnson, 2018). Of course, we have all most likely felt anxious
before, though the concept of an anticipated
problem means that the minds of anxiety sufferers can create
problems where none actually exists. Imagine
being in a constant state of a threat response, even if you know
the threat may never come. As you are
discovering with many, if not all, of the disorders discussed in
this course, a normal occurrence like being
anxious becomes a psychological disorder when it manifests so
often that it interferes with daily life.
The individual disorders discussed in this part of the lesson are
specific phobias, social anxiety disorder,
panic disorder, agoraphobia, and generalized anxiety disorder,
though DSM-5 does provide criteria for twelve
anxiety disorders in total (American Psychiatric Association,
2013). Take time to learn the differences
between the disorders below; social anxiety is what it sounds
like, whereas the anxiety associated with
agoraphobia can lead to isolation in one’s house or room. At
this point, it is important to recognize that anxiety
disorders are the most common category of disorders (Kring &
Johnson, 2018). As such, it is likely that you or
someone close to you has had experience with a specific anxiety
disorder at some point during life. According

13. to Kring and Johnson (2018), anxiety disorders include the
following.
PSY 2301, Abnormal Psychology 6
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
All of these disorders have specific criteria for diagnosis as a
mental illness; it is known that many people
suffer anxiety-related issues whether or not they carry a
psychological diagnosis. These are called
subthreshold symptoms; they are present and problematic, but
perhaps the person meets two rather than
three required criteria. It is also known that anxiety disorder
sufferers who qualify for one diagnosis are likely
to qualify for another anxiety disorder diagnosis during their
life (Kring & Johnson, 2018).
Etiology and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders
Just as with mood disorders, it is hard to pin down etiology
conclusively for anxiety disorders, and the best
answer may be to consider a variety of causes. Conditioning can

14. certainly affect our responses to stimuli
(Kring & Johnson, 2018). Consider the example of a childhood
dog bite that develops into a specific phobia of
dogs later in life. Here, again, the trepidation of a growling
animal is not called into question, but when one’s
life is adversely impacted, we could consider a professional
diagnosis and professional help to deal with such
symptomology.
Neurobiologically, the amygdala, which was discussed
regarding depression, also impacts anxiety symptoms.
In what is sometimes identified as the fear circuit, research has
observed that for anxiety sufferers the
PSY 2301, Abnormal Psychology 7
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
amygdala is activated to cause a feeling of fear but the off
switch (also known as the medial prefrontal cortex)
is unable to stop that reaction to danger (Kring & Johnson,
2018).
Patterns of cognition and irrational negative belief systems can
produce anxiety symptoms (Kring & Johnson,
2018). In a prior discussion of cognitive therapy, we discussed
confronting these patterns of thinking, but for
many sufferers, this is not as easy as it sounds. Perhaps

15. someone with social anxiety disorder recognizes
that his or her behavior is irrational and abnormal but is still
unable to engage in social settings. You may
have heard of exposure therapy, a type of cognitive-behavioral
treatment that exposes sufferers to the very
thing that brings them fear.
Psychoanalytic theory regards anxiety as agitated depression.
Here, again, the answer to an analytical
therapist is to uncover the buried reason deep within the
unconscious mind, and this kind of work takes time.
Consider again the complex question of nature and nurture. If
one’s condition stems from a repressed
childhood episode, is a psychoactive medication really going to
solve the problem? Conversely, if the problem
is a lack of feel-good neurotransmitters in the brain, will
psychotherapy help? Once more, we may need to
rely on the expertise of several professionals to find a lasting
relief from suffering. If medication is chosen,
several classes of drugs are available to treat anxiety symptoms.
Benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium
work on the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid
(GABA), which is associated with relaxing the central
and peripheral nervous systems, while serotonin-specific
reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin–
norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) encourage a more
free-flow of serotonin and norepinephrine in the
synaptic clefts, respectively (Kring & Johnson, 2018).
Gender and culture also play a part in the prevalence of anxiety
disorders. Women are twice as likely as men
to carry a diagnosis (Kring & Johnson, 2018). Some scholars
feel this is because women in our society are
more willing to seek treatment for mental illness than men.
Some cultures place a high value on pleasing
others, which is linked with anxiety disorders. Consider

