Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Overview

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to psychiatric mental health nursing, focusing on stress, coping mechanisms, and mental health definitions.

Stress

An individual’s reaction to any change that requires physical, mental, or emotional response.

Adaptive Responses

Behaviors that maintain the integrity of the individual and correlate with a healthy response.

Maladaptive Response

When behavior disrupts the integrity of the individual and is considered harmful or unhealthy.

Stressor

A biological, psychological, social, or chemical factor that causes physical or emotional tension.

General Adaptation Syndrome

A three-stage response to stress characterized by alarm reaction, stage of resistance, and stage of exhaustion.

Fight-or-Flight Syndrome

A physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival.

Cognitive Appraisal

Evaluation of an event’s personal significance and potential stress.

Prolonged Grief Disorder

Distress and impaired functioning lasting over 12 months after the death of a loved one.

Neurosis

A psychological condition characterized by anxiety and avoidance of reality, without a loss of contact with it.

Psychosis

A mental disorder characterized by a disconnection from reality, including delusions and hallucinations.