- Major Depressive Disorder (sometimes called clinical depression)
- Cyclothymia (Cyclothymic Disorder)
- Dysthymia (Dysthymic Disorder)
- Bipolar Disorder (sometimes called manic depression)
It also includes classifications for mood disorders which result directly from a general medical condition or from exposure to chemicals or medications, and a catch-all category for disorders which do not fit the other categories.
Clinical diagnoses of mood disorders refer to the presence or absence of so-called 'mood episodes', including:
These 'episodes' are not diagnosed separately, but rather serve as the components for diagnosis of the actual disorders.