Psychological Disorders

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, in this case psychological disorders, have physical causes that can be  diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital.  

Epigenetics

The study of the molecular ways by which environments can influence gene 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 categorical 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, fearful, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.

Panic Disorder

An anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person may experience terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations; often followed by worry over a possible next attack.

Specific Phobia

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

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

A disorder characterized by unwanted and repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions (compulsions), or both.

posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

A disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, hypervigilance, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia lingering for 4 weeks or more after a traumatic experience.

trauma- and stressor-related disorders

A group of disorders in which exposure to a traumatic or stressful event is followed by psychological distress.

posttraumatic growth

Positive psychological changes following a struggle with extremely challenging circumstances and life crises.

somatic symptom disorder

A psychological disorder in which the symptoms take a somatic (bodily) form without apparent physical cause.

illness anxiety disorder

A disorder in which a person interprets normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease.

Psychoactive Drug

A natural or synthetic chemical substance that alters the brain, causing changes in perceptions, thoughts, moods, and behaviors.

substance use disorder

A disorder characterized by continued substance use despite significant life disruption.  

depressants

Drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines) that reduce (depress) brain activity and slow body functions.  

alcohol use disorder

Alcohol use marked by a combination of symptoms that may include tolerance, withdrawal, and a drive to continue despite problematic use

barbiturates

Drugs that depress central nervous system activity, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment.

stimulants

Drugs (such as caffeine, nicotine, and the more powerful cocaine, amphetamines, and methamphetamine) that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

nicotine

A stimulating and highly addictive psychoactive drug in tobacco products.

Cocaine

A powerful and addictive stimulant derived from the coca plant; produces temporary alertness and euphoria.

amphetamines

Drugs (such as methamphetamine) that stimulate neural activity, causing speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes.

methamphetamine

A powerfully addictive drug that stimulates the central nervous system with speeded-up body functions and associated energy and mood changes; over time, reduces baseline dopamine levels.

hallucinogens

Psychedelic (“mind-manifesting”) drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and trigger sensory images in the absence of sensory input.

near-death experience

An altered state of consciousness reported after a close brush with death (such as cardiac arrest); often similar to drug-induced hallucinations.

LSD

Powerful hallucinogenic drug; also known as acid.

Ecstasy (MDMA)

A synthetic mild hallucinogen and stimulant. Produces euphoria and social intimacy, but with short-term health risks and long-term changes to serotonin-producing neurons and to mood and cognition.

Opioids

Opium and its derivatives, such as morphine and heroin; depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety.

Cannabis

A product of the plant Cannabis sativa, which has both psychoactive (THC-containing) and nonpsychoactive (CBD-containing) parts.

THC

The psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

Major Depressive Disorder

A disorder in which a person experiences five or more symptoms lasting 2 or more weeks. In the absence of drug use or a medical condition, at least one symptom is either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure.

depressive disorders

A group of disorders characterized by an enduring sad, empty, or irritable mood, along with physical and cognitive changes that affect a person’s ability to function.

bipolar disorders

Disorders in which a person experiences the overexcited state of mania (or milder hypomania) and usually experiences periods of depression.

Mania

An unusually excited and overly ambitious mood state in which people show dangerously poor judgment, less need for sleep, and increased energy (part of bipolar disorders).

schizophrenia

A disorder characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and/or diminished emotional expressions.

psychotic disorders

A group of disorders marked by unusual ideas, distorted perceptions, and a loss of contact with reality.

hallucinations

A false perception, often hearing or seeing things that are not there, that may accompany psychotic disorders.

delusion

A false belief, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.

anorexia nervosa

An eating disorder in which a person (most often an adolescent girl) maintains a starvation diet (often despite being significantly underweight), and has an inaccurate and negative body self-perception (also called body dysmorphia); sometimes accompanied by excessive exercise.

bulimia nervosa

An eating disorder in which a person’s binge eating (usually of large amounts of high-calorie foods) is followed by weight-loss-promoting behavior, such as vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.

binge-eating disorder

An eating disorder in which a person has significant binge-eating episodes, followed by distress, disgust, or guilt, but without the behavior to compensate that marks bulimia nervosa.

personality disorders

A group of disorders characterized by enduring inner experiences or behavior patterns that differ from the person’s cultural norms and expectations, are pervasive and inflexible, begin in adolescence or early adulthood, and cause significant distress or impairment.

antisocial personality disorder

A personality disorder in which a person exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.

dissociative disorders

A controversial, rare group of disorders involving a disconnection (dissociation) between the person's conscious awareness and their memory, identity, emotion, perception, and behavior.

dissociative identity disorder (DID)

A rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating identities.

neurodevelopmental disorders

A broad category that includes developmental differences of the central nervous system (usually in the brain) that start in childhood and affect thinking and behavior.

autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

A disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by limitations in communication and social understanding, and by intensely fixated interests and repetitive behaviors.

neurodiversity

Differences in thoughts and behaviors, such as in ASD or ADHD, as part of an expected variation from the general (neurotypical) population; may present strengths as well as challenges.

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

A psychological disorder marked by extreme inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity.

intellectual developmental disorder (IDD)

A disorder indicated by an intelligence test score of 70 or below and difficulty adapting to the demands of life.