U5 #2 Vocab

psychological disorder: a disturbance in people’s thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that causes distress or suffering and impairs their daily lives.

medical model: the concept that diseases — in this case, psychological disorders — have physical causes that can be diagnosed, treated, and, in most cases, cured, often through treatment in a hospital.

diathesis-stress model: the concept that genetic predispositions (diathesis) combine with environmental stressors (stress) to influence psychological disorder.

Epigenetics: “above” or “in addition to” (epi) genetics; the study of the molecular mechanisms by which environments can influence genetic expression (without a DNA change).

DSM-5-TR: the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision; a widely used system for classifying psychological disorders.

anxiety disorders: a group of disorders characterized by excessive fear and anxiety and related maladaptive behaviors.

social anxiety disorder: intense fear and avoidance of social situations.

generalized anxiety disorder: an anxiety disorder in which a person is continually tense, apprehensive, and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.

panic disorder: an anxiety disorder marked by unpredictable, minutes-long episodes of intense dread in which a person may experience terror and accompanying chest pain, choking, or other frightening sensations; often followed by worry over a possible next attack.

Agoraphobia: fear or avoidance of situations, such as crowds or wide open places, where one may experience a loss of control and panic.

specific phobia: an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object, activity, or situation.

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): a disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions), actions (compulsions), or both.

Hoarding disorder: a persistent difficulty parting with possessions, regardless of their value. 

posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): a disorder characterized by haunting memories, nightmares, hypervigilance, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, social withdrawal, jumpy anxiety, numbness of feeling, and/or insomnia that lingers for 4 weeks or more after a traumatic experience.

trauma- and stressor-related disorders: a group of disorders in which exposure to a traumatic or stressful event is followed by psychological distress.

depressive disorders: a group of disorders characterized by an enduring sad, empty, or irritable mood, along with physical and cognitive changes that affect a person’s ability to function.

bipolar disorders: a group of disorders in which a person alternates between the hopelessness and lethargy of depression and the overexcited state of mania. (Formerly called manic-depressive disorder.)

major depressive disorder: a disorder in which a person experiences five or more symptoms lasting two or more weeks, in the absence of drug use or a medical condition, at least one of which must be either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure.

persistent depressive disorder: a disorder in which people experience a depressed mood on more days than not for at least two years. (Formerly called dysthymia.)

bipolar I disorder: the most severe form, in which people experience a euphoric, talkative, highly energetic, and overly ambitious state that lasts a week or longer.

Mania: a hyperactive, wildly optimistic state in which dangerously poor judgment is common.

bipolar II disorder: a less severe form of bipolar in which people move between depression and a milder hypomania.

Rumination: compulsive fretting; overthinking our problems and their causes.

schizophrenia spectrum disorders: a group of disorders characterized by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking or speech, disorganized or unusual motor behavior, and negative symptoms (such as diminished emotional expression); includes schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder.

psychotic disorders: a group of disorders marked by irrational ideas, distorted perceptions, and a loss of contact with reality.

Delusion: a false belief, often of persecution or grandeur, that may accompany psychotic disorders.

chronic schizophrenia: (also called process schizophrenia) a form of schizophrenia in which symptoms usually appear by late adolescence or early adulthood. As people age, psychotic episodes last longer and recovery periods shorten.

acute schizophrenia: (also called reactive schizophrenia) a form of schizophrenia that can begin at any age, frequently occurs in response to a traumatic event, and from which recovery is much more likely.

dissociative disorders: a controversial, rare group of disorders characterized by a disruption of or discontinuity in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotion, perception, body representation, motor control, and behavior.

dissociative identity disorder (DID): a rare dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating identities. (Formerly called multiple personality disorder.)

dissociative amnesia: a disorder in which people with intact brains reportedly experience memory gaps; people with dissociative amnesia may report not remembering trauma-related specific events, people, places, or aspects of their identity and life history.

personality disorders: a group of disorders characterized by enduring inner experiences or behavior patterns that differ from someone’s cultural norms and expectations, are pervasive and inflexible, begin in adolescence or early adulthood, are stable over time, and cause distress or impairment.

antisocial personality disorder: a personality disorder in which a person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members; may be aggressive and ruthless or a clever con artist.

feeding and eating disorders: a group of disorders characterized by altered consumption or absorption of food that impairs health or psychological functioning. (Feeding disorders typically occur in infants and young children, whereas eating disorders affect people who self-feed.)

anorexia nervosa: an eating disorder in which a person (usually an adolescent female) maintains a starvation diet despite being significantly underweight, and has an inaccurate self-perception; sometimes accompanied by excessive exercise.

bulimia nervosa: an eating disorder in which a person’s binge eating (usually of high-calorie foods) is followed by inappropriate weight-loss-promoting behavior, such as vomiting, laxative use, fasting, or excessive exercise.

neurodevelopmental disorders: central nervous system abnormalities (usually in the brain) that start in childhood and alter thinking and behavior (as in intellectual limitations or a psychological disorder).

autism spectrum disorder (ASD): a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by limitations in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors.

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a psychological disorder marked by extreme inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity.