PSYCH - PHENOMENOLOGY Flashcards
PHENOMENOLOGY
What is a mental disorder?
Any disorder or disability of the mind, excluding substance abuse
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define psychosis
Severe mental disturbance characterised by a loss of contact with external reality (schizophrenia)
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define neurosis
Relatively mild mental illness in which there is no loss of connection with reality (depression, anxiety)
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define phenomenology
The study of signs + symptoms describing abnormal states of mind
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define illusion
The false perception of a real external stimulus
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define hallucination
An internal perception occurring without a corresponding external stimulus. The person experiences it as they would a real perception.
PHENOMENOLOGY
In terms of hallucinations, what are the main senses?
Auditory, visual, olfactory, gustatory, tactile
PHENOMENOLOGY
What are somatic hallucinations?
within the person
PHENOMENOLOGY
What are hypnogogic/hypnopompic hallucinations?
hypnogogic = when going to sleep
hypnopompic = when waking up
PHENOMENOLOGY
What are autoscopic hallucinations?
seeing oneself
PHENOMENOLOGY
What are reflex hallucinations?
production of a hallucination in one sensory modality by a stimulus in a different modality
PHENOMENOLOGY
What are extracampine hallucinations?
hallucinations which are experienced outside the normal sensory field (seeing something behind them)
PHENOMENOLOGY
What is Charles-Bonnet Syndrome?
What conditions may it be seen in?
- Complex visual hallucinations in a patient with partial/severe blindness (macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy).
- Pts understand that the hallucinations are not real + so often have insight
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define pseudo-hallucination
A perception in the absence of an external stimulus, experienced in one’s subjective inner space of the mind rather than external sensory objects – often have insight
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define delusion
A fixed, false, unshakable belief which is out of keeping with the patient’s educational, cultural + social norms. It’s held with extraordinary conviction + certainty (even despite contradictory evidence)
PHENOMENOLOGY
In terms of delusions, what are persecutory?
the idea that someone/something is trying to inflict harm on them (being followed, poisoned, drugged, spied)
PHENOMENOLOGY
In terms of delusions, what are grandiose?
idea that the person themselves are powerful/crucially important beyond truth
PHENOMENOLOGY
In terms of delusions, what are nihilistic?
theme involves intense feelings of emptiness, sense of everything being unreal
PHENOMENOLOGY
In terms of delusions, what are guilt?
ungrounded feeling of remorse or guilt for situations, can be due to a minor error or unrelated to them (may feel responsible for world disasters)
PHENOMENOLOGY
In terms of delusions, what are…
i) poverty?
ii) reference?
iii) inadequacy?
iv) religious?
i) pt strongly believes they are financially incapacitated
ii) false belief that insignificant remarks/objects in one’s environment have personal meaning/significance (newspaper has hidden text related to them)
iii) false belief of inability to accomplish tasks + meet expectations
iv) false belief related to religious themes/subject matter.
PHENOMENOLOGY
What are the 3 delusional misidentification syndromes?
- Capgras = idea someone has been replaced by an imposter.
- Fregoli = idea various people are the same person
- Intermetamorphosis = one significant relative is replaced by another (father is son).
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define delusional perception and give an example
A primary delusion of two components – where a normal perception is subject to delusional interpretation
E.g. – traffic light changed red so that means I am the son of God
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define thought alienation
Sx of psychosis in which patients feel that their own thoughts are in some way no longer in their control
PHENOMENOLOGY
What are the 3 components of thought alienation?
thought insertion, withdrawal and broadcast
PHENOMENOLOGY
What is thought insertion?
Insertion = delusional belief thoughts placed into pts head from external
PHENOMENOLOGY
What is thought withdrawal?
Withdrawal = delusional belief thoughts removed from head from external
PHENOMENOLOGY
What is thought broadcast?
Broadcast = delusional belief thoughts are accessible directly to others without expressing them
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define concrete thinking
Loss of ability to understand abstract concepts + metaphorical ideas leading to a strictly literal form of speech
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define thought disorder and formal thought disorder
TD = disorganised thinking as evidenced by disorganised speech/beliefs
FTD = pts expressive language (form) indicates that the links between consecutive thoughts aren’t meaningful (disorganised speech evident from disorganised thinking)
PHENOMENOLOGY
In terms of thought disorders, what is flight of ideas?
Abrupt leaps between topics as a result of thoughts presenting more rapidly than can be articulated. Each thought = more associations. ?Discernible links between successive ideas. Presents as pressure of speech.
PHENOMENOLOGY
In terms of thought disorders, what is thought block?
sudden + unintentional break in chain of thought, may be explained as due to thought withdrawal
PHENOMENOLOGY
In terms of thought disorders, what is circumstantiality?
irrelevant wandering in conversation (going around the point).
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define confabulation + state what conditions you would find this in
Giving a false account to fill in a gap in memory.
Korsakoff’s psychosis + dementia
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define passivity phenomena + somatic passivity
- Delusion that one is a passive recipient of actions from an external agency against their will
- The same but sensations are controlled by an external agency
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define psychomotor retardation + state what conditions you would find this in
- Slowing of thoughts + movements with decreased spontaneous movement, often due to subjective sense of actions being laborious
- Parkinson’s, depression
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define incongruity of affect
Emotional responses that differs markedly from the expected emotion for the situation/subject like laughing whilst discussing trauma
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define blunting of affect
A limited range of normal emotional responsiveness
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define flattening of affect
Diminution of the normal range of emotions
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define depersonalisation + derealisation
- Where a person doesn’t believe themselves to be real
- Where a person doesn’t believe the world/people around them to be real
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define obsession
Recurrent thoughts/feelings/images/impulses which are intrusive + persistent despite efforts to resist. They are recognised as the person’s own thoughts (insight preserved)
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define compulsion
Repetitive, purposeful behaviour performed in response to an obsession despite the recognition of its senselessness + anxiety if not performed
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define thought echo
Experience of an auditory hallucination in which the content is the individual’s current thoughts spoken aloud as if next to them
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define catatonia/stupor
Abnormality of movement + behaviour arising from a disturbed mental state, typically severe depression or schizophrenia
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define anhedonia
Inability to feel pleasure in normally pleasurable activities
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define belle indifference
A surprising lack of concern for, or denial of, apparently severe functional disability (not specific to psych)
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define dissociation
When a person feels disconnected from themselves or their surroundings (including emotions)
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define conversion
Development of features suggestive of physical illness but which are attributed to psych illness or emotional disturbance rather than organic pathology
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define sterotypy
Repetitive + bizarre act which is not goal-directed. Action may have delusional significance to the pt
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define mannerism
Abnormal + occasionally bizarre performance of voluntary, goal-directed activity
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define projection + give an example
What is emotionally unacceptable in the self is unconsciously rejected + projected to others (e.g. mother projects anxiety on children claiming they’re anxious)
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define over-valued idea
A false or exaggerated belief held with conviction but not with delusional intensity. This idea although perhaps reasonable, dominates their life + causes distress
PHENOMENOLOGY
Define loosening of associations
This is thought disorder denoting a lack of connection between ideas.
Links between ideas may be illogical or the speech may wander between trains of thought.
It is also known as knight’s move thinking
PHENOMENOLOGY
define pressure of speech
a tendency to speak rapidly, motivated by an urgency that may not be apparent to the listener
PHENOMENOLOGY
define akathisia
an inability to keep still, restlessness
PHENOMENOLOGY
define perseveration
When someone gets stuck on a topic or an idea
There may be repetition of words or phrases
