Information provided in the “Ask the Doctors” column is not meant to take the place of individual consultation with a qualified health care provider. See your health care provider to discuss specific questions about your health, medication and treatment plan.

Question: How can I convince or help someone I care about to get treatment for what might be a mood disorder?

Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D.: If I believed someone I cared about was suffering from a mood disorder, I would emphasize the following four points in helping that person to get treatment:

1.   Mood disorders are real and serious diseases and it is not your fault if you suffer from one. Modern research teaches us that mood disorders are real diseases just like heart disease or diabetes. They affect millions of Americans, can happen at any point in a person’s life, and are responsible for enormous suffering. Individuals who suffer from depression or bipolar disorder have not brought it on themselves. People have genetic and environmental risk factors for these diseases, over which they often have little or no control.

2.   Mood disorders are disruptions of circuits in the brain that generate and regulate emotion. Recent studies show that when a person has depression or bipolar disorder, the brain chemistry that controls emotion is not working the way it should. Because of this, individuals with mood disorders, compared to healthy individuals, experience certain moods more intensely, for longer periods of time, and in a greater number of situations.

3.   Good treatments are available. There are psychological and medical treatments for the mind and body that have been clinically tested and have produced real improvement in mood disorders for the majority of people.

4.   Untreated mood disorders can have negative effects on your long-term mental and physical health. Recent research indicates that untreated mood disorders can increase the risk for suicide, as well as a variety of physical disorders, since disturbances of the emotional circuits in the brain can also disturb other systems in the body.

I would support the person in getting treatment, possibly accompany the person to his or her first doctor’s appointment, and help the person to become educated about mood disorders, learn all the available options, and find the best treatment possible.