Mental Health and Stress

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering mental health, positive psychology, character strengths, neurobiology, mental disorders, and stress management from Chapter 2.

Positive Psychology

A branch of psychology focused on positive emotions, characteristics, strengths, and conditions that create happiness.

Wisdom and Knowledge

Cognitive strengths that entail the acquisition and use of knowledge.

Creativity

Thinking of novel and productive ways to do things.

Curiosity

Taking an interest in ongoing experience, openness to experience.

Open-Mindedness

Thinking things through and examining them from all sides.

Love of Learning

Mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge.

Perspective

Being able to provide wise counsel to others.

Courage (Virtue)

Emotional strengths that involve the exercise of will to accomplish goals in the face of opposition, external or internal.

Authenticity

Speaking the truth and presenting oneself in a genuine way.

Bravery

Not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain.

Persistence

Finishing what one starts.

Zest

Approaching life with excitement and energy.

Humanity (Virtue)

Interpersonal strengths that involve 'tending and befriending' others.

Kindness

Doing favors and good deeds for others.

Love (Strength)

Valuing close relations with others.

Social Intelligence

Being aware of the motives and feelings of self and others.

Justice (Virtue)

Civic strengths that underlie healthy community life.

Fairness

Treating all people the same, according to notions of fairness and justice.

Leadership

Organizing group activities and seeing that they happen.

Teamwork

Working well as a member of a group or team.

Temperance (Virtue)

Strengths that protect against excess.

Forgiveness

Forgiving those who have done wrong.

Modesty

Letting one's accomplishments speak for themselves.

Prudence

Being careful about one's choices; not saying or doing things that might later be regretted.

Self-Regulation

Regulating what one feels and does.

Transcendence (Virtue)

Strengths that forge connections to the larger universe and provide meaning.

Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence

Noticing and appreciating beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life.

Gratitude

Being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen.

Hope

Expecting the best and working to achieve it.

Humor

Liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people.

Religiousness

Having coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of life.

Altruistic

Unselfishly concerned for others.

Self-Actualization

The state attained when a person has reached their full potential, developed by Abraham Maslow as achieving transcendence.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

A structural model of human needs ranging from physiological requirements up to self-actualization.

Optimism

The general expectation that things will turn out well, viewing problems as temporary and specific rather than permanent and general.

Self-Efficacy

A general sense that you have some control over your life.

Resilience

The ability to bounce back from adverse events.

Happiness Set Point

A baseline level of happiness that may be determined by genetics.

Emotional Intelligence

Qualities identified by Daniel Goleman—such as self-awareness, self-discipline, persistence, and empathy—that are critical for life success.

Bereavement

The state or process of loss involving four phases: numbness and shock, separation, disorganization, and reorganization.

Kübler-Ross Stages of Dying

Five non-linear stages experienced by people facing death: denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Frontal Cortex

The area of the brain controlling executive functions such as planning, organizing, rational thinking, working memory, and mood modulation.

Amygdala

The brain structure that controls emotional responses and instinctual, 'gut' reactions.

Corpus Callosum

The brain structure that relays information between the two hemispheres and plays a role in creativity and problem solving.

Cerebellum

The structure involved in motor activity, physical coordination, and coordinating thinking processes such as decision making and social skills.

Norepinephrine

A neurotransmitter involved in the stress response, where prolonged or severe stress can weaken nearly all body systems.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure, triggered by all addictive drugs.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter that regulates emotion and mood; low levels are linked to depression, while high levels cause serotonin syndrome.

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

A neurotransmitter that promotes relaxation and regulates anxiety.

Mental Disorder

A pattern of behavior associated with distress, disability, or significantly increased risk of suffering, death, pain, disability, or loss of freedom.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

One of the most common childhood neurodevelopmental disorders, involving limitations of learning and difficulty with behavior control and social skills.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

A group of developmental brain disorders that cause social, communication, and behavioral difficulties, affecting $1$ in $68$ children.

Major Depressive Disorder

A mood disorder characterized by one or more episodes of depression lasting at least two weeks.

Bipolar Disorder

A mood disorder characterized by one or more manic episodes that may alternate with depressive episodes.

Panic Attack

An episode of apprehension or intense fear in the absence of real danger.

Specific Phobia

An intense fear of a situation or object, invoking immediate anxiety.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

An anxiety disorder marked by persistent, intrusive thoughts, impulses, or images that cause intense anxiety or distress.

Schizophrenia

A psychotic disorder characterized by disorganized thinking, bizarre ideas, hallucinations, and impaired functioning.

Stressors

Events or agents in the environment that can cause stress.

Eustress

Positive stress experienced when an event is appraised as positive.

Distress

Negative stress experienced when an event is appraised as negative.

Sympathetic Nervous System

The branch of the autonomic nervous system that initiates the stress response (fight-flight or freeze).

Parasympathetic Nervous System

The branch of the autonomic nervous system that turns off the stress response and returns the body to normal.

Homeostasis

A state of stability and balance in which body functions are maintained within a normal range.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Hans Selye's model describing the physiological changes in the stress response across three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Weathering

A biological process representing the physical toll of constant stress that can lead to early death or disability in marginalized groups.