Psychological Disorders Flashcards

Flashcards for reviewing lecture notes on psychological disorders.

GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder)

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

Anxiety

A feeling of worry or fear that leads to a state of heightened arousal and concern.

Panic Disorder

An anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable minute-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.

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)

Intense fear and avoidance of social situations.

Phobias

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

PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)

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

OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)

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

Obsessions

Repetitive thoughts, such as symmetry, order, exactness, concern with dirt, germs or toxins, or something terrible happening.

Compulsions

Repetitive behaviors, such as excessive hand washing, bathing, toothbrushing, grooming rituals, checking doors, locks, appliances, etc.

Hoarding Disorder

A persistent difficulty parting with possessions, regardless of their value, cluttering their space with acquired possessions they can't part with.

Anorexia Nervosa

When people, especially female adolescents, starve themselves. The affected person feels fat and focuses obsessively on losing weight.

Bulimia Nervosa

A cycle of repeated episodes of binge eating alternates with behaviors to compensate, such as vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.

Feeding and Eating Disorders

A group of disorders characterized by altered consumption or absorption of food that impairs health or psychological functioning.

Bipolar I

Involves severe manic episodes and often depressive episodes.

Bipolar II

Includes depressive episodes and hypomanic episodes, with less severe mania.

Depression

A mood disorder marked by long-lasting sadness, loss of interest in activities, fatigue, and feelings of worthlessness. It interferes with daily life and must last at least two weeks to be diagnosed as major depressive disorder.

Mania

A mood state characterized by extreme excitement, high energy, and often reckless behavior. It can include symptoms like rapid speech, impulsiveness, irritability, and inflated self-esteem. It is a key feature of bipolar disorder.

ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)

Neurodevelopmental disorder with symptoms of extreme inattention and distractibility, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.

ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)

Central nervous system abnormalities (usually in the brain) that start in childhood and alter thinking and behavior.

Schizophrenia

A psychotic disorder involving distortions in thoughts, perceptions, and/or emotions. Mind split from reality with disturbed perceptions and disorganized speech, and diminished, inappropriate emotions and actions.

Delusions

False beliefs.

Hallucinations

False perceptions.

Word Salad

Jumbled ideas that may make no sense even within sentences (no logical order).

DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder)

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

Dissociative Amnesia

A disorder in which people with intact brains reportedly experience memory gaps; people with this condition may report not remembering trauma-related events, people, places, or aspects of their identity and life history.

Personality Disorders

Group of disorders characterized by enduring inner experiences or behavior patterns that differ from someone's cultural norms and expectations.

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)

A personality disorder characterized by a disregard for social norms, rules, and the rights of others; symptoms usually start to show at age 8.