Mental Disorders, ACR-SUB
Mental disorders can be defined as any illness with significant psychological or behavioral manifestations that is associated with either a painful or distressing symptom or an impairment in one or more important areas of functioning. A mental illness can have an effect on every aspect of a person’s life, including thinking, feeling, mood, and outlook.
Mental Disorders Encyclopedia Articles By Title
acrophobia, intense fear of heights. Persons affected by acrophobia are intensely fearful and anxious when high......
addiction, physical or psychological need for a substance or behavior that is physically, psychologically, or socially......
affective disorder, mental disorder characterized by dramatic changes or extremes of mood. Affective disorders......
agnosia, loss or diminution of the ability to recognize objects, sounds, smells, tastes, or other sensory stimuli.......
agoraphobia, type of anxiety disorder characterized by avoidance of situations that induce intense fear and panic.......
alcoholism, excessive and repetitive drinking of alcoholic beverages to the extent that the drinker repeatedly......
Alzheimer disease, degenerative brain disorder that develops in mid-to-late adulthood. It results in a progressive......
amnesia, loss of memory that occurs most often as a result of damage to the brain from trauma, stroke, neurological......
anorexia nervosa, eating disorder characterized by the refusal of an emaciated individual to maintain a normal......
antisocial personality disorder, personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of disregard for the......
anxiety disorder, any of several disorders that are characterized by a feeling of fear, dread, or apprehension......
arachnophobia, extreme fear of spiders. The word arachnophobia is derived from the Greek arakhnē, meaning “spider”......
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a behavioral syndrome characterized by inattention and distractibility,......
avoidant personality disorder (AVPD), mental disorder characterized by the intentional avoidance of social situations......
bipolar disorder, mental disorder characterized by recurrent depression or mania with abrupt or gradual onsets......
blood doping, use of substances or techniques that increase the number of circulating red blood cells (erythrocytes)......
body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), preoccupation with one or more perceived or imagined flaws in one’s physical appearance,......
borderline personality disorder (BPD), mental illness characterized by chronic instability in the affected individual’s......
bulimia nervosa, eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by inappropriate attempts to compensate......
catatonia, psychomotor syndrome in which an affected individual is unresponsive and immobile or occasionally hyperactive,......
catatonic schizophrenia, rare severe mental disorder characterized by striking motor behaviour, typically involving......
chemical dependency, the body’s physical and/or psychological addiction to a psychoactive (mind-altering) substance,......
child behaviour disorder, any deviation in conduct that is aggressive or disruptive in nature, that persists for......
claustrophobia, persistent extreme irrational fear of enclosed or confined spaces. The word claustrophobia is derived......
combat fatigue, a neurotic disorder caused by the stress involved in war. This anxiety-related disorder is characterized......
conduct disorder (CD), behavior disorder characterized by a pattern of aggression toward others, a lack of concern......
conversion disorder, a type of mental disorder in which a wide variety of sensory, motor, or psychic disturbances......
dark triad, cluster of three negative personality traits—Machiavellianism and subclinical (nonpathological) narcissism......
delirium, a mental disturbance marked by disorientation and confused thinking in which the patient incorrectly......
delirium tremens (DTs), delirium seen in severe cases of alcohol withdrawal (see alcoholism) complicated by exhaustion,......
delusion, in psychology, a rigid system of beliefs with which a person is preoccupied and to which the person firmly......
dementia, general term for any of a number of conditions marked by chronic, usually progressive deterioration of......
dementia with Lewy bodies, chronic, progressive disease characterized by the deterioration of intellectual capacity,......
depersonalization, in psychology, a state in which an individual feels that either he himself or the outside world......
depression, in psychology, a mood or emotional state that is marked by feelings of low self-worth or guilt and......
dermatillomania, psychiatric disorder in which an individual compulsively picks at their skin to the extent that......
dissociative disorder, any of several mental disturbances in humans in which normally integrated mental functions,......
dissociative identity disorder, mental disorder in which two or more independent and distinct personality systems......
doping, use of substances or techniques to illegally improve human performance and, more specifically, to gain......
drug abuse, the excessive, maladaptive, or addictive use of drugs for nonmedical purposes despite social, psychological,......
déjà vu, a sense that one has experienced a situation before. The feeling of déjà vu is often fleeting, lasting......
eating disorders, atypical eating patterns, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia, compulsive overeating, and pica......
eidetic imagery, an unusually vivid subjective visual phenomenon. An eidetic person claims to continue to “see”......
exhibitionism, derivation of sexual gratification through compulsive display of one’s genitals. Like voyeurism......
false memory syndrome, the experience, usually in the context of adult psychotherapy, of seeming to remember events......
fugue state, loss of memory (amnesia), often temporary, in which affected individuals typically do not remember......
gender dysphoria (GD), formal diagnosis given by mental health professionals to people who experience distress......
gene doping, use of substances or techniques to manipulate cells or genes in order to improve athletic performance.......
hallucination, the experience of perceiving objects or events that do not have an external source, such as hearing......
hikikomori, condition in which a person is socially avoidant to the point of staying isolated at home for at least......
hystero-epilepsy, hysterical seizures that resemble epilepsy and, in diagnosis, must be distinguished from it.......
illness anxiety disorder, mental disorder characterized by an excessive preoccupation with illness and a tendency......
imposter syndrome, a persistent unjustified feeling that one’s success is fraudulent. Imposter syndrome is characterized......
inferiority complex, a psychological sense of inferiority that is wholly or partly unconscious. The term has been......
kleptomania, recurrent compulsion to steal without regard to the value or use of the objects stolen. Although widely......
