Health Test Out: Understanding Mental Illnesses Save Flashcards

Anxiety disorder

a mental illness in which anxiety persists and interferes with normal functioning

Panic attacks

episodes of intense fear characterized by fast heartbeat, dizziness, shaking, trouble breathing, and chest pain

Phobia

Extreme, unrealistic fear of an object or situation

major depressive disorder

Mood disorder characterized by feelings of intense sadness, worthlessness, and hopelessness.

Bipolar disorder

mood disorder in one experiences both manic and depressed episodes

personality disorders

Mental illnesses characterized by consistent patterns of inappropriate behavior.

Schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Mental illnesses characterized by irregular thoughts, delusions, and hallucinations

Co-occurring disorders

Two conditions that affect health at the same time, for example, substance use, disorders, and other mental illnesses

substance use disorder

mental illness in which a person continues using a substance despite negative effects on health and life.

Tolerance

Body's need for increased amount of a substance to experience the effects once felt with smaller amounts.

Withdrawal

Negative symptoms that develop when a person with a physical dependence stops using a substance.

Addictive disorders

Mental illnesses in which people develop a psychological dependence on certain processes or behaviors.

Therapy

Treatment method that changes the way a person thinks, interprets information, behaves, and experiences and expresses emotions.

Therapist

Healthcare professional who diagnoses mental illnesses and delivers therapy.

Family therapy

Treatment method in which family members meet together with a therapist to build positive, functional relationships and strengthen interactions.

Support group

Treatment method in which people who have faced or are facing similar challenged meet together to discuss obstacles and ways of overcoming them.

Mental health medications

Substances that cause changes in the brain the reduce the symptoms of a mental illness.

Stigma

Negative, false, unfair beliefs associated with a circumstance, quality, or person.

Suicide

the act of intentionally taking one's own life

suicide cognition

Copying of suicide attempts after exposure to another person's suicide.

Suicide clusters

a series of suicides in a community over a relatively short period of time

Survivors

people who lose a loved one to suicide