Lesson 13 - Psychiatry Flashcards
amnesia
Loss of memory.
affect
The external expression of emotion, or emotional response.
anorexia nervosa
An eating disorder of excessive dieting and refusal to maintain a normal body weight.
anxiety disorders
(anxi/o=uneasy, anxious, distressed) Varying degrees of uneasiness, apprehension, or dread often accompanied by palpitations, tightness in the chest, breathlessness, and choking sensations.
apathy
Absence of emotions; lack of interest or emotional involvement.
autism
Severe lack of responsiveness to others, preoccupation with inner thought; withdrawal and retarded language development.
bipolar disorder
(pol/o=extreme) Alternating periods of mania (state of excitability, hyperactivity and agitation) and depression.
bulimia nervosa
Eating disorder of binge eating followed by vomiting, purging, and depression.
claustrophobia
(claustr/o=barrier) Fear of closed places.
compulsion
Uncontrollable urge to perform an action repeatedly.
delirium
Confusion in thinking; faulty perceptions and irrational behavior.
delusion
A fixed, false belief that cannot be changed by logical reasoning or evidence.
dementia
Loss of intellectual abilities with impairment of memory, judgement, and reasoning as well as changes in personality.
depression
Major mood disorder with chronic sadness, loss of energy, hopelessness, worry, and discouragement and, commonly, suicidal impulses and thoughts.
dissociative disorder
Chronic or sudden disturbance of memory, identity, or consciousness; dissociative identity disorder, amnesia, and fugue.
euphoria
Exaggerated feeling of well-being.
gender identity disorder
A strong and persistent cross-gender identification with the opposite sex. Manifests in preference for cross-dressing and cross-sex roles in make-believe play.
halucination
(halucin/o=to wander in the mind) False or unreal sensory perception as, for example, hearing voices when none are present; an illusion is a false perception of an actual sensory stimulus.
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Anxiety disorder in which recurrent thoughts and repetitive acts dominate behavior.
panic attack (disorder)
Marked by intense fear or discomfort and symptoms such as palpitations, sweating, trembling, and dizziness.
paranoia
(para=abnormal) Delusions of persecution or grandeur of combinations of the two.
pedophilia
Sexual urges and fantasies involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child (age 13 or younger)
phobia (phobic disorders)
(-phobia=fear) Irrational or disabling fear of an object or situation.
post-traumatic stress disorder
Anxiety related symptoms appear following exposure to personal experience of a traumatic event.
psychiatrist
Physician with medical training in the diagnosis, prevention and treating of mental disorders.
psychologist
Individuals (often a Ph.D) specializing in mental processes and how the brain functions in health and disease.
psychosis
Impairment of mental capacity to recognize reality, communicate, and relate to others.
repression
Defense mechanism by which unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and impulses are automatically pushed into the unconscious.
schizophrenia
(shiz/o=split) Withdrawal from reality into an inner world of disorganized thinking and conflict.
antidepressents
Drugs used to treat severe depression. Gradually reverses symptoms and produces feelings of well-being.
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
Electric current is used to produce convulsions in the treatment of depression. Modern techniques use anesthesia, so the convulsion is not observable.
group therapy
Group of patients with similar problems gain insight into their personalities through discussion and interaction with each other.
hypnosis
(hypn/o=sleep) Trance (state of altered consciousness) is used to increase the pace of psychotherapy.
psychoanalysis
Treatment that allows the patient to explore inner emotions and conflicts so as to understand and change current behavior.
sedatives
Drugs that lessen anxiety.
