Mental Health Terms

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Abreaction

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an emotional release or discharge after recalling a painful experience that has been repressed because it was not consciously tolerable. often the release is surprising to the individual experiencing it because of it's intensity and the circumstances surrounding its onset. a therapeutic effect sometimes occurs through partial or repeated discharge of the painful affect.

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abstract attitude (categorical attitude)

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this is a type of thinking that includes voluntarily shifting one's mind set from a specific aspect of a situation to the general aspect. It involves keeping in mind different simulataneous aspects of a situation while grasping the essentials of the situation. it can involve breaking a situation down into its parts and isolating them voluntarily; planning ahead ideationally; and/or thinking or performing symbolically. a characteristic of many psychiatric disorders is the person's inability to assume the abstract attitude or to shift readily fromthe concrete to the abstract and back again as demanded by circumstances.

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abulia

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a lack of will or motivation which is often expressed as inability to make decisions or set goals. ogten the reduction in impulse to action and thought is coupled with an indifference or lack of concern about the consequences of action.

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acting out

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this is the process of expressing unconscious emotional conflicts or feeling via actions rather than words. The person is not consciously aware of the meaning or etiology of such acts. It may be harmful or in controlled situations, therapeutic (e.g. children's play therapy)

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actualization

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the realization of one's full potential - intellectual, psychological, physical, etc.

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adiadochokinesia

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the inability to perform rapid alternating movements of one or more of the extremities. this task is sometimes requested by physicians of patients during physical examiniations to determine if there exists neurological problems.

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affect

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this word is used to describe observable behavior that represents the expression of a subjectively experienced feeling state (emotion). Common examples are sadness, fear, joy, and anger. the normal range varies considerably between different cultures and even within the same culture. types include euthymic, irritable, constricted, blunt, flat, inappropriate and labile.

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affective disorders

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refers to disorders of mood. examples would include Major depressive disorder, dysthymia, depressive disorder, N.O.S., adjustment disorder with depressed mood, bipolar disorder

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agitation

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excessive motor activity that accompanies and is associated with a feeling of inner tension. the activity is usually nonproductive and repetitious and consists of such behavior as pacing, fidgeting, wringing of the hands, pulling of clothes, and inability to sit still

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agnosia

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failure to recognize or identify objects despite intact sensory function. this may be seen in dementia of various types. an example would be the failure of someone to recognize a paper clip placed in their hand while keeping their eyes closed

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agoraphobia

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anxiety about being in places or situations in which escape might be difficult or embarrassing or in which help may not be available should a panic attack occur. the fears typically relate to venturing into the open, of leaving the familiar setting of one's home, or of being in a crowd, standing in line, or traveling in a car or train. It usually occurs as a part of panic disorder.

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agraphia

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the loss of a pre-existing ability to express one's self through the act of writing

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akathisia

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complaints of restlessness accompanied by movements such as fidgeting of the legs, rocking from foot to foot, pacing, or inablity to sit or stand. symptoms can develop within a few weeks of starting or raising the dose of traditional neuroleptic medication or of reducing the dose of medications used to treat extrapyramidal symptoms. it is a state of motor restlessness ranging from a feeling of inner disquiet to inability to sit still or lie quietly.

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akinesia

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a state of motor inhibition or reduced voluntary movement

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akinetic mutism

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a state of apparent alertness with following eye movements but no speech or voluntary motor responses

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alexia

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loss of a previously intact ability to grasp the meaning of written or printed words and sentences

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alexithymia

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a disturbance in affective and cognitive function that can be present in an assortment of diagnostic entities. the chief manifestations are difficulty in describing or recognizing one's own emotions, a limited fantasy life, and general constriction in affective life.

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algophobia

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fear of pain

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alloplastic

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referring to adaptation by means of altering the external environment. this can be contrasted to autoplastic which refers to the alteration of one's own behavior and responses

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alogia

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an impoverishment in thinking that is inferred from observing speech and language behavior. ther may be brief and concrete replies to questions and restriction in the amount of spontaneous speech (poverty of speech). sometimes the speech is adequate in amount but conveys little information because it is overconcrete, overabstract, repetitive, or stereotyped (poverty of content)

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ambivalence

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the coexistence of contradictory emotions, attitudes, ideas, or desires with respect to a particular person, object, or situation. ordinarily, it is not fully conscious and suggest psychopathology only when present in an extreme form.

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apathy

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lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern

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aphasia

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an impairment in the understanding or transmission of ideas by language in any of its forms -- reading, writing, or speaking -- that is due to injury or disease of the brain centers involved in language.

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anomic or amnestic aphasia

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loss of the ability to name objects

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aphonia

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an inability to produce speech sounds that require the use of the larynx that is not due to a lesion in the central nervous system

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apperception

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perception as modified and enhanced by one's own emotions, memories, and biases

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apraxia

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inability to carry out previously learnded skilled motor activities despite intact comprehension and motor function; this may be seen in dementia

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assimilation

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a piagetian term describing a person's ability to comprehend and integrate new experiences

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astereognosis

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inability to recognize familiar objects by touch that cannot be explained by a defect of elementary tactile sensation

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ataxia

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partial or complete loss of coordination of voluntary muscular movement

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auditory hallucination

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a hallucination involving the perception of sound, most commonly of voices. some clinicians and investigators would not include those experiences perceived as coming from inside the head and would instead limit the concept of true auditory hallucinations to those sounds whose source is perceived as being external