Topic 5: Mental & Physical Health Study Guide

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering health psychology, stress, psychological disorders, and therapeutic treatments based on Unit 5 study materials.

Eustress

A positive form of stress that can motivate or provide excitement to an individual.

Distress

A negative form of stress that can be overwhelming and lead to health issues.

Chronic Stress

A long-term form of stress that persists over an extended period.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Traumatic events occurring in childhood that can have long-lasting impacts on health and well-being.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

A model describing the body's physiological response to stress through three stages: Alarm, Resistance, and Exhaustion.

Alarm Reaction Stage

The first stage of GAS where the body recognizes a stressor and enters a state of high arousal.

Resistance Stage

The second stage of GAS where the body stays on alert and attempts to adapt to the continuing stressor.

Exhaustion Stage

The final stage of GAS where the body's resources are depleted and it can no longer maintain resistance.

Tend-and-Befriend Theory

A stress response theory suggesting that individuals, particularly women, respond to stress by protecting offspring (tending) and seeking social support (befriending).

Problem-Focused Coping

A coping strategy aimed at resolving the stressful situation directly by changing the stressor or how one interacts with it.

Emotion-Focused Coping

A coping strategy focused on regulating the emotional impact of stress rather than changing the stressor itself.

Positive Psychology

The scientific study of human flourishing and the factors that allow individuals and communities to thrive.

Posttraumatic Growth

Positive psychological change experienced as a result of struggling with highly challenging life circumstances or trauma.

DSM-5

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the United States.

Eclectic Approach

A therapeutic approach where psychologists use techniques from various psychological perspectives rather than sticking to just one.

Biopsychosocial Model

An integrated approach that explains psychological disorders through the interaction of biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors.

Diathesis-Stress Model

A model suggesting that disorders develop from a combination of a pre-existing vulnerability (diathesis) and stressful life events.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

A category of disorders, such as ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder, that typically manifest early in development and impair personal, social, or academic functioning.

Positive Symptom

A symptom of a disorder that represents an excess or distortion of normal functions, such as hallucinations or delusions.

Negative Symptom

A symptom of a disorder that represents a loss or decrease in normal functions, such as flat affect or alogia.

Word Salad

A jumble of incoherent speech often associated with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Dopamine Hypothesis

The theory that schizophrenia results from overactive dopamine signaling in the brain.

Bipolar Cycling

The alternation between manic and depressive episodes in individuals with bipolar disorder.

Ataque de Nervios

A culture-bound syndrome characterized by symptoms of intense emotional upset, including shouting and trembling.

Obsessions

Persistent, intrusive, and unwanted thoughts, images, or urges that cause significant distress.

Compulsions

Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that an individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession.

Dissociation

A disconnection between a person's sensory experience, thoughts, sense of self, or personal history.

Hypervigilance

An enhanced state of sensory sensitivity and being constantly on guard for potential threats.

Anorexia Nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by an intense fear of gaining weight and restrictive eating leading to significantly low body weight.

Bulimia Nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by cycles of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as purging.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

A Cluster B personality disorder characterized by a lack of regard for the rights of others and a lack of remorse.

Meta-Analytic Studies

Research methods that combine and analyze results from multiple independent studies to determine the overall effect size.

Effect Size

A symbolic or quantitative measure of the strength of a phenomenon or the effectiveness of a treatment.

Therapeutic Alliance

The collaborative and trusting relationship between a therapist and their client.

Psychotropic Medications

Chemical substances that cross the blood-brain barrier and act primarily upon the central nervous system to treat mental disorders.

Deinstitutionalization Movement

The historical process of replacing long-stay psychiatric hospitals with less isolated community mental health services.

Nonmaleficence

The ethical principle of doing no harm to the client.

Free Association

A psychodynamic technique where clients say whatever comes to mind to explore the unconscious.

Cognitive Restructuring

A therapeutic process where clients learn to identify and challenge maladaptive or irrational thoughts.

Fear Hierarchy

A list of feared situations ranked from least to most stressful, used in exposure therapies.

Cognitive Triad

A concept in cognitive therapy referring to a person's negative views about themselves, the world, and the future.

Systematic Desensitization

An exposure therapy technique that associates a relaxed state with gradually increasing anxiety-triggering stimuli.

Token Economy

An operant conditioning procedure where individuals earn tokens for exhibiting desired behaviors which can be exchanged for privileges.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

A form of cognitive-behavioral therapy that emphasizes the balance between acceptance and change.

Lithium Carbonate

A mood stabilizer commonly used to treat the manic episodes of bipolar disorder.

Tardive Dyskinesia

A side effect of long-term use of antipsychotic drugs, characterized by involuntary facial and limb movements.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

A biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain.

Unconditional Positive Regard

A humanistic concept involving basic acceptance and support of a person regardless of what the person says or does.