16. traditional Japanese culture, for example. Reflecting
on taijin kyofusho from Unit II, the fear of insult by too much
eye contact, one can draw the conclusion that
worry about proper conduct plays a significant role in this
culture.
Summary
This unit covers two broad categories of disorders that are
among the most prevalent in society. Keep
developing your understanding, not only of what constitutes
each diagnosis but also of the complex etiology
and treatment protocols used to explain and help those suffering
from one or more psychological diagnoses.
References
Alexaldo. (n.d.). Speed of heart beating (ID 87273629)
[Illustration]. Dreamstime.
https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-illustration-speed-heart-
beating-medicine-illustration-pulsating-
fast-normal-slow-image87273629
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and
statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
American Psychiatric Publishing.
Kring, A. M., & Johnson, S. L. (2018). Abnormal psychology:
The science and treatment of psychological

17. disorders (14th ed.). Wiley.
Normaals. (n.d.). Amygdala medical labeled vector illustration
and scheme with response to threat (ID
125279049) [Illustration]. Dreamstime.
https://www.dreamstime.com/amygdala-medical-labeled-
vector-illustration-scheme-response-to-threat-amygdala-
medical-labeled-vector-illustration-
image125279049
Sylverarts. (n.d.). Psychology, brain and mental health vector
conceptual icons or I (ID 110284436)
[Illustration]. Dreamstime.
https://www.dreamstime.com/psychology-brain-mental-health-
vector-
conceptual-icons-logos-set-relationship-gender-psychology-
problems-conflicts-image110284436
PSY 2301, Abnormal Psychology 8
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Suggested Unit Resources

18. To reinforce the concepts from this unit, review the Chapter 5
Presentation or review the Chapter 5
Presentation in PDF form.
To reinforce the concepts from this unit, review the Chapter 6
Presentation or review the Chapter 6
Presentation in PDF form.
Learning Activities (Nongraded)
Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in
their course of study. You do not have to submit
them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further
guidance and information.
Please review and complete this interactive presentation on key
terminology from Chapter 5 and Chapter 6.
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-
142106658_1
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-
142106657_1
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-
142106657_1
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-
142106661_1
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-
142106660_1
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-
142106660_1
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-

19. 142109606_1Course Learning Outcomes for Unit IIIRequired
Unit ResourcesUnit LessonIntroductionUnipolar
DepressionDepressive DisordersBipolar DisordersBipolar I
DisorderBipolar II DisorderCyclothymic DisorderEtiol ogy of
Mood DisordersTreatment of Mood DisordersThe Threat of
SuicideAnxiety DisordersEtiology and Treatment of Anxiety
DisordersSummaryReferencesSuggested Unit
ResourcesLearning Activities (Nongraded)
Instructions
For this assignment, please choose one mood disorder to reflect
upon. Explain what you have learned about the condition, how it
affects lives, and what constitutes a specific diagnosis within
the mood disorder. Describe at least two treatments for the
disorder, and share any personal connection you may have to
the disorder that you are comfortable sharing. Even consider
that you are suffering from this diagnosis. What do you think
your life would be like?
Next choose one specific anxiety disorder to reflect upon.
Explain what you have learned about the condition, how it
affects lives, and what constitutes a specific diagnosis within
the anxiety disorder. Describe at least two treatments for the
disorder, and share any personal connection you may have to
the disorder that you are comfortable sharing. Even consider
that you are suffering from this diagnosis. What do you think
your life would be like?
Your reflection paper should be at least two pages in length.
Your mood disorder reflection should be one page, and your
anxiety disorder reflection should be one page. A reference
page is not required. A cover page is optional.