Flashcards for Medical Terminology Chapter 22

Amnesia

Loss of memory

Anxiety

Varying degrees of uneasiness, apprehension, or dread often accompanied by palpitations, tightness in the chest, breathlessness, and choking sensation

Apathy

Absence of emotions; lack of interest, emotional involvement, or motivation

Compulsion

Uncontrollable urge to perform an act repeatedly in an attempt to reduce anxiety

Conversion

Anxiety becomes a bodily symptom, such as blindness, deafness, or paralysis, that does not have a physical basis

Delusion

Fixed, false belief that cannot be changed by logical reasoning or evidence.

Dissociation

Uncomfortable thoughts are split off from the person’s conscious awareness to avoid mental distress. In extreme cases, dissociation can lead to multiple personalities

Dysphoria

Intense feelings of depression, discontent, and generalized dissatisfaction with life

Euphoria

Intense feelings of well-being elation, happiness, excitement, and joy

Hallucination

False or unreal sensory perception

Illusion

A misperception of an actual sensory stimulus, such as hearing voices in the sound of rustling leaves

labile

Variable; undergoing rapid emotional change

Mania

Elevated expansive state with talkativeness, hyperactivity, and racing thoughts

Mutism

No, or very little, ability to speak

Obsession

Involuntary, persistent idea or emotion

Paranoia

Overly suspicious system of thinking; fixed delusion that one is being harassed, persecuted, or unfairly treated

Affect

External expression of emotion, or emotional response

Amnesia

loss of memory

Anorexia Nervosa

Eating disorder with excessive dieting and refusal to maintain a normal body weight

Anxiety disorders

Characterized by unpleasant tension, distress, and avoidance behavior

Apathy

Absence of emotions; lack of interest or emotional involvement

Autism

Neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inhibited social interaction and communication and by restricted, repetitive behavior.

Bipolar disorder

These disorders are marked by alternating periods of mania and depression

Bulimia Nervosa

Eating disorder with binge eating followed by vomiting, purging, and depression

Cannabis

Plant substance from which marijuana is obtained

Compulsion

Uncontrollable urge to perform an act repeatedly in an attempt to reduce anxiety

Conversion Disorder

Condition marked by neurologic symptoms with no organic (physical) basis, appearing as a result of anxiety and unconscious inner conflict

Defense Mechanism

Unconscious technique (coping mechanism) used to resolve or conceal conflicts and anxiety. It protects the person against anxiety and stress

Delirium

Acute episodes of confused thinking, disorientation, agitation, and fearfulness. This is usually a reversible impairment

Delirium tremens

Associated with alcohol withdrawal

Delusion

Fixed, false belief that cannot be changed by logical reasoning or evidence

Dementia

Progressive loss of intellectual abilities such as memory, judgment, and reasoning as well as change in personality.

Depressive Disorders

Major psychiatric disorders with chronic sadness, loss of energy, hopelessness worry, discouragement, and, commonly, suicidal impulses and thoughts

Dissociative Disorders

Conditions involving breakdown in memory, identity, or perception

Ego

Central coordinating branch of the personality or mind

Fugue

Unconscious flight from customary surroundings; a sign of dissociative disorder

Gender Dysphoria

Strong and persistent cross-gender identification with the opposite sex that causes clinically significant distress

Hallucination

False sensory perception (hearing voices and seeing things)

id

Major unconscious part of the personality; energy from instinctual drives and desires

Labile

Unstable; undergoing rapid emotional change

Mania

Elevated expansive state (euphoria) with hyperactivity, talkativeness, and racing thought

Neurodevelopmental disorders

Group of childhood disorders characterized by delays in socialization and communication

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Anxiety disorder in which recurrent thought and repetitive acts dominate behavior

Paraphilia

Recurrent intense sexual urge, fantasy, or behavior that involves unusual objects, activities, or situations

Personality disorder

Life long personality pattern marked by inflexibility and impairment of social functioning