Korsakoff syndrome, neurological disorder characterized by severe amnesia (memory loss). Many cases result from......
lycanthropy, (from Greek lykos, “wolf ”; anthropos, “man”), mental disorder in which the patient believes that......
Machiavellianism, the political theory of the Italian statesman and writer Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527), as......
major depressive disorder, mental disorder characterized by persistent hopelessness, disinterest in and lack of......
Mandela effect, popularized phenomenon in which a group of people collectively misremember facts, events, or other......
mania, in psychiatric terminology, any abnormal or unusual state of excitement, as in the manic phase of bipolar...
masochism, psychosexual disorder in which erotic release is achieved through having pain inflicted on oneself.......
melancholia, formerly the psychological condition known as depression. The term now refers to extreme features......
memory disorder, any of various conditions, including certain diseases, that affect the ability to remember. Disorders......
mental disorder, any illness with significant psychological or behavioral manifestations that is associated with......
- Introduction
- Anxiety, Depression, PTSD
- Genetics, Environment, Stress
- Personality Development, Trauma, Genetics
- Behavioral Etiology
- Schizophrenia, Symptoms, Treatment
- Mood Disorders, Symptoms, Treatment
- Anxiety, Panic, Phobias
- Dissociation, Amnesia, Identity
- Borderline, Symptoms, Treatment
- Eating Disorders, Anorexia, Bulimia
- Therapy, Medication, Support
- Psychotherapy, Treatment, Causes
- Deinstitutionalization, Treatment, Causes
- Antipsychotics, Treatment, Medication
- Psychotherapy, Treatment, Recovery
- Behavioral Psychotherapy
- Group Psychotherapy
moral panic, phrase used in sociology to describe an artificially created panic or scare. Researchers, often influenced......
narcissism, pathological self-absorption, first identified as a mental disorder by the British essayist and physician......
neurasthenia, a syndrome marked by physical and mental fatigue accompanied by withdrawal and...
neurosis, generally outmoded term used to refer to mental disorders characterized by anxiety, depression, or other......
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), type of mental disorder in which an individual experiences obsessions or compulsions......
Oedipus complex, in psychoanalytic theory, a desire for sexual involvement with the parent of the opposite sex......
panic attack, sudden onset of intense apprehension, fear, or terror that occurs without apparent cause. A panic......
panic disorder, anxiety disorder characterized by repeated panic attacks that leads to persistent worry and avoidance......
paranoia, the central theme of a group of psychotic disorders characterized by systematic delusions and of the......
paresis, psychosis caused by widespread destruction of brain tissue occurring in some cases of late syphilis. Mental......
pedophilia, in conventional usage, a psychosexual disorder, generally affecting adults, characterized by sexual......
persistent depressive disorder, mental disorder characterized by symptoms of depression that are present for two......
personality disorder, mental disorder that is marked by deeply ingrained and lasting patterns of inflexible, maladaptive,......
phobia, an extreme, irrational fear of a specific object or situation. A phobia is classified as a type of anxiety......
Pick disease, form of premature dementia caused by atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. It resembles......
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), emotional condition that sometimes follows a traumatic event, particularly......
postpartum depression, depressive disorder sometimes occurring in mothers following childbirth (parturition). Postpartum......
prosopagnosia, neurological disorder in which affected persons are unable to recognize faces, despite having healthy......
psychopathology, the study of mental disorders and unusual or maladaptive behaviours. An understanding of the genesis......
psychopathy, personality disorder characterized by a set of dysfunctional interpersonal, emotional, lifestyle,......
psychosis, any of several major mental illnesses that can cause delusions, hallucinations, serious defects in judgment......
psychosomatic disorder, condition in which symptoms of physical (somatic) illness or disease are worsened by mental......
pyromania, impulse-control disorder characterized by the recurrent compulsion to set fires. The term refers only......
reactive attachment disorder, rare condition in which infants and young children fail to form emotional bonds with......
sadism, psychosexual disorder in which sexual urges are gratified by the infliction of pain on another person.......
sadomasochism, deriving pleasure, often of a sexual nature, from the infliction of physical or psychological pain......
schizoaffective disorder, mental disorder characterized by a combination of mood (affective) symptoms, such as......
schizophrenia, any of a group of severe mental disorders that have in common symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions,......
seasonal affective disorder (SAD), mood disorder characterized by recurring depression in autumn and winter, separated......
separation anxiety disorder, condition characterized by intense and prolonged concern, dread, worry, or apprehension......
sexual dysfunction, the inability of a person to experience sexual arousal or to achieve sexual satisfaction under......
sleepwalking, a behavioral disorder of sleep in which a person sits up and performs various motor actions, such......
social anxiety disorder (SAD), a type of anxiety disorder characterized by a fear of interacting with people, due......
stress, in psychology and biology, any environmental or physical pressure that elicits a response from an organism.......
substance use disorder, recurrent use of drugs or alcohol that impairs psychological and physical function and......