affectfeeling or mood communicated through the face and body posture. Can be blunted, blocked, flat, inappropriate, or displaced.
ambivalencecoexisting contradictory (positive and negative) emotions, desires, or attitudes toward an object or person (e.g., love-hate relationship).
anhedoniainability to experience any pleasure.
amnesialoss of memory due to physical or emotion trauma.
anxietystate of uneasiness or response to a vague, unspecific danger cued by a threat to some value that the individual holds essential to existence (or by a threat of loss of control); the danger may be real or imagined. Physiological manifestations are increased pulse, respiration, and perspiration, with feeling of "butterflies."
associative loosenessspeaks with unconnected topics (e.g., "no one needs a bus; we all have heaven here"); disorganized thoughts and verbalizations.
autismself-preoccupation and absorption in fantasy, as found with schizophrenia, with a complete exclusion of reality and loss of interest in and appreciation of others.
catatoniatype of schizophrenia characterized by muscular rigidity; alternates with periods of excitability.
circumstantialitydoesn't reach a main point because speaks with too many unnecessary details.
clang associationspeaks in rhymes in nonsensical pattern.
compulsionan insistent, repetitive, intrusive, and unwanted urge to perform an act that is contrary to ordinary conscious wishes or standards.
concrete thinkingdifficulty with abstract concepts (e.g., "It's raining cats and dogs").
conflictemotional struggle resulting from opposing demands and drives of the id, ego, and superego.
coping mechanisma conscious action mobilized by a person to deal with stressful events. Coping mechanisms can be effective or ineffective.
cyclothymiaalterations in moods of elation and sadness, with mood swings out of proportion to apparent stimuli.
defense mechanism device used to ward off anxiety or uncomfortable thoughts and feelings; an activity of the ego that operates outside of awareness to hold impulses in check that might cause conflict (e.g., repression, regression).
delusiona false fixed belief, idea, or group of ideas that are contrary to what is thought of as real and that cannot be changed by logic; arise out of the individual's needs and are maintained in spite of evidence or facts (e.g., grandeur and persecution).
depressionmorbid sadness or dejection accompanied by feelings of hopelessness, inadequacy, and unworthiness. Distinguished from grief, which is realistic and in proportion to loss.
disorientationloss of awareness of the position of self in relation to time, place, or person.
echolaliaautomatic repetition of heard phrases or words.
echopraxiaautomatic repetition of observed movements.
ego the "I," "self," and "person" as distinguished from "others"; that part of the personality, according to Freudian theory, that mediates between the primitive, pleasure-seeking, instinctual drives of the id and the self-critical, prohibitive, restraining forces of the superego; that aspect of the psyche that is conscious and most in touch with external reality and is directed by the reality principle; the part of the personality that has to make the decision. Most of the ego is conscious and represents the thinking-feeling part of a person. The compromises worked out on an unconscious level help to resolve intrapsychic conflict by keeping thoughts, interpretations, judgments, and behavior practical and efficient.
electroshock electroshock treatment (EST) or electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) is the treatment of certain psychiatric disorders (best suited for depression) by therapeutic administration of regulated electrical impulses to the brain to produce convulsions.
empathyan objective awareness of another's thoughts, feelings, or behaviors and their meaning and significance; intellectual identification versus emotional identification (sympathy).
euphoriaexaggerated feeling of physical and emotional well-being not related to external events or stimuli.
flight of ideasa thought disorder in which one thought moves rapidly to another without reaching a main idea or point, as in manic behavior. The next sentence may be triggered by a word in the previous sentence or by something in the environment.
fuguedissociative state involving amnesia and actual physical flight.
hallucination false sensory perception in the absence of an actual external stimulus. May be due to chemicals or inner needs and may occur in any of the five senses (auditory and visual are most common). Seen in psychosis and acute and chronic brain disorder.
hypochondriasisstate of morbid preoccupation about one's health (somatic concerns).
