Raymond J. Pataracchia

Orthomolecular medicine can be helpful in treating the biochemical imbalances of mood and behaviour disorders. This broad grouping of disorders includes anxiety, severe depression, bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, hormonal depression, other endogenous depressions (cyclothymia, seasonal affective disorder), OCD, ADHD, ODD and, addictive behavior.

Mood and behavior disorders have similar nutritional imbalance pro les and there is much overlapping of diagnoses. Anxiety for example, often coexists with depression. Depression often involves negative thought rumination and sadness. Stoic depressives rarely smile and are locked in despair often with suicidal thoughts. Suicidal propensity is global in patients with depression, anxiety, and behaviour disorders. Obsessive thinking is commonly found in anxiety disorder but, is not diagnostic for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) unless it is so severe that it profoundly interferes with thinking and behaviour. People with addictive behaviour are often having co-existing mood dysfunction, behavior disorders, or schizophrenia. Addictive behaviour ranges from the realm of illicit substance use and alcoholism to the compulsive behaviours of gambling and sexual addiction.