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Mental Health America of Central
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Mental Health Glossary Adjustment Disorders: The development of emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor(s) occurring within three months of the onset of the stressor(s). Affective Disorders: A group of disorders characterized by primary disturbance of mood, such as depression or elation. Agoraphobia: A condition brought on by anxiety or fear. Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD): A syndrome consisting of inattention, excessive motor activity, and impulsivity. ADHD: Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity. Bipolar Disorder: A mental illness that causes extreme mood swings. Conduct Disorders: (Behavior disorders) A group of childhood/adolescent disturbances of repetitive and persistent antisocial activities that violate the rights of others. Dementia: Deterioration of intellectual functioning and personality changes due to physical causes as in Alzheimer’s Disease. Dissociative Disorders: A group of disorders characterized by alterations, typically sudden in onset and of temporary duration, of the normally integrated functions of consciousness or identity. Eating Disorders: A group of disorders in which there are significant disturbances in eating. Two common examples are Anorexia Nervosa, a refusal to maintain an acceptable body weight for one’s age and height: and Bulimia Nervosa, uncontrollable binge eating which may be followed by purging the food through self-induced vomiting, laxatives or diuretics. Manic-Depressive Disorder: This term as been replaced by Bipolar Disorder Mental Illness: Behavioral or psychological syndromes or patterns which cause painful symptoms and interference with normal functioning in important areas (relationships, school, work, etc.) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Psychoneurosis characterized by disturbing, unwanted, anxiety-provoking, intruding thoughts or ideas and repetitive impulses to perform acts that may be considered abnormal, undesirable or distasteful to the patient. Panic Disorders: At least three panic attacks within a 3 week period in circumstances other than during marked physical exertion or in a life-threatening situation. These attacks are accompanied by unexplained physical symptoms. Personality Disorders: Refers to habitual ways of seeing and relating to self and the environment that are so fixed and rigid as to cause a significant degree of personal distress, and limits the individual’s ability to effectively cope with the day-to-day demands of life’s situations. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Psychological and emotional distress which develops following a stressful, traumatic event or series of events (war, rape, natural disaster). Schizophrenia Disorders: A group of mental illnesses characterized by delusions (bizarre, somatic, grandiose, persecutory), hallucinations (imagined voices), and thinking disturbances (incoherence, markedly illogical thinking). Schizophrenia is not the same as “split” or Dissociative Personality Disorder.
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