1. Word Salad A mixture of words and phrases that lackcomprehensive meaning or logicalcoherence; commonly seen in schizophrenia.

2. Schizophrenia A mental health disorder characterized bysignificant disorganization of thinking(cognition), behavior, impaired realitytesting (delusions, hallucinations) anddecrease general functioning. Sign andsymptoms last at least six months. Subtypesinclude paranoid, disorganized,undifferentiated, catatonic, and residual.

3. Dyskinesia Involuntary muscle movements.4. Clang

AssociationsSpeech patterns in which the individualchooses words for their sounds rather thanmeaning. Rhymes and puns that have a"clanging" tone are used. Common inschizophrenia, mania, or autism.

5. Dystonia Excess muscle tension6. Tardive

DyskinesiaAbnormal or purposeless muscle movementof the extremities, trunk, face, jaw, or oral-buccal muscles causing rocking or twistingmotions, pelvic thrusting or gyrations,tremors, tongue darting or writhing, spasticfacial movements, frowning blinking,blowing, teeth grinding, lip smacking, orchewing movements, if the patient has foodor gum in their mouth. This type ofextrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) may beirreversible.

7. Splitting A behavioral phenomenon that occursfrequently in patients diagnosed withborderline personality disorder involving aspecific type of cognitive distortion known asdichotomous thinking. A patient will attemptto divide one nurse or staff member againstanother over various issues including unitpolicies and what patients are allowed to do.

8. Transference A patient's subconscious displacement offeelings for significant people in his/her pastonto the nurse or other staff member in thecurrent therapeutic relationship.

9. Affect The observable components of an emotion(objective); facial expression (anger,sadness, excitement). It is distinguished frommood because it changes more frequently andreadily.

10. Trigger Anything (situations, events, people,geographic locations, activities, odors,sights) that increases the risk and/orincreases the probability of a mental healthillness or substance abuse issue relapse.

11. Labile Mood Subject to frequent and/or unpredictablechanges in mood, affect, or behavior.

12. Paranoia Suspiciousness that is not based in reality.13. Projection An ego defense mechanism commonly used

by patients with borderline personality D/O.These individuals blame someone else fortheir problems or place their own desires onsomeone else (sexual desires, jealousy,anger) and accuse others of feeling or actionthat way.

14. Mood Internal sensation of an emotion (subjective);the state of mind exhibited through emotionsand feelings.

15. Detachment Interpersonal and intrapersonal dissociationfrom emotional or affective expression ofemotions, that person appears emotionallycold, distant, and aloof.

16. Flooding A more extreme form of desensitization TXwhere the person is exposed to or confrontedwith the actual or similar stressfultriggers/situation for an extended period oftime. The goal is to extinguish the person'semotional response.

17. Dysphoria The opposite of euphoria or euphoric-depressed mood.

18. Helplessness A person's belief that neither he/she noranyone else can help them.

19. Magicalthinking

A primitive thought process in which theindividual believes that his or hermanifestations or actions can produce resultsthat are not supported by natural laws.

20. Looseassociations

Thinking in which there is no apparentrelationship between thoughts while thepatient is speaking.

21. NeurolepticMalignantSyndrome

A potentially fatal adverse reaction toneuroleptic (antipsychotic) medication.

22. Hopelessness A person's belief that people, situations, orevents will never change for the better.

23. Manipulation Negative use of unhealthy behaviors oractions by a person to obtain needs. Positiveuses of manipulation include changes in thetherapeutic milieu to reinforce healthybehavior.

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24. PersonalityTraits

Stable or repeated patterns of feelings,thoughts, and behaviors that develop asindividual adapt to their environment.Includes how they view both themselves andothers.

25. Confabulation Making up plausible (possible believable)information to cover up for memoryproblems. Different form lying because thisperson is not covering up information, but isunable to provide information in response toquestions and therefore creates it.

26. Anxiety Subjective feeling of discomfort that arisesfrom perceived threat to safety, security, orwell-being. Physical and psychological SX'smay occur.

27. Flat Affect Absence or near absence of any sign ofaffective expression.

28. Delirium Temporary, rapidly developing, potentiallyreversible mental D/O affection cognitive.May be reversible or irreversible.

29. Blunted Affect A disturbance manifested by a severreduction/restriction in the intensity ofaffect.

30. Co-dependency

Excessive focus on the needs of another tothe detriment or harm of the person notusing substances or dysfunctional behaviorpatterns.

31. Euphoria A false sense of elation or well-being,pathological elevation of mood.

32. Personality A combination of genetic and environmentalinfluences that contribute to a person attitudeand behavior problems.

33. Neologism A newly invented word or condensedcombination of several words coined by aperson to express a highly complex idea.Observed in patients with a though D/O.

34. Flight ofIdeals

A nearly continuous flow of acceleratedspeech with abrupt changes from one topic toanother, usually based on understandableassociations, distracting stimuli, or playingon words. More reality-based then looseassociation.

35. Anhedonia Inability to experience pleasure in normalactivities.

36. Bipolar D/O An affective mood disorder that involvesperiods of mania and periods of depression.

37. Catatonic A fixed, rigid posture that may be maintainedfor several hours (associated withschizophrenia).

38. Dementia Organic mental impairment that interfereswith normal mental functions. Usuallyprogresses slowly, interfering with recentmemory, abstract thinking, judgment, andpersonality. Remote memory may ultimatelybe lost as well.

39. Perseveration Non-meaningful repetition of a phrase orword. Seen in organic mental D/O andschizophrenia.

40. Regression Retreating to an earlier level of development.May be a response to overwhelmingpsychological stress.

41. Schizophrenia A serious mental D/O that involvesdisruptions and distortions in contact withreality.

42. SuicideGesture

An action that is close to one that couldcause suicide- a suicidal action is imminent.

43. SuicideIdeation

Thoughts about suicide. If these thoughtsprogress, they may lead to suicidalplanning.

44. Suicide Threat Statements that indicate the person isthinking about or planning suicide.

45. SuicideAttempt

A serious attempt to end one's life.

46. Thought D/O A disturbance of thought that involves theform, structure, and content of thought.

Mental Health Definitions