Definitions Flashcards
(49 cards)
What is pathological depression?
Pervasive lowering of mood accompanied by feelings of sadness and a loss of the ability to experience pleasure (anhedonia)
What is pathological elation?
Pervasive elation of mood accompanied by excessive cheerfulness, which is experienced as ecstasy in extreme cases
What is pathological anxiety?
Feeling of apprehension which is out of proportion to the actual situation. Usually associated with autonomic changes such as skin pallor or sweating of hands, feet, and axillae.
What is depersonalisation?
Feeling unreal or detached from self. Pts may describe “feeling like a robot”. May feel disconnected from memories and struggle to feel emotion.
What is derealisation?
Feeling detached from reality. May describe it as “feeling as if they’re in a dream”. Some level of sensory distortion seems to occur.
What are tics?
Irregular repeated movements involving a group of muscles (e.g. sideways movement of the head)
What are choreiform movements?
Brief involuntary movements that are coordinated but purposeless (e.g. grimacing or movement of the arms)
What is dystonia?
Muscle spasm which is often painful and may lead to contortions.
What is a stream of thought?
The amount and speed of thoughts
What is pressure of thought?
Thought that are unusually rapid, abundant, & varied. Characteristic of mania but can also be present in schizophrenia
What is poverty of thought?
Thoughts that are unusually slow, few, and unvaried. Characteristic of severe depressive disorder but also present in schizophrenia
What is blocking of thought?
Experience in which the mind is suddenly empty of thoughts. Patient may be talking and abruptly stop, staying silent for a while. Characteristic of schizophrenia - may interpret experience in delusional way (e.g. delusion of thought withdrawal - thoughts have been removed by someone)
What is flight of ideas?
An abnormal state in which thoughts / spoken words move quickly from one topic to another, so that one train of thought is not completed before the next begins. It may be hard to follow the links between topics, although they are present via:
- Rhyme (e.g. idea about chairs followed by pears)
- Puns = Two words with same sound (e.g. male/mail)
- Distraction = New topic inspired by item in the room
What is loosening of associations?
Lack of logical connection between sequence of thoughts not explicable by any link. Patient’s replies are hard to follow & it feels like the more you try to clarify the patient’s thinking the less you understand it. Not relieved by putting patient at ease or simplifying questions.
Occurs most often in schizophrenia
What is perseveration?
Persistent & inappropriate repetition of the same sequence of thought, shown either in speech or action. Patient will respond to series of simple questions with the same answer even though they require different answers.
Occurs most commonly in dementia.
What is a delusion?
A belief held firmly on inadequate grounds.
It’s not affected by rational argument or evidence to the contrary.
It’s not a conventional belief that the person might hold given their cultural background and level of education.
What is a primary delusion?
One that occurs suddenly without any other abnormal mental event leading to it.
Strongly suggest schizophrenia
What is a secondary delusion?
Arises from a previous abnormal idea / experience, for example:
- A hallucination
- A mood
- Another delusion
What is a delusional system?
A network of interrelated ideas in which many abnormal beliefs fit into a coherent whole.
Common in paranoid schzophrenia
What is delusional mood?
Inexplicable feeling of apprehension followed by a delusion that explains it
For example, man feels inexplicably frightened and then suddenly gains belief that someone is out to harm him.
What is delusional perception?
Misinterpretation of the significance of something perceived normally.
For example, pt may suddenly be convinced that the arrangement of items on his desk indicates his life is under threat
What is delusional memory?
Retrospective delusional misinterpretation of memories of actual events.
For example, the belief that on a prev occasion when the pt felt ill his food had been poisoned by persecutors, though prev and at time of illness this was not his belief.
What are persecutory delusions?
Ideas that people / organisations are trying to inflict harm on the pt, damage their reputation or make them insane.
Common in schizophrenia & can also occur in organic states and severe depressive disorders
What are delusions of reference?
Idea that objects, events, or the actions of other people have a special significance for the pt.
Associated w schizophrenia
