Psychiatric Terms

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ABSTRACT THINKING

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the ability to take separate facts and bits of data and derive general concepts from them

-ex: schizophrenics lack this ability; they take things like "I’ve been running in circles lately,” literally

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AGNOSIA

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inability to recognize and interpret the significance of sensory stimuli despite intact sensory function,language and intellect

ex. Patients with visual agnosia are unable to identify an object they see unless they are able to touch it with their hands

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AKATHISIA

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overactivity of motor behavior

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ALEXITHYMIA

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a personality trait where there is a deficit in understanding, processing and expression emotions; pts maintain a neutral mood and are usually stoic and controlled; their descriptions of emotions is limited to single words such as "happy" or "unhappy"

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AMBIVALENCE

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coexistence of two opposing impulses toward the same thing in the same person at the same time

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AMNESIA

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impairment in memory with a partial or total inability to recall past events

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ANHEDONIA

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loss of pleasure or interest; associated with depression

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APATHY

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a dulled emotional tone associated with detachment or indifference

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AVOLITION

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one of the negative sx of schizophrenia; the lack of energy and drive to initiate or sustain purposeful activities; not accompanied by sadness

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BLOCKING

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a sign seen in many psychiatric disorders in which there is an abrupt interruption in train of thought before a through or idea is finished. After a brief pause, the person indicates no recall of what was being said or what was going to be said.

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CATALEPSY

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a waxy flexibility, occurs when a patient, with a partial passive resistance to movement, can be manipulated into an awkward and uncomfortable position and has the willingness to remain in that position for very long periods of time.

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CIRCUSTATIALITY

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A disorder of association, with the inclusion of unnecessary details, until one arrives at the goal of thought

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CONCRETE THINKING

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the inability to form abstract concepts. Concrete thinkers seem only able to interpret literal or superficial meanings of words. Seen in schizophrenia

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CYCLOTHYMIA

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Alternating periods of hypomania and moderate depression

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DELUSION

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A false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality that persists despite the evidence to the contrary and the belief is not ordinarily accepted by other members of the person's culture or subculture

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DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR

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A psychological state characterized by delusions of inflated worth, power, knowledge, identity, or special relationship to a deity or famous person

ex. A middle aged couple presents to an inpatient office where the wife is complaining that her husband has had an onset of feelings that he is God. He has been standing outside of church preaching to church members that he is God and that he has a special message to deliver. Wife claims that she is unable to bring her husband back to reality.

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DELUSION OF REFERENCE

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: false belief that the behavior of others refers to oneself; that events, objects or other people have a particular and unusual significance, usually a negative nature; derived from idea of reference, in which persons falsely feel that others are talking about them

ex. An individual walking past a group of four other people hears them laughing amongst themselves and believes/imagines they are speaking about or laughing at him

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DEPERSONLIZATION

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A psychological state in which a patient feels disconnected or alienated from himself.

ex. Patient is an 18 year old female who has recently been in a car accident in which she witnessed her mother’s death. Patient states that she feels as though she is outside of her body and is not involved in her own mental processes and thoughts. Patient is bothered by this feeling and states that she feels “crazy”.

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DEREALIZATION

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state in which the external world seems different, changed, vague, unreal, or distant.

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DISPLACEMENT

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A type of defense mechanism which is both unconscious and involuntary. Displacement is characterized by aiming one’s own frustrations, and emotional responses at objects that were not responsible for the evoked response in order to keep more upsetting ideas, feelings, memories, etc from awareness.

ex. A husband and wife are called into their doctor’s office and are told that the wife’s previous cancer treatments have been unsuccessful and that the cancer continues to progress. In response to the news, the husband begins to cry and yell at the doctor, telling him/her that it is his/her fault that the treatments did not work and that the wife is still very ill

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DYSTONIA

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tonic muscle spasms in the tongue, jaw and neck, usually occurs after the first few days after taking an antipsychotic

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ECHOLALIA

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peristent repetition of mimicking words or phrases of another persons

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EROTOMANIA

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A type of delusion in which the patient believes that a stranger, generally a celebrity or someone more socially prominent than themselves, is deeply in love with them

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FLIGHT OF IDEAS

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a phenomenon in which a patient exhibits a very fast flow of thought that increases in speed and eventually the train of thought then switches from topic to topic frequently and rapidly. Flight of ideas is often seen in mania.

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FOLIE A DEUX

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Also known as “Shared Psychotic Disorder”. It is the condition in which an individual develops delusions simply as a result of a close relationship with a delusional individual.

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GLOSSOLALIA

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expression of a revelationary message through unintelligible words (also known as speaking in tongues): not considered a disturbance in thought if associated with practices of specific Pentecostal religions also known as cryptolalia, a private spoken language

ex. patient says "kla ko ko bah bah bah bah nah na nal" for no reason at random times

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HALLUCINATIONS

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are sensory perceptions that occur without real external stimulation. These can be auditory, visual, tactile, gustatory and olfactory hallucinations.

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HYPNAGOGIC HALLUCINATIONS

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a false sensory perception occurring while falling asleep. This type of hallucination is considered to be within normal range of experience if they occur in a clear sensorium.

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HYPNOPOMPIC HALLUCINATION

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is a hallucination that occurs when a person is awakening from sleep. This type of hallucination is considered to be within normal range of experience if they occur in a clear sensorium.

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ILLUSIO

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A perceptual disorder that involves misperceptions of a sensory stimuli.

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LOOSENING OF ASSOCIATIONS

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-Disordered thought with a lack of logical progression of ideas, which is manifested as speech that seems to be moving from one subject to another subject that is unrelated.

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NARCISSISM

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This is the personality disorder that features an exaggerated sense of the person’s own importance and abilities.

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NEOLOGISM

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made up words

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NIHILISTIC DELUSION

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An exaggerated belief in the futility of everything. In the extreme, one’s own existence is denied and the patient absurdly declares he is literally dead

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PARANOID DELUSION

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A person or force is interfering with the patient, observing the patient, and wishing to harm the patient

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PERSERVERATION

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refers to the repetition of a sentence or phrase, sometimes several times over, after it has no longer relevant; it is as if the person becomes stuck on a saying or word.

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PRESSURED SPEECH

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An increased amount of spontaneous speech. Pressured speech may be rapid, loud, and difficult to understand.

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PROSODY

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melody or inflection

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SOMATIC DELUSION

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An unsustainable belief involving state of health, disease, or injury

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TANGENTIALITY

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Tangentiality refers to the immediate loss of connection between the patient’s response and the initial question.

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TARDIVE DYSKINESIA

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Involuntary choreiform, athetoid, or rhythmic movements of the tongue, jaw, or extremities developing in association with the use of neuroleptic medication for at least a few months.

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TRANSFERENCE

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form of displacement involving redirection of emotions and attitudes from one’s original instinctual object onto a substitute. Commonly happens in relationship between patient and therapist, and typically the pattern projected onto the other person comes from a childhood relationship.

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VERBIGERATION

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condition when one or several sentences or string of fragmented words are repeated continuously.

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TARDIVE DYSKINESIA

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Involuntary choreiform, athetoid, or rhythmic movements of the tongue, jaw, or extremities developing in association with the use of neuroleptic medication for at least a few months.

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TRANSFERENCE

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form of displacement involving redirection of emotions and attitudes from one’s original instinctual object onto a substitute. Commonly happens in relationship between patient and therapist, and typically the pattern projected onto the other person comes from a childhood relationship.

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VERBIGERATION

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condition when one or several sentences or string of fragmented words are repeated continuously.

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FUGUE

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An amnesic syndrome consisting of a sudden loss of all autobiographical memories and knowledge of personal identity, usually associated with a period of wandering away from home or place of work, for which there is a subsequent amnesic gap on recovery.

ex. After discovering that her husband of 10 years cheated on her, the 35 year old female patient walked out of her home. She proceeded to walk through town for the next five hours, able to communicate with others well, but unable to recall her name or who she was. Once the episode ceased, she remembered who she was, but nothing of the past 5 hours.