psych terms

• stress: any circumstance that threatens or is perceived to threaten our well being and thereby taxes our coping abilities.
• Burnout: physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and a lowered sense of self efficacy that can be brought on gradually by chronic work related stress.
• epidemiology: the study of the distribution of mental or physical disorders in a population.
• prevalence: the percentage of a population that exhibit a disorder during a specific period of time.
• lifetime prevalence: the precentage of a population who experiences a mental disorder at some point in their life.
• anxiety disorder: characterized by feelings of excessive apprehension and anxiety.
• generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): chronic high levels of anxiety not tied to any specific threat.
• specific phobias: persistant and irrational fear of an object of situation that present no real danger.
• panic disorders: recurrent attacks of overhelming anxiety that usually occur suddenly and unexpectedly.
• agoraphobia: fear of going out into public places.
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD): persistent, uncontrollable intrusions of unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and urges to engage in senseless rituals (compulsions).
• hoarding disorder: difficulty of disregarding possessions.
• Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): disorder that develops in some people after experiencing something traumatic.
• dissociative amnesia (DA): is a sudden loss of memory for important personal information that is too extensive to be due to normal forgetting.
• dissociative identity disorder (DID): involves a disruption of identity marked by the experiences of two or more largly complete, and usually very different personalities.
• major depressive disorder: people show persistent feelings of sadness and despair and a loss of interest in the previous sources of pleasure.
• anhedonia: lack of pleasure from activities that normally produce pleasure
• mania: a period of heightened self esteem, optimism, energy and ambition.
• bipolar 1 disorder: characterized by the experiences of one or more manic episodes as well as feelings of depression.
• bipolar 2 disorder: similar to bipolar 1, but manic stages are less severe.
• cyclothymic disorder: mild but chronic bipolar symptoms.
• schizophrenia: a disorder marked by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, negative symptoms and deterioration of adaptive behaviour.
• personality disorder: a class of disorders marked by extreme, inflexible personality traits that cause subjective distress or impaired social and occupational functionings.
• borderline personality disorder: a pattern of instability in social relationships, self-image, and emotional functioning.
• narcissistic personality disorder: a grandiose sense of self-importance, a sence of entitlement, and an excessive need for attention and admiration.
• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): specific learning disorder.
• autism spectrum disorder: a developmental disorder characterized by social and emotional deficits, along with repetitive and stereotyped behaviours, interest and activities.
• M'Naghten rule: insanity exists when a mental disorder makes a person unable to distinguish the difference between right and wrong.
• clinical psychologists: focus on mental illness and may be able to prescribe meds.
• counselling psychologists: focus on the day-to-day mental health
• psychiatrists: licensed doctors specialized in mental disorders, use biomedical therapies and psychoanalysis.
• psychiatric nurses: nurses who specialize in treating psychological disorders.
• clinical social worker: support people with mental health issues as they navigate through life.
• insight therapies: involves verbal interactions intended to enhance clients' self knowledge and thus promote healthful change in personality and behaviours.
• client-centred therapy: emphasizes providing a supportive emotional climate for clients who play a major role in determining the pace and direction of their therapy.
• positive psychology: focused on the positive, adaptive, creative and fulfilling aspects of human existence.
• groupe therapy: understanding patterns of interactions that cause distress and improve communication and develop healthier patterns.
• behaviour therapies: application of learning principles to direct efforts to change clients' maladaptive behaviour.
• systematic desensitization: reduce phobic anxiety through counterconditioning.
• exposure therapy: gradual real life exposure to feared stimulus.