id psychoanalytic term for that division of the psyche that is unconscious, contains instinctual primitive drives that lead to immediate gratification, and is dominated by the pleasure principle. The id wants what it wants when it wants it.
illusionmisinterpretation of a real, external sensory stimulus (e.g., a person may see a shadow on the floor and think it is a hole).
insanitylegal term for mental defect or disease that is of sufficient gravity to bring person under special legal restrictions and immunities.
labile unstable and rapidly shifting (referring to emotions).
manipulationprocess of influencing another to meet one's own needs, regardless of the other's needs.
mental retardationterm for mental deficiency or deficit in normal development of intelligence that makes intellectual abilities lower than normal for chronological age. May result from a condition present at birth, from injury during or after birth, or from disease after birth.
mutisminability or refusal to speak.
narcissismexaggerated self-love with all attention focused on own comfort, pleasure, abilities, appearance, etc.
neologisma newly coined word or condensed combination of several words not readily understood by others but with symbolic meaning for the person with schizophrenia.
neurosisan older term for mild to moderately severe illness in which there is a disorder of feeling or behavior but no gross mental disorganization, delusions, or hallucinations, as in serious psychoses. Typical reactions include disproportionate anxiety, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive behavior.
obsessionpersistent, unwanted, and uncontrollable urge or idea that cannot be banished by logic or will.
organic psychosis mental disease resulting from defect, damage, infection, tumor, or other physical cause that can be observed in the body tissues.
paranoid adjective indicating feelings of suspicion and persecution; one type of schizophrenia.
perseverationrepeats same word or idea in response to different questions.
personality disorder broad category of illnesses in which inner difficulties are revealed not by specific symptoms but by antisocial behavior.
phobiairrational, persistent, abnormal, morbid, and unrealistic dread of external object or situation displaced from unconscious conflict.
premorbid personalitystate of an individual's personality before the onset of an illness.
psyche synonymous with mind or the mental and emotional "self."
psychoanalysistheory of human development and behavior, method of research, and form of treatment described by Freud that attributes abnormal behavior to repressions in the unconscious mind. Treatment involves dream interpretation and free association to bring into awareness the origin and effects of unconscious conflicts in order to eliminate or diminish them.
psychodramaa therapeutic approach that involves a structured, dramatized, and directed acting out of emotional problems and troubled interactions by the client in order to gain insight into individual's own difficulties.
psychogenic symptoms or physical disorders caused by emotional or mental factors, as opposed to organic.
psychopath older, inexact term for one of a variety of personality disorders in which person has poor impulse control, releasing tension through immediate action, without social or moral conscience.
psychosis severe emotional illness characterized by a disorder of thinking, feeling, and action with the following symptoms: loss of contact, denial of reality, bizarre thinking and behavior, perceptual distortion, delusions, hallucinations, and regression.
regression primary ego defense mechanism of retreat to earlier level of development, with childlike mannerisms and comfort techniques.
schizoid form of personality disorder characterized by shyness, introspection, introversion, withdrawal, and aloofness.
schizophrenia severe functional mental illness characterized in general by a disorder in perception, thinking, feeling, behavior, and interpersonal relationships.
sociopathic pertaining to a disorder of behavior in which a person's feelings and behavior are asocial, with impaired judgment and inability to profit from experience; the intellect remains intact. This term is often used interchangeably with "antisocial personality."
somaterm meaning the body or physical aspects.
superego in psychoanalysis, that part of the mind that incorporates the parental or societal values, ethics, and standards. It guides, restrains, criticizes, and punishes. It is unconscious and learned and is sometimes equated with the term conscience.
tangentialityspeaks on unrelated topics without getting to the point.
transference unconscious projections of feelings, attitudes, and wishes that were originally associated with early significant others onto persons or events in the present; may be positive or negative transference.
waxy flexibilitypsychomotor underactivity in which the individual maintains the posture in which he or she is placed.
word saladmeaningless and random mixture of phrases and words without any logical connection often seen in schizophrenic behavior (e.g., "the rid jams frost wool mix").