Mood stabilizers are medications used in the treatment of bipolar disorder, where a person’s mood changes from a depressed feeling to a high “manic” feeling or vice verse. These drugs can help reduce mood swings and prevent manic and depressive episodes.

Lithium, anticonvulsants and antipsychotics are the three main types of drug which are used as mood stabilizers. There are several types of individual drug within each of these groups. Several anticonvulsant medications are recognized as mood stabilizers to treat or prevent mood episodes in bipolar disorder. At first, anticonvulsants were prescribed only for people who did not respond to lithium. Today, they are often prescribed alone, with lithium, or with an antipsychotic drug to control mania.

Your doctor may prescribe mood stabilisers if you have an episode of mania, hypomania or depression that changes or gets worse suddenly. This is called an acute episode. Some people need to take mood stabilisers as a long-term treatment to stop this from happening.

Most people with epilepsy live a Normal life. However, the risk of early death is higher for some. We know that the best possible seizure control and living safely can reduce the risk of epilepsy-related death.

While mood stabilizers are not addictive, when you take them (or any drug) over months or years, your body adjusts to the presence of the drug. If you then stop using the drug, especially if you stop suddenly, the absence of the drug may result in withdrawal effects or in return of symptoms.