Mental Health 2.1

Flashcards of vocabulary terms and definitions from the Mental Health Lecture.

Eustress

Normal and beneficial stress; motivates us to solve problems and meet goals.

Distress

Causes emotional and physical problems.

Stress Response

Survival mechanism by which the mind & body become ready to meet a threat or stress; “fight or flight”.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Can occur in any individual who has had exposure to a trauma severe enough to be outside the range of normal human experience such as physical abuse, torture, sexual assault, natural disasters, war, or terrorist events. Can also occur in people who have witnessed an unbearable event

Depersonalization

Persistent or recurrent experiences of feeling detached from, and as if one were an outside observer of, one’s mental processes or body (feeling like you’re in a dream or your body feels “unreal”).

Derealization

Persistent or recurrent experiences of unreality of surroundings (outside world feels unreal).

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

Teaches pt how to evaluate and change upsetting thoughts experienced since the trauma.

Prolonged Exposure (PE) Therapy

Teaches pt to gradually approach trauma-related memories, feelings, and situations that have been avoided since the trauma.

Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EDMR)

The pt focuses on eye movements, hand taps, and sounds when thinking about trauma.

Somatic Experiencing (SE)

Helps pt move from “fight, flight, or freeze” to a more calm state by tuning into surroundings.

Compassion Fatigue/ Secondary Traumatic Stress

Becoming indirectly traumatized when trying to help a person who has experienced primary traumatic stress.

Dissociation

An unconscious defense mechanism to protect the individual against overwhelming anxiety, usually r/t trauma. Symptoms of dissociation are present in many mental health disorders, with close association to borderline personality disorder.

Dissociative Amnesia

Inability to recall information about the self, usually of a traumatic nature. Memory impairment may be selective for traumatic event, time period, or entire life

Dissociative Amnesia with Fugue

Associated with amnesia for one’s identity or other important autobiographical info. May present as bewildered wandering or purposeful travel.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Disruption of identity by two or more distinct personality states or alternate personalities (alters). Each alter has its own personality & memories (different handwriting, clothing, etc).

Anxiety

A feeling of apprehension, uneasiness, uncertainty, and dread r/t a real or perceived threat but source is unknown.

Normal Anxiety

Adaptive life force that is necessary for survival

Pathological Anxiety

The intensity of the emotional response is out of proportion to the threat. The emotional response persists after threat is resolved. Emotional response becomes generalized to benign situations.

Panic Attack

Shakiness, dilated pupils, restlessness, irritability, tachycardia, hyperventilation.

Serotonin (5-HT)

Decreased levels in anxiety disorders. SSRIs increase levels in the brain- 1st line of medication. Helps regulate mood, sleep, sexual desire, and appetite.

Norepinephrine (NE)

Increased levels in anxiety disorders and/or is poorly regulated. Plays a role in sensitization, fear conditioning, stress response.

GABA

Diminished benzodiazepine receptor sensitivity in anxiety disorders. Slows neural transmission= calming effect.

Panic Attack

Sudden onset of extreme apprehension of fear, usually associated with feelings of impending doom; can last 1-30 minutes.

Phobias

High levels of anxiety in response to specific objects; Propranolol often used for performance anxiety.

Agoraphobia

An intense, excessive fear of being in places or situations where help may not be available, and escape may be difficult or embarrassing.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Characterized by excessive anxiety and worry about a number of events and activities; Worry must persist for most days during a 6-month period.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

A chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that the person feels the urge to repeat over and over; SSRIs are used to treat OCD

Obsessions

Thoughts, impulses, or images that persist and recur so that they cannot be dismissed from the mind.

Compulsions

Ritualistic behaviors that individuals feel driven to perform in an attempt to reduce anxiety.

Somatic Symptom Disorders

Presence of one or more physical symptom; Symptoms are not intentional or under conscious control of patient.

Illness Anxiety Disorder

Formerly known as hypochondriasis; Preoccupied with having or developing a serious illness; High level of anxiety r/t health that severely impairs functioning; ECT has been found to be helpful

Functional Neurological Disorder

AKA conversion disorder; Chronic or brief symptoms of altered voluntary motor or sensory function.

Factitious Disorder

Intentionally faking symptoms in order to assume the “sick role”; No obvious external benefits (financial gain, avoiding work, criminal prosecution).

Malingering

Intentionally faking or exaggerating symptoms for an obvious benefit (money, housing, medications, etc).

Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another

Deliberate fabrication of symptoms or injury is imposed on another person, often a child or dependent victim.

Personality Disorders

Defined as an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates from the individual’s culture; Patients with PDs have inflexible and unpredictable personality traits; Abnormalities in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes of the brain, in addition to disturbances in serotonin, GABA, and glutamate

Splitting

Everything (people, actions, objects) is either good or bad; “black and white” thinking.

Cluster A PDs

Reduced capacity for close relationships (and avoids them); Cognitive and perceptual distortions, peculiar behavior, odd speech

Cluster B PDs

Erratic, dramatic; Intense emotionality & attention-seeking; Marked impulsivity; Unstable relationships; disregard for needs/rights of others

Cluster C PDs

High levels of anxiety and outward signs of fear with feelings of low self-worth.

Schizotypal PD

Odd thoughts/beliefs, magical thinking, ideas of reference, inappropriate affect, suspicious of others, paranoid thinking

Paranoid PD

Pervasive, persistent, and inappropriate suspiciousness and distrust of others; Hostile, irritable, angry mood and affect.

Schizoid PD

Inability to establish relationships with others and a restricted range of emotions in interpersonal settings; Flat affect, emotional “coldness”, indifferent to praise or criticism, little desire for intimacy

Antisocial PD

Persistent disregard for and violation of the rights of others, with a lack of remorse for actions or hurting others; May engage in criminal behaviors, persistent lying, deception, conning, reckless disregard for safety of others, physical aggressiveness

Histrionic PD

Pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking; Manipulate others through self-dramatization, theatricality, exaggerated expression of emotion; “center of attention”

Borderline PD

Ongoing patterns of difficulty with self-regulation, and inability to sooth oneself in times of stress; Unstable and intense relationships, unstable self- image, impulsivity, chronic feelings of emptiness, frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, intense anger, impulse behaviors, self-harm

Narcissistic PD

Maladaptive response characterized by a person’s grandiose sense of self-importance; Preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, arrogance, expect special treatment

Avoidant PD

High levels of anxiety and outward signs of fear with feelings of low self-worth; Hypersensitive to criticism or rejection, avoids socialization, fearful of rejection, strong desire for affection, socially inept, personally unappealing, reluctant to take risks.

Obsessive-Compulsive PD

Preoccupied with orderliness and mental and interpersonal control at the expense of openness or efficiency; Pervasive pattern of perfection and inflexibility

Dependent PD

Fearful or reluctant to express disagreement for fear of rejection and loss of support; Fearful that they are incapable of surviving if left alone and have an excessive need to be taken care of