Phobia

Irrational or disabling fear (avoidance) of an object or situation

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Anxiety-related symptoms appear after personal experience of a traumatic event

Projective (Personality) test

Diagnostic personality test stimuli (inkblots, pictures, abstract patterns, incomplete sentences) to evoke responses that reflect aspect of an individual’s personality

Psychiatrist

Physician (MD degree) or osteopath (DO degree) with medical training in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders

Psychologist

Nonmedical professional (often with a PhD or an EdD degree) specializing in mental processes and how the brain functions in health and diseases

Clinical Psychology

Providing testing and counseling service to patients with mental and emotional disorder

Experimental Psychology

Performing laboratory tests and experiments in a controlled environment to study mental processes

Social psychology

The study of the effects of group memberships on behavior and attitudes of individuals

Psychosis

Disorder marked by loss of contact with reality, often associated with delusions and hallucinations

Reality testing

Psychological process that distinguishes fact from fantasy; severely impaired in psychosis

Repression

Defense mechanism by which unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and impulses are automatically pushed into the unconscious, out of awareness

Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder

Group of chronic psychotic disorder that may include hallucinations, disorganized speech and behavior, flat affect, and lack of initiative

Sexual dysfunctions

Disturbance in a person’s ability to respond sexually or to experience sexual pleasure

Somatic Symptom Disorder

Presence of physical symptoms that cannot be explained by an actual physical disorder or mental disorder such as depression

Substance-related and addictive disorder

A group of disorder marked by regular overuse of or dependence on psychoactive substance (alcohol amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens, opioids, and sedatives) that affect the central nervous system

Superego

Internalized conscience and moral aspect of the personality

Amphetamines

Central nervous system stimulants that may be used to treat attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder and depression

Atypical Antipsychotics

Drugs that treat psychotic symptoms and behavior (schizophrenia, bipolar disease, and other mental illness).

Benzodiazepines

Drugs that lessen anxiety, tension, agitation, and panic attacks

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Focuses on the connection between behavior and thoughts. Conditioning is used to relieve anxiety and improve symptoms of illness

Conditioning

Changing behavior patterns by training and repetition

Electroconvulsive Therapy

Electrical current is used to produce convulsions and loss of consciousness; effective in the treatment of major depression. Modern techniques use anesthesia, so the convulsion is not observable

Family Therapy

Treatment of an entire family to resolve and shed light on conflicts

First-generation antipsychotic drugs

Early neuroleptic medications that reduce psychotic symptoms

Free association

Psychoanalytic technique in which the patient verbalizes, without censorship, the passing contents of his or her mind

Group Therapy

Group of patients with similar problems gain insight into their personalities through discussion and interaction with each other

Hypnosis

Induced trance (stated of altered consciousness)

Insight-Oriented Therapy (Psychodynamic Therapy)

Face-to-face discussion of life problems and associated feelings. The patient tells his or her story and has the opportunity to connect emotional patterns in his or her life history with present concerns

Lithium

Medication used to treat bipolar illness

Neuroleptic Drug

Any drug that favorably modifies psychotic symptoms; antipsychotic drug

Play therapy

Treatment in which a child through use of toys in a playroom setting, expresses conflicts and feelings that cannot be communicated in a direct manner

Psychoanalysis

Treatment that allows the patient to explore inner emotions and conflicts so as to understand and change current behavior

Psychodrama

Group therapy in which a patient expresses feelings by acting out family and social roles with other patients

Psychopharmacology

Treatment of psychiatric disorders with drugs

Sedatives

Drugs that induce calmness, promote sleep, and help lessen anxiety

Supportive psychotherapy

Offering encouragement, support, and hope to patients facing difficult life transition and events

Transference

Psychoanalytic process in which the patient relates to the therapist as though the therapist were a prominent childhood figure

Tricyclic Antidepressants

Drugs used to treat severe depression (characterized by a three-ringed fused molecular structure)