Understanding the Core Constructs: Episodes Versus Enduring Traits When discussing mental health, the terms mood disorder and personality disorder are often mentioned, yet they represent fundamentally different categories of psychological experience. A mood disorder is primarily characterized by a severe disturbance in a person’s emotional state. This disturbance is often episodic, meaning it comes and goes in distinct periods. The classic examples include major depressive disorder, where an individual experiences profound and persistent sadness, and bipolar disorder, which involves dramatic swings between depressive lows and manic or hypomanic highs. These conditions are like severe weather systems passing through an otherwise recognizable landscape; they disrupt life significantly but are not the…