Eating and mood disorders are two serious illnesses that have been around ever since humans have inhabited the planet. It is only recently that we have had the knowledge to study these complex yet complicated psychiatric disabilities. Such knowledge has lead to advances in neuroimaging may allow physicians to look for subtle anomalies in the brain caused by certain mental disorders. Therefore, as this technology improves, scientists can easily diagnose mood disorders and track the success of therapy. There are three main types of eating disorders. They are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge disorder. There are a number of mood disorders one of which is major depression. Major Depression consists of episodes during which the patient feels sad or empty nearly every day, loses interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities or harbors thoughts of death or suicide (Hyman, 3). Another is bi polar disorder. Bi polar disorder consists of episodes of abnormally elevated or irritable mood during which the patient feels inflated self-esteem; needs less sleep; talks more than usual; or engages excessively in pleasurable but unwise activities. These are called manic periods and may alternate with depressive episodes (Hyman, 3). Lastly one of the most severe Psychotic disorders is schizophrenia. It is characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, inappropriate or blunted emotional responses, loss of motivation and cognitive deficits (Hyman, 3). Research taken from numerous psychiatric units has lead doctors to believe that there is an elevated prevalence of mood disorders among the relatives of individuals with eating disorders, even including those individuals who do not have mood disorders themselves (Manglewth, Hudson, Pope, Hausman, De Col, Laird, Beibl, Tsuang, 1). Throughout history there has been many family studies done that have suggested eating disorders and mood disorders may co aggregate in families.
