Mental Health Terms

Anxiety

A feeling of uneasiness or discomfort experienced in varying degrees, from mild anxiety to panic. A fearful response when no actual danger is present.

Stress

A physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation.

Mood and affect

A person’s sustained, internal and subjective emotional climate over time. Affect is the immediate observable, and external manifestations of a person’s emotional state.

Addiction

A compulsive, chronic, physiological or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behavior, or activity having harmful, physical, psychological, or social effects and typically causing well-defined symptoms upon withdrawal or abstinence.

Cognition

Relating to, being, or involving conscious intellectual activity (such as thinking, reasoning, or remembering)

Psychosis

Any major mental disorder characterized by greatly distorted perceptions and severe disorganization of the personality.

Functional ability

Focuses on a person’s ability to perform self-care activities such as dressing, toileting, bathing, eating, and ambulating. Also includes a person’s ability to perform skills needed for independent living such as shopping, cooking, housekeeping, and managing finances.

Emotional brain

The limbic system. Regulates memory and basic emotions such as fear, anger, and sex drive.

Immediate recall

Ask the patient to repeat the name of three unrelated objects that are spoken slowly.

Recent memory

Give the patient a short time to view four or five objects and tell him or her that you will ask about these objects in a few minutes. After about ten minutes ask the patient to name the objects. All objects should be remembered.

Remote memory

Ask the patient about his or her mother’s maiden name, high school attended, or a subject of common knowledge.