Mental Health Test 1
Created by sadie welcome
Abstract thinking
Ability to grasp the whole, see relationships, and identify common properties
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Abstract thinking | Ability to grasp the whole, see relationships, and identify common properties |
Affect | Emotional experience observed by the caregiver |
Aggression | Forceful goal‑directed action, verbal or physical |
Agitation | Severe anxiety with motor restlessness |
Ambivalence | Coexistence of two opposing impulses toward the same thing |
Amnesia | Partial or total inability to recall past experiences |
Anergia | Lack of energy |
Anhedonia | Loss of interest in pleasurable activities |
Anomia | Inability to recall names of objects |
Anorexia | Loss or decrease of appetite |
Anxiety | Apprehension caused by anticipation of danger |
Blocking | Abrupt interruption in thinking; person cannot recall what was being said |
Catatonic excitement | Uncontrolled motor activity; may become violent |
Catatonic posturing | Voluntary assumption of bizarre posture for long periods |
Catatonic rigidity | Fixed, sustained motor position resistant to change |
Circumstantiality | Over‑detailed speech before reaching the main idea |
Clang association | Speech directed by sound (rhyming/punning) rather than meaning |
Clouding of consciousness | Not fully awake, alert, or oriented; seen in delirium/dementia |
Concrete thinking | Literal thinking focused on actual events; inability to generalize |
Confabulation | Unconscious filling of memory gaps with imagined events |
Confusion | Disordered orientation to time, place, and person |
Consciousness | State of awareness and response to stimuli |
Déjà vu | Illusion of having already experienced a new situation |
Delirium | Acute reversible confusion with impaired consciousness and hallucinations |
Delusion | False fixed belief despite contradictory evidence |
Depersonalization | Feeling of unreality or detachment from self/environment |
Derailment | Sudden deviation in thought without blocking |
Elation | Joyful, euphoric, overly optimistic mood |
Echolalia | Repetition of another person’s words |
Echopraxia | Imitation of another person’s movements |
Euthymic | Normal, stable mood |
Flight of ideas | Rapid, fragmented thoughts with loose connections |
Flooding | Rapid desensitization by prolonged exposure to phobic stimulus |
Hallucinations | False sensory perceptions without external stimuli |
Hypertensive crisis | Life‑threatening reaction when MAOI + tyramine |
Ideas of reference | Belief that general events refer personally to the client |
Insight | Understanding one’s situation and accepting responsibility |
Judgement | Ability to interpret environment and make appropriate decisions |
Labile | Rapidly fluctuating mood or emotions |
Loose associations | Disorganized thinking with illogical idea shifts |
Malingering | Intentional production of false/exaggerated symptoms |
Mood | Emotional state felt by the client |
Neologisms | Invented words with