3140test2 italicized terms

Expected panic attack

A panic attack triggered by a known, specific situation or object that you already fear

Unexpected panic attack

A panic attack that occurs spontaneously “out of the blue”, without any obvious warning or trigger

Anxiety Sensitivity

A personality trait where a person fears their own body’s anxiety symptoms (like fast heart rate or dizziness) because they believe those sensations mean something dangerous or harmful is happening

Triple vulnerability theory

Generalized biological vulnerability, generalized psychological vulnerability, specific psychological vulnerability

Interoceptive avoidance

Steering clear of everyday activities or situations (such as exercise, saunas, hot showers, or caffeine) because they produce physical body sensations that feel like a starting panic attack 

Generalized biological vulnerability

A combination of genetics and personality traits that makes someone naturally more sensitive, anxious, or pessimistic from birth. 

Generalized psychological vulnerability

A broad belief learned from early life experiences that the world is unpredictable, dangerous, and hard to cope with

Specific psychological vulnerability

A specific belief learned early in life (often modeled by parents) that certain objects, social situations, or physical sensations are dangerous 

Isolated sleep paralysis

A brief state when waking up or falling asleep where you are conscious but temporarily unable to move, feeling intense panic or sensing a scary presence in the room 

Susto

A fright disorder in Latin America triggered by a sudden traumatic event, causing physical symptoms like sweating, fast heart rate, and insomnia 

Ataques de nervios

An anxiety syndrome seen in Hispanic and Caribbean cultures similar to panic attacks, but frequently involving uncontrollable shouting, screaming, or crying 

Kayak-angst

A condition among Inuit hunters/fishers involving sudden fear, heart pounding, and disorientation while out alone at sea in a kayak, often leading them to avoid kayaking 

Learned alarms

False fear responses that become attached (conditioned) to harmless internal physical signals (like a racing heart) or external settings after an initial panic attack occurs 

Information transmission

Developing a phobia simply by being repeatedly warned or told by others that something is dangerous, even without direct experience or seeing it happen

Applied muscle tension

A behavioral technique where a person tenses their major muscles during exposure to blood, needles, or injuries to raise blood pressure and prevent fainting

Performance anxiety / Stage fright

A subtype of social anxiety disorder where fear and anxiety happen specifically when performing or doing something in front of an audience

Selective mutism

A rare childhood anxiety disorder where a child consistently does not speak in specific social situations (like school) where speech is expected, even though they speak normally in other settings (like at home) 

Flashback

A sudden, involuntary dissociative reaction where a person feels as though they are reliving a traumatic event in the present moment 

Degloving

A severe physical injury where the skin is stripped or separated away from the underlying body tissue

Imaginal exposure

A therapy technique where a patient systematically revisits and talks through the traumatic memory and its emotions in their mind 

Prolonged exposure therapy

A structured PTSD therapy where the patient repeatedly revisits a detailed narrative of their trauma for an extended period to process the fear and reduce avoidance 

Eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)

A PTSD treatment where the patient focuses on a traumatic memory while tracking the therapist's moving finger with their eyes to reprocess the trauma 

Constructivist-narrative approach

A CBT approach (developed by Donald Meichenbaum) where the therapist helps the patient rebuild their personal "story" about the trauma to alter its negative meaning and build coping skills

Dissociative experiences

Brief, temporary feelings of detachment from one's body, thoughts, or surroundings (often happening normally when exhausted or stressed) 

Amok

A trance-like dissociative state (mostly in males) involving sudden, unprovoked violent outbursts toward people or animals, usually followed by amnesia 

Pivloktoq

A sudden, trance-like state historically found among Inuit people, where a person temporarily loses control or runs wild. 

Frenzy witchcraft

A trance-like "running syndrome" recognized in the Navajo tribe 

Host identity

The primary personality state in Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) that usually seeks treatment and tries to hold the different identity fragments together 

Switch

The fast, often instantaneous transition from one alter personality state to another in Dissociative Identity Disorder

Sociocognitive model

The fast, often instantaneous transition from one alter personality state to another in Dissociative Identity Disorder

Suggestibility / Hypnotizability

A personality trait reflecting how easily a person can enter a hypnotic trance, become absorbed in fantasy, or accept external suggestions 

Anhedonia

Rapid, pressured speech where thoughts jump continuously and rapidly from one idea to another during a manic episode

Flight of ideas

The loss of interest or complete inability to experience pleasure in usual daily activities 

Hypo

A prefix meaning "below" or "under" (for example, hypomania refers to an elevated mood state that is "below" or less severe than a full manic episode) 

Unipolar mood disorder

A mood disorder where a person's mood stays at one "pole" of the continuum (experiencing depression only) 

Bipolar mood disorder

A mood disorder where a person's mood alternates between both "poles" of the continuum (cycling between depression and mania or hypomania) 

Pure dysthymic syndrome

A specifier for persistent depressive disorder where mild depressive symptoms persist for at least 2 years without meeting full criteria for a major depressive episode 

Persistent major depressive episode

A specifier for persistent depressive disorder where a person continuously meets the full criteria for a major depressive episode throughout the entire 2-year period 

Intermittent major depressive episodes

 A specifier for persistent depressive disorder (also called double depression) where major depressive episodes occur on top of an underlying pattern of persistent depression 

Peripartum onset

A specifier for mood episodes (depression or mania) occurring during pregnancy or in the weeks immediately following childbirth 

Integrated grief

 The healthy resolution of acute grief into acceptance of the death, where the loss is adjusted to and positive memories of the deceased are incorporated into life

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep

The stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements, brain arousal, and dreaming; depressed individuals enter REM sleep much faster and more intensely

Slow-wave sleep

The deepest, most restful stage of non-REM sleep; in depressed individuals, slow-wave sleep occurs much later or not at all 

Arbitrary inference

A cognitive distortion where a person draws a negative conclusion without supporting evidence or despite evidence to the contrary 

Overgeneralization

A cognitive distortion where a person views a single negative event as a perpetual pattern of defeat across all situations 

Negative schema

An enduring, deep-seated cognitive belief framework (developed in early life) that leads a person to automatically interpret situations in a negative, self-blaming way

Tricyclic antidepressants

An older class of antidepressant drugs that block the reuptake of neurotransmitters like norepinephrine and serotonin, but carry heavy side effects and are lethal in overdose 

MAO inhibitors

An antidepressant class that blocks the enzyme monoamine oxidase, requiring strict dietary avoidance of tyramine-rich foods (like aged cheese and wine) to prevent a dangerous hypertensive crisis 

Three stages of Interpersonal Psychotherapy

Negotiation stage / Impasse stage / Resolution stage

Negotiation stage

Both partners acknowledge the dispute and actively try to renegotiate it.

Impasse stage

The dispute smoulders beneath the surface with resentment, with no active attempts at resolution.

Resolution stage

The partners take concrete action to resolve or end the dispute/relationship (such as separation).

Altruistic suicide

 Suicide committed for the perceived benefit or honor of one's social group or formal cultural custom

Egoistic suicide

Suicide triggered by extreme social isolation and a lack of social integration or ties 

Anomic suicide / Anomie

Suicide resulting from a sudden, severe disruption in social norms or life order (where anomie means feeling lost and confused) 

Fatalistic suicide

Suicide resulting from an extreme loss of personal control over one's own destiny (such as severe oppression)