A
"Positive" or beneficial stress that motivates, focuses energy, and improves performance
Eustress
Overactivity or excess of dopamine in certain brain areas contributes to the symptoms of schizophrenia
Dopamine hypothesis
Positive virtue - strengths that forge connections to the larger universe and provide meaning beyond immediate self-interest.
Virtues: transcendence
Behavioral therapy technique used to treat phobias and anxiety disorders by pairing relaxation techniques with gradual exposure to a feared stimulus
Systematic desensitization
Applying classical conditioning to reduce unwanted behaviors by associating them with unpleasant stimuli.
Aversive conditioning
Psychoactive drugs used to treat depression and anxiety disorders, act as agonists to increase neurotransmitter levels (serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine) in the synapse.
antidepressants (SSRI such as Prozac)
Neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by persistent, age-inappropriate inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that impairs functioning
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Neurodevelopmental disorders
How social interactions, cultural norms, and environmental contexts shape an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
Sociocultural perspective
Uses electronic monitoring devices to provide real-time information on physiological processes. Helps individuals gain voluntary control over involuntary autonomic functions.
Biofeedback
Biomedical treatment for severe, treatment-resistant depression and mania, involving brief electrical currents passed through the brain under anesthesia to induce a therapeutic seizure
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
Mental and emotional ability to adapt, bounce back, and thrive after experiencing stress, adversity, or trauma.
Resilience
Anxiety disorder characterized by persistent, excessive, and uncontrollable worry about everyday, routine things for at least six months
Generalized anxiety disorder
Psychological disorders result from a combination of underlying vulnerability and environmental triggers.
Diathesis-stress model
Mental health conditions involving disruptions in memory, consciousness, identity, or perception, often triggered by severe trauma (Multipersonality disorder)
Dissociative Disorder
Personality disorder -- disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others, often beginning in childhood or early adolescence (Cluster B)
Antisocial personality disorder
Personality disorder - excessive attention-seeking behaviors, usually beginning in early adulthood, including inappropriately seductive behavior and an excessive need for approval. (Cluster B)
Histrionic personality disorder
Second stage where the body attempts to adapt to ongoing stress after the Alarm reaction. (Selye)
General adaptation syndrome
Resistance Phase
Anxiety disorder characterized by intense fear and avoidance of places or situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable if panic-like symptoms occur.
Agoraphobia
Reverses the "fight-or-flight" response, lowering heart rate, stimulating digestion, and returning the body to homeostasis after stress.
Parasympathetic response
Personality disorder - pervasive social deficits, severe discomfort with close relationships, eccentric behavior, and cognitive or perceptual distortions (Cluster A)
Schizotypal personality disorder
Evidence-based, action-oriented psychotherapy that combines restructuring irrational thoughts with changing maladaptive behaviors.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Non-invasive, biomedical therapy used to treat depression and explore brain function by applying magnetic pulses to the brain.
TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation)
Standardized methods used to identify, classify, and treat mental illnesses based on empirical research rather than subjective opinion
Evidence-based diagnostic tools
Anxiety-related disorder defined by persistent, unwanted thoughts that create high anxiety, driving repetitive, rigid behaviors or mental acts designed to reduce distress
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Irreversible side effect of long-term antipsychotic medication use, causing involuntary, repetitive, and jerky movements of the face, tongue, limbs, and trunk.
Tardive dyskinesia