Comprehensive OCD, Anxiety, and Dissociative Disorders: Definitions and Treatments

Obsessions

Recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or images that are experienced as intrusive and unwanted.

Compulsions

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

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

A mental health disorder characterized by the presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both.

Insight (OCD)

The awareness that one's obsessions or compulsions are excessive or unreasonable.

Thought-Action Fusion

The belief that having a thought about an action is equivalent to actually carrying out that action.

Contamination Obsessions

Fears of being contaminated by dirt, germs, or other substances.

Perfectionism

The need to achieve extremely high standards, often leading to distress and impairment.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

A mental disorder characterized by an obsessive focus on a perceived flaw in appearance.

Mirror Checking

The compulsive behavior of frequently checking one's appearance in mirrors.

Hoarding Disorder

A persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value.

Acquisition Urges (Hoarding)

The strong desire to acquire items, often leading to excessive accumulation.

Indecisiveness (Hoarding)

The difficulty in making decisions about what to keep or discard.

Prolonged Exposure Therapy

A therapeutic approach that involves repeated exposure to feared stimuli to reduce anxiety.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

A form of cognitive-behavioral therapy that helps individuals confront their fears and reduce compulsive behaviors.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

A mental health condition triggered by experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event.

Intrusion Symptoms (PTSD)

Recurrent, involuntary memories, flashbacks, or distressing dreams related to the traumatic event.

Avoidance (PTSD)

The effort to avoid reminders, thoughts, or feelings associated with the traumatic event.

Dissociation

A mental process used to cope with trauma, resulting in a disconnection from thoughts, identity, consciousness, and memory.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

A severe form of dissociation characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states.

Dissociative Amnesia

Inability to recall important autobiographical information, usually related to trauma or stress.

Dissociative Fugue

A subtype of dissociative amnesia where an individual unexpectedly travels away from home and cannot recall their past.

Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder

A dissociative disorder characterized by persistent feelings of detachment from one's body or surroundings.

Somatic Symptom Disorder

A mental disorder characterized by an intense focus on physical symptoms that causes significant distress or impairment.

Illness Anxiety Disorder

Preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, despite minimal or no symptoms.

Conversion Disorder (Functional Neurological Symptom Disorder)

A condition where patients experience neurological symptoms that cannot be explained by medical conditions.

Factitious Disorder

A condition in which a person deliberately produces or exaggerates symptoms of illness for attention.

Malingering

The intentional production of false or exaggerated symptoms for external incentives.

Substance Use Disorder (SUD)

A condition characterized by an individual's inability to stop using a substance despite negative consequences.

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)

A problematic pattern of alcohol use leading to significant impairment or distress.

Tolerance

The need for increased amounts of a substance to achieve the desired effect.

Withdrawal

A set of symptoms that occur when a person reduces or stops using a substance they are dependent on.

Craving

An intense desire or urge to use a substance.

Relapse Prevention Model

A cognitive-behavioral approach aimed at preventing relapse in individuals recovering from substance use disorders.

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

A counseling approach that helps individuals find the motivation to make positive decisions and accomplish established goals.

Delirium Tremens (DTs)

A severe form of alcohol withdrawal characterized by confusion, severe agitation, and hallucinations.

Opioid Use Disorder (OUD)

A problematic pattern of opioid use leading to significant impairment or distress.

agoraphobia

fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places, where one has felt loss of control and panic

anxiety

The condition of feeling uneasy or worried about what may happen

anxiety disorders

psychological disorders characterized by distressing, persistent anxiety or maladaptive behaviors that reduce anxiety

Anxiety Sensitivity Index

measures the extent to which people respond fearfully to their bodily sensations

Anxiolytics

drugs that reduce anxiety

behavioral inhibition

a temperamentally based style of responding characterized by the tendency to be particularly fearful and restrained when dealing with novel or stressful situations

Benzodiazepines

drugs that lower anxiety and reduce stress

contrast avoidance model

The theory that the chronic worry of GAD provides a functional advantage in reducing the volatility of negative emotions and arousal in response to severe stress.

depersonalization

feelings of detachment from one's mental processes or body

Derealization

situation in which the individual loses a sense of the reality of the external world

fear circuit

set of brain structures, including the amygdala, that tend to be activated when the individual is feeling anxious or fearful; especially active among people with anxiety disorders

in vivo exposure

a behavioral therapy method that consists of direct exposure to a feared or avoided situation or stimulus

interoceptive conditioning

process by which symptoms of anxiety that have preceded panic attacks become the signals for new panic attacks

locus coeruleus

A small area of the brain that seems to be active in the regulation of emotions. Many of its neurons use norepinephrine.

medial prefrontal cortex

a region of the cortex in the anterior frontal lobes involved in executive function and emotion regulation that is implicated in mood and anxiety disorders

Mowrer's two-factor model

Mowrer's theory of conditioning according to which (1) fear is attached to a neutral stimulus by pairing it with a noxious unconditioned stimulus, and (2) a person learns to avoid the conditioned stimulus and so extinction of the conditioning is prevented.

neutral predictable unpredictable (NPU) threat task

A laboratory task designed to test sensitivity to unpredictable versus predictable threats. Participants are exposed to threat conditions in which they could receive a shock. In the predictable threat condition, there is a cue warning when the shock will occur. In the unpredictable threat condition, there is no cue warning when the shock will occur.