Conditions by clinical cluster.
Every condition entry on Shrinkopedia organized by clinical cluster, roughly aligned with DSM-5-TR chapters. Perinatal conditions and a few cross-cluster entries appear in more than one group. For differential-diagnosis comparisons see conditions comparisons.
Anxiety and related disorders
Excessive fear or anxiety and behavioral disturbances that follow.
- Generalized anxiety disorder
What generalized anxiety disorder is, how it differs from everyday worry, the symptoms, and what treatment helps. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Panic disorder
What panic disorder is, why attacks feel dangerous but aren't, how avoidance grows, and what treatment helps. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Social anxiety disorder
How social anxiety differs from shyness, what it feels like, why avoidance keeps it going, and what treatment helps. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Agoraphobia
An anxiety disorder defined by intense fear of situations where escape might be hard, or help unavailable, if panic strikes. It's recognized and treatable.
- Health anxiety
A persistent preoccupation with fear of having or developing a serious illness. The worry is disproportionate and lasts despite reassurance, but is treatable.
- Specific phobia
A marked, lasting fear of a particular object or situation, out of proportion to the real danger. It's common, and responds well to exposure therapy.
- Acute stress disorder
A trauma-related condition that can appear in the days after a traumatic event, with symptoms like PTSD that last from 3 days to 1 month. Many people recover.
Obsessive-compulsive and related
Recurrent intrusive thoughts, compulsive behaviors, and pattern-focused conditions.
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
How OCD works, the obsession-compulsion cycle, what intrusive thoughts mean, and why treatment like ERP helps. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
What obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is, why it's not the same as OCD, and what evidence-based treatment can offer. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Hoarding disorder
A condition marked by persistent difficulty discarding possessions, leading to clutter that disrupts living spaces and causes distress. Not mere messiness.
- Body dysmorphic disorder
A condition defined by a painful preoccupation with perceived flaws in appearance that others don't see, or see as slight. It isn't vanity, and it's treatable.
- Perinatal OCD
What perinatal OCD is, why intrusive harm thoughts don't mean risk to the baby, and what evidence-based treatment can offer. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
Depressive and mood disorders
Persistent low mood or episodic mood elevation and depression.
- Major depressive disorder
What depression really is, the symptoms to know, why it happens, and what treatment looks like. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide for a hard day.
- Persistent depressive disorder
A long-lasting form of depression, present most days for two years or more. It's defined by its duration rather than its severity, and it's treatable.
- Seasonal affective disorder
Depressive episodes that recur at a certain time of year, most often fall and winter, with remission otherwise. It's real and more than the winter blues.
- Postpartum depression
What postpartum depression is, how it differs from the baby blues, the symptoms, and what treatment helps. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Bipolar disorder
What bipolar disorder is, how mania and depression show up, bipolar I versus II, and what treatment looks like. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
A severe, cyclical depressive disorder tied to the menstrual cycle, with marked mood symptoms in the week or so before a period that ease soon after it starts.
Trauma and stress-related
Conditions that develop after exposure to a traumatic or stressful event.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
What PTSD is, the four symptom groups, why trauma stays stuck, and how trauma-focused treatment helps. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Complex PTSD
A trauma diagnosis in the WHO's ICD-11 that can follow prolonged, repeated trauma. It adds difficulties with emotion, self-worth, and relationships to PTSD.
- Adjustment disorder
Emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to a clear stressor, more than ordinary stress but not major depression. It usually resolves, with a good outlook.
Psychotic and related
Disturbances in perception, thinking, and reality-testing.
- Schizophrenia
What schizophrenia is, the symptoms and the myths, how psychosis works, and why recovery is real. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Schizoaffective disorder
What schizoaffective disorder is, how it differs from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and what evidence-based treatment can offer. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Postpartum psychosis
What postpartum psychosis is, why it's a psychiatric emergency, and how it's treated. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide from Shrinkopedia.
Personality disorders
Enduring patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that cause distress and functional impairment.
- Borderline personality disorder
A pattern of instability in emotions, self-image, and relationships, with marked impulsivity. Heavily stigmatized and very treatable; many people improve.
- Narcissistic personality disorder
What narcissistic personality disorder actually is under DSM-5-TR, how it differs from ordinary self-focus, and what evidence-based treatment looks like when someone is willing to engage. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Antisocial personality disorder
What antisocial personality disorder is under DSM-5-TR, how it differs from psychopathy and from ordinary rule-breaking, and what treatment can and can't do. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Histrionic personality disorder
What histrionic personality disorder is, why the diagnosis itself is controversial, and what evidence-based treatment can offer. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Paranoid personality disorder
What paranoid personality disorder is, how it differs from paranoid delusions in schizophrenia, and why engagement is the hardest part of treatment. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Schizoid personality disorder
What schizoid personality disorder is, how it differs from autism and introversion, and what evidence-based care can look like. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Schizotypal personality disorder
What schizotypal personality disorder is, how it sits on the schizophrenia spectrum, and what evidence-based care can offer. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Avoidant personality disorder
What avoidant personality disorder is under DSM-5-TR, how it differs from social anxiety and from ordinary shyness, and what evidence-based treatment looks like. A calm, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Dependent personality disorder
What dependent personality disorder is, how it differs from culturally expected interdependence, and what evidence-based treatment can offer. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
Dissociative disorders
Disruption of identity, memory, or awareness, often trauma-related.
- Dissociative identity disorder
What dissociative identity disorder actually is under DSM-5-TR, why social media misrepresents it, and what evidence-based phase-based treatment looks like. A calm, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Dissociative amnesia
What dissociative amnesia is, how it differs from organic memory loss and malingering, and what evidence-based treatment looks like. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Depersonalization-derealization disorder
What depersonalization-derealization disorder is, what triggers it, and what treatment helps. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide from Shrinkopedia.
Sleep-wake disorders
Sleep disturbance and disorders of the sleep-wake cycle with significant mental-health impact.
- Insomnia disorder
A sleep-wake disorder of persistent trouble falling or staying asleep despite enough opportunity, with real daytime effects. CBT-I is the first-line treatment.
- Obstructive sleep apnea
What obstructive sleep apnea is, why it matters for mental health, and how CPAP and other treatments work. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Narcolepsy
What narcolepsy is, the difference between Type 1 and Type 2, and how modern treatments work. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Restless legs syndrome
What restless legs syndrome is, why iron and dopamine matter, and what evidence-based treatment can offer. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Parasomnias
What parasomnias are, why REM behavior disorder matters for future neurological disease, and what treatment looks like. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
Neurodevelopmental
Conditions with onset in the developmental period that affect learning, behavior, and social function.
- ADHD
What ADHD is, how it shows up in children and adults, and what treatment looks like. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Autism spectrum disorder
A lifelong neurodevelopmental difference in social communication and in behavior, interests, and senses. It's a spectrum, not an illness to cure.
- Tourette syndrome
What Tourette syndrome is, how it differs from other tic disorders, and what evidence-based treatment looks like. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Intellectual disability
What intellectual disability is under current criteria, how the diagnosis moved beyond IQ alone, and what supports enable full lives. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Learning disorders
What specific learning disorders are, how they differ from intellectual disability, and what evidence-based support looks like. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
Substance use and addictive
Compulsive substance use despite significant harm, and the specific pharmacology and treatment of each.
- Alcohol use disorder
What alcohol use disorder actually is under DSM-5-TR, why medication-based treatment works, and what evidence-based recovery looks like. A calm, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Opioid use disorder
What opioid use disorder is, why medications for OUD save lives, and how naloxone and harm reduction fit in. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Cannabis use disorder
What cannabis use disorder is, how high-potency products changed the risk picture, and what evidence-based treatment can offer. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Substance use disorder
What substance use disorder is, why it's not a moral failing, how it changes the brain, and what treatment helps. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
Eating and feeding
Disturbed patterns of eating that impair physical or psychosocial functioning.
- Anorexia nervosa
What anorexia nervosa is under DSM-5-TR, why it isn't about food or vanity, and what evidence-based treatment looks like across ages. A calm, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Bulimia nervosa
What bulimia nervosa is, how it differs from binge eating disorder and anorexia, why it's often hidden, and what treatment looks like. A calm, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Binge eating disorder
What binge eating disorder is under DSM-5, how it differs from bulimia and from overeating, and what evidence-based treatment looks like. A calm, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Eating disorders
What eating disorders are, the main types, the myths that delay help, and why recovery is possible. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
Somatic symptom and related
Prominent physical symptoms alongside abnormal thoughts and behaviors about them.
Perinatal mental health
Mental-health conditions during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Some also appear in the mood or psychotic clusters above.
- Perinatal anxiety
What perinatal anxiety is, how common it is, and what evidence-based treatment during pregnancy and postpartum looks like. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Perinatal OCD
What perinatal OCD is, why intrusive harm thoughts don't mean risk to the baby, and what evidence-based treatment can offer. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Postpartum depression
What postpartum depression is, how it differs from the baby blues, the symptoms, and what treatment helps. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide.
- Postpartum psychosis
What postpartum psychosis is, why it's a psychiatric emergency, and how it's treated. A clear, psychiatrist-reviewed guide from Shrinkopedia.
Grief, burnout, and other
Not formal DSM disorders in every case; addressed here because they routinely bring people to care.
- Grief
The natural response to loss, especially a death. It isn't a mental illness, and most grief needs no treatment, though some meets prolonged grief disorder.
- Burnout
A state of exhaustion, mental distance from work, and reduced effectiveness from chronic workplace stress. The WHO calls it an occupational phenomenon.