Author: Glossary

A defense mechanism, operating unconsciously, used to resolve emotional conflict and allay anxiety by disavowing thoughts, feelings, wishes, needs, or external reality factors that are consciously intolerable. In psychology, a defense or coping mechanism in which a person avoids anxiety by refusing to perceive or accept a stressful situation. A person’s refusal to accept that…

The fear of crowds.  

The study of a population and those variables that bring about change in that population. Variables studied by demographers are age, sex, race, education, income, geographic trends, birth, and death, epidemiology; biometry. The study of populations and environments or changes affecting populations. The study of the populations of the world, their racial make-up, movements, birth…

Obsolete descriptive term for schizophrenia. Introduced as “démence précoce” by Benedict Augustine Morel in 1857 and later popularized by Emil Kraepelin (1856–1926). An obsolete term for schizophrenia. An antiquated term previously employed to denote severe schizophrenia, particularly in adolescents or young adults.  

Although in clinical practice it is often difficult to differentiate from the paranoid type of schizophrenia, the delusions in this disorder are characteristically systematized rather than bizarre. Also, other characteristics of the active phase of schizophrenia are absent or only fleetingly present, and personality functioning remains relatively intact outside the area of the delusional theme.…

A severe form of depressive disorder characterized by psychotic thinking (e.g., delusions or hallucinations) as well as neurovegetative symptoms. Listed in dsm-iv-tr as major depressive disorder, severe with psychotic features.  

A false belief based on an incorrect inference about external reality, firmly sustained despite clear evidence to the contrary. The belief is not part of a cultural tradition such as an article of religious faith. Among the more frequently reported delusions are the following: a)Delusional Jealousy: The false belief that one’s sexual partner is unfaithful;…

Alcohol withdrawal delirium; alcohol delirium with onset during withdrawal. An acute and sometimes fatal brain disorder (in 10-15% of untreated cases) caused by total or partial withdrawal from excessive alcohol intake. Usually develops in 24-96 hours after cessation of drinking. Symptoms include fever, tremors, ataxia and some- times convulsions, frightening illusions, delusions, and hallucinations. The…

A cognitive disorder characterized by impairment in consciousness and attention and changes in cognition (e.g., memory deficit, disorientation, language or perceptual disturbance). The following types of delirium are recognized by dsm-iv-tr: delirium due to a general medical condition, substance-induced delirium (in intoxication and withdrawal states), delirium due to multiple etiologies, and delirium not otherwise specified.…

A paramnesia consisting of the sensation or illusion that one is seeing what one has seen before. A feeling of having already experienced an event which the person is doing or seeing at the moment. French for ‘already seen’, da vu is quite common but no satisfactory explanation for the phenomenon has yet been discovered.…