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Psychological Disorder

A disturbance in people's thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that causes distress or suffering and impairs their daily lives.

Medical Model

The concept that diseases, including psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and often cured.

Diathesis-Stress Model

The concept that genetic predispositions (diathesis) combine with environmental stressors (stress) to influence psychological disorders.

Epigenetics

The study of the molecular mechanisms by which environments can influence genetic expression without a DNA change.

DSM-5-TR

The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.

Anxiety Disorders

A group of disorders characterized by excessive fear and anxiety and related maladaptive behaviors.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Intense fear and avoidance of social situations.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

An anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.

Panic Disorder

An anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread.

Agoraphobia

Fear or avoidance of situations where one may experience a loss of control and panic.

Specific Phobia

An anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

A disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts and actions.

Hoarding Disorder

Persistent difficulty parting with possessions, regardless of their value.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

A disorder characterized by lingering psychological distress following a traumatic experience.

Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders

A group of disorders following exposure to a traumatic or stressful event.

Depressive Disorders

A group of disorders characterized by enduring sad, empty, or irritable moods.

Bipolar Disorders

A group of disorders in which a person alternates between depression and mania.

Major Depressive Disorder

A disorder with five or more symptoms occurring for at least two weeks.

Persistent Depressive Disorder

A disorder where people experience a depressed mood for more days than not for at least two years.

Bipolar I Disorder

The most severe form of bipolar, with euphoria, high energy, and ambition lasting a week or longer.

Mania

A hyperactive, wildly optimistic state often accompanied by poor judgment.

Bipolar II Disorder

A less severe form of bipolar, alternating between depression and milder hypomania.

Rumination

Compulsive fretting; overthinking our problems and their causes.

Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

A group of disorders characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking.

Psychotic Disorders

A group of disorders marked by irrational ideas and distorted perceptions.

Delusion

A false belief, often of persecution or grandeur.

Chronic Schizophrenia

A form of schizophrenia with symptoms appearing by late adolescence or early adulthood.

Acute Schizophrenia

A form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age, often in response to trauma, with a higher likelihood of recovery.