Definitions 2 Flashcards
Somatisation
When physical symptoms are caused by mental (psychological) or emotional factors
Clouding of consciousness
a lowered level of consciousness marked by loss of perception or comprehension of the environment, with loss of ability to respond properly to external stimuli
Catatonia
- Give 4 other terms it encompasses
Catatonia- a state of excited or inhibited motor activity in the absence of mood disorder / neurological disease.
It includes waxy flexibility, echolalia, echopraxia and logoclonia
Waxy flexibility
Waxy flexibility- the patient’s limbs when moved feel like wax or lead pipe, and remain in the position in which they are left.
- Found in catatonic schizophrenia /structural brain disease.
Echolalia
Echolalia- automatic repetition of words heard.
Echopraxia
Echopraxia- an automatic repetition by the patient of movements made by the examiner.
Logoclonia
Logoclonia- repetition of the last syllable of a word.
Stupor (a.k.a. Akinetic Autism)
Stupor (a.k.a. Akinetic Autism)- more or less complete loss of activity with no response to stimuli; may mark a progression of psychomotor retardation; found in a wide range of neurological and psychiatric conditions.
Psychomotor retardation
Slowing of thoughts and movements, to a variable degree. Severe can become stupor
- Occurs in depressionbut other causes include psychotropics, Parkinson’s disease etc.
Anhedonia
Anhedoniais defined as the inability to experience pleasure from activities usually found enjoyable
Incongruity of affect
Incongruity of affect- Emotional responses which seem grossly out of tune with the situation or subject being discussed.
Blunting of affect
Blunting of affect- an objective absence of normal emotional responses, without evidence of depression or psychomotor retardation.
Belle Indifference/La belle indifférence
Belle Indifferenceor La belle indifférence is characterized by a lack of concern and/or feeling of indifference about a disability or symptom.
- Links to conversion disorder
Depersonalisation
Depersonalisation- a feeling of some change in the self, associated with a sense of detachment from one’s own body. Perception fails to awaken a feeling of reality, actions seem mechanical and the patient feels like an apathetic spectator of his own activities.
Derealisation
Derealisation- a sense of one’s surroundings lacking reality, often appearing dull, grey and lifeless
Dissociation
Dissociation - An experience where a person may feel disconnected from himself and/or his surroundings
Conversion
Neurological symptoms resulting from psychological cause
Mannerism
Mannerism- a sometimes bizarre elaboration of normal activities. (e.g. twirling hair when speaking in public) Alone, not an example of mental health problem.
Stereotypies
Stereotypies- uniform, repetitive non goal-directed actions (may take a variety of forms from simple movement to an utterance)
Obsession
Obsession- a recurrent persistent thought, image, or impulse that enters consciousness unbidden, is recognised as being ones own and often remains despite efforts to resist.
Compulsion
Compulsion- repetitive, apparently purposeful behaviour performed in a stereotyped way accompanied by a subjective sense that it must be carried out despite the recognition of its senselessness and often resistance by the patient. Recognised as morbid by the affected individual.
Akathisia
Akathisia - a condition marked by motor restlessness, ranging from anxiety to inability to lie or sit quietly or to sleep
Rumination
Rumination is the focused attention on the symptoms of one’s distress, and on its possible causes and consequences, as opposed to its solutions
