Psychological Disorders/Treatment

• Agoraphobia


  A morbid fear of open spaces (as fear of being caught alone in some public place)

  
• Antisocial personality disorder


  A personality disorder in which the person exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist

  
• ADHD


  A psychological disorder marked by the appearance by age 7 of one or more of three key symptoms: extreme inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity

  
• Bipolar disorder


  A mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania. was once known as Manic Depression.

  
• Catatonia


  a form of schizophrenia characterized by a tendency to remain in a fixed stuporous state for long periods
• Conversion disorder


  A rare somatoform disorder in which a person experiences very specific genuine physical symptoms for which no physiological basis can be found

  
• compulsions


  The person's need to perform repetitive behaviors

  
• Delusions


  False beliefs, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders

  
• Dissociative disorders


  Disorders in which conscious awareness becomes separated from previous memories, thoughts, and feelings. the person may become "detached" from themselves

  
• Dissociative fugue


  The sudden loss of memory for one's personal history, accompanied by an abrupt departure from home and the assumption of a new identity

  
• Dissociative identity disorder (DID)


  A rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities; formerly called multiple personality disorder

  
• diathesis stress theory


  an individual is born with a genetic predisposition towards a mental health problem- the problem is only expressed if the individual is exposed to certain environmental triggers.
• dopamine


  neurotransmitter that influences voluntary movement, attention, alertness; lack of dopamine linked with Parkinson's disease; too much is linked with schizophrenia

  
• DSM-V


  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition: A reference for coding psychiatric disorders or conditions. Organized by symptoms

  
• Generalized anxiety disorder


  An anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal

  
• Hallucinations

  False sensory experiences, such as seeing something in the absence of an external visual stimulus

  
• Hypochondriasis


  Chronic and abnormal anxiety about imaginary symptoms and ailments

  
• Major depressive disorder


  A mood disorder in which a person, for no apparent reason, experiences two or more weeks of depressed moods, feelings of worthlessness, and diminishes interest or pleasure in most activities

  
• Mood disorders


  Psychological disorders characterized by emotional extremes

  
• Negative symptoms


  Schizophrenic symptoms that involve behavioral deficits, such as flattened emotions, social withdrawal, apathy, impaired attention, and poverty of speech

  
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)


  An anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and/or actions (compulsions)

  
• obsessions


  persistent ideas, thoughts, or impulses that are unwanted and inappropriate, causing marked distress
• Panic disorder


  An anxiety disorder characterized by unpredictable panic attacks. May be triggered by the amygdala.

  
• Personality disorders


  Psychological disorders characterized by inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning
• phobia


  An anxiety disorder characterized by a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object or situation

  
• Positive symptoms


  Schizophrenic symptoms that involve behavioral excesses or peculiarities, such as hallucinations, delusions, bizarre behavior, and wild flights of ideas

  
• PTSD


  Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

  A disorder in which a person has lingering memories, nightmares, and other symptoms for weeks after a severely threatening, uncontrollable event

  
• postpartum depression


  A new mother's feelings of inadequacy and sadness in the days and weeks after giving birth

  
• Prevalence


  The percentage of a population that exhibits a disorder during a specified time period
• psychological disorder/psychopathology


  a mental or behavioral pattern or anomaly that results in distress
• Rosenhan study


  study in which healthy individuals were admitted into mental hospitals after saying they were hearing voices. Once in, they acted normally and still were not labeled as impostors.

  
• Schizophrenia


  psychological disorder marked by disturbances in thought that spill over to affect perceptual, social, and emotional processes

  
• Somatoform disorders


  Disorders characterized by physical symptoms for which no known physical cause exists

  
• serotonin


  a neurotransmitter that affects hunger,sleep,arousal,and mood. appears in lower than normal levels in depressed persons

  
• seasonal affective disorder


  Controversial disorder in which a person experiences depression during winter months and improved mood during spring. Can be treated using phototherapy, using bright light and high levels of negative ions.

  
• mania


  A mood disorder marked by a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state. extravagant shopping sprees may happen or a flight of ideas

  
• flat affect


  A marked lack of expressed emotions; a symptom of schizophrenia.
• word salad


  Incoherent mixture of words, phrases, and sentences

  
• paranoia


  A tendency toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness; irrational fear; delusions of persecution

  
• Irrationality


  Abnormal indicator involving acting or talking in ways that are incomprehensible to others