A mood disorder is a condition whereby the prevailing emotional mood is distorted or inappropriate to the circumstances. Basic and clinical psychiatric research is increasingly showing that unipolar and bipolar mood disorders are continuous entities within the complete mood spectrum. This spectrum runs continuously from unipolar depression to schizobipolar disorder with anxiety disorders running across the gamut. A persons emotional mood is a measurable affective state, which can consist of a combination of emotions. ... The complete bipolar spectrum includes the a range of mood disorders, ranging from recurrent unipolar depression all the way to bipolar disorder with psychotic features (or schizobipolar disorder). ...

The two major types of mood disorders are depression (or unipolar depression) and bipolar disorder. Clinical depression is a state of sadness or melancholia that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ... Bipolar disorder (which used to be called, and is still colloquially referred to as manic depression) is a diagnostic category describing a range or spectrum of mood disorders where the person experiences states of depression and/or mania and/or hypomania, and/or mixed states. ...

• Depression (or unipolar depression), including subtypes:
  • Major Depression
  • Major Depression (Recurrent)
  • Major Depression with psychotic symptoms (psychotic depression)
  • Dysthymia
  • Postpartum depression

• Bipolar disorder, a mood disorder described by alternating periods of mania and depression (and in some cases rapid cycling, mixed states, and psychotic symptoms). Subtypes include:
  • Bipolar I
  • Bipolar II
  • Cyclothymia

Schizoaffective disorder is a vaguely-defined term (probably at the psychotic end of the bipolar spectrum) that describes patients that show symptoms of both schizophrenia and one of the mood disorders. Clinical depression is a state of sadness or melancholia that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ... Clinical depression is a state of sadness or melancholia that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ... Clinical depression is a state of sadness or melancholia that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ... Clinical depression is a state of sadness or melancholia that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ... This article is about the mental state. ... Dysthymia or dysthymic disorder is a form of the mood disorder of depression characterised by a lack of enjoyment/pleasure in life that continues for at least two years. ... After giving birth, about 70-80% of women experience an episode of baby blues, feelings of depression, anger, anxiety and guilt lasting for several days. ... Bipolar disorder (which used to be called, and is still colloquially referred to as manic depression) is a diagnostic category describing a range or spectrum of mood disorders where the person experiences states of depression and/or mania and/or hypomania, and/or mixed states. ... This article is about the medical condition. ... Clinical depression is a state of sadness or melancholia that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ... This article is about the mental state. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

There are also forms of mood disorder that are specific to women, related to physiological events such as pregnancy, giving birth or the menopause - these include Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, Postpartum Depression and Postpartum Psychosis. Pregnancy Pregnancy is the carrying of one or more embryos or fetuses by female mammals, including humans, inside their bodies. ... Childbirth (also called labo(u)r, birth, partus or parturition) is the culmination of a human pregnancy with the emergence of a newborn infant from its mothers uterus. ... Menopause (also known as the Change of life or climacteric) is a stage of the human female reproductive cycle that occurs as the ovaries stop producing estrogen, causing the reproductive system to gradually shut down. ...

The generally-accepted definitions of these terms can be found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual published by the American Psychiatric Association The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, is the handbook used most often in diagnosing mental disorders in the United States and internationally. ...

Most psychiatrists believe that all mood disorders are in some ways related, both symptomatically and biochemically, as a part of a single spectrum of disorders. However, some psychiatrists claim that bipolar disorder may actually be biochemically closer to schizophrenia than (unipolar) depression. Bipolar disorder (which used to be called, and is still colloquially referred to as manic depression) is a diagnostic category describing a range or spectrum of mood disorders where the person experiences states of depression and/or mania and/or hypomania, and/or mixed states. ...

See also

• Anxiety disorder
• Personality disorder
• Mood (affective) disorders
• Affective spectrum

Anxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of abnormal anxiety, fear, phobia and nervous condition, that come on suddenly and prevent pursuing normal daily routines. ... Personality disorders form a class of mental disorders that are characterized by long-lasting rigid patterns of thought and behaviour. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The affective spectrum is a grouping of related psychiatric and medical disorders which may accompany bipolar, unipolar, and schizoaffective disorders at statistically higher rates than would normally be expected. ...

External links

• Caffeinism's Mimicry of Mental Illness
• Bland, R.C. (1997) Epidemiology of Affective Disorders: A Review. Can J Psychiatry, 42:367–377.
• Mood disorders at the University of California's Neuropsychiatric Institute
• Female mood disorders at the University of California's Neuropsychiatric Institute
• Open Directory Project: Mood Disorders
• The Mood Disorders Association of Ontario
• TrappedMinds.org Mood Disorder Support and Resources
• Mood Disorders Support Group of New York City