Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Mood Disorders
Most people feel sad or irritable from time to time. They may say they're in a bad mood. A mood disorder is different. It affects a person's everyday emotional state. Nearly one in ten people aged 18 and older have mood disorders. These include depression and bipolar disorder (also called manic depression).
Mood disorders can increase a person's risk for heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases. Treatments include medication, psychotherapy, or a combination of both. With treatment, most people with mood disorders can lead productive lives.
It sits within Mental Health and Behavior.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Mental Health.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Mood Disorders
6,728 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Acceptability & Safety of Two Sequential Doses of Psilocybin in Bipolar Disorder II Depression and SuicidalityThe University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
- A Phase 3 Trial of DT120 for Major Depressive Disorder (Ascend)Definium Therapeutics US, Inc.
- Natural History of Depression, Bipolar Disorder and Suicide RiskNational Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- Lumateperone for Late-Life DepressionEric Lenze
- RCT of At-Home tDCS for Depression in PregnancyWomen's College Hospital
- Adapting a Health at Every Size Intervention to Obstetric CareUniversity of Massachusetts, Worcester
Research already completed
- Validation of the French Version of the Perinatal Assessment of Paternal Affectivity (PAPA)University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand
- Preventing Childbirth-Related PTSD With Expressive WritingMassachusetts General Hospital
- CBT+ for DepressionUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Mood DisordersMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Mood Disorders (Overview)Johns Hopkins Medicine
Treatments and Therapies
- Mental Health MedicationsNational Institute of Mental Health
- PsychotherapiesNational Institute of Mental Health
Living With
- What to Know Before Stopping Medications (Medication Discontinuation)American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists
Related Issues
- Suicide Prevention InformationDepression and Bipolar Support Alliance
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Cyclothymic DisorderNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Mood DisordersNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Mood Disorders. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Mood Disorders, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.