Categories of Mental Disorders
| CATEGORY | CHARACTERISTICS | EXAMPLE DISORDERS |
| Mood Disorders | A disturbance of mood | Depression Bi-polar disorder |
| Anxiety Disorders | Characterized by apprehension usually accompanied by palpitations, and shortness of breath. | Obsessive compulsive disorder Panic attack Post traumatic stress disorder Agoraphobia |
| Psychotic Disorders | Characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech or behavior | Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective disorder, Delusional disorder |
| Substance-Related Disorders | These disorders result from taking a substance: i.e. a drug of abuse, the side effects of a medication, and toxin exposure. | Substance Dependence Substance Abuse |
| Disorders usually first seen in infancy, childhood, or adolescence | Some people with these disorders are not diagnosed until adulthood. | Retardation Autism Learning Attention deficit Disruptive behavior Feeding |
| Cognitive Disorders | Dysfunctions of the brain caused by neurological problem and/or drug abuse. | Delirium, Dementia, Memory disorders |
| Eating Disorders | Severe disturbances in eating behavior. | Anorexia Nervosa Bulimia Nervosa |
| Personality Disorders | An enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that is pervasive since adolescence is inflexible and leads to distress or impairment. | Paranoid, Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic, Schizotypal, Dependent personality disorders |
Notes:
- Diagnosis of more than one mental disorder is possible.
- In general, a general medical condition is ruled out before making a diagnosis of a mental disorder
- Categories of DSM mental disorders not included in this chart: Sleep, Sexual and Gender Identity, Impulse Control, Factitious (intentionally produced), Dissociative (consciousness, identity, perception), and Somatoform (unexplained physical symptoms)
Source: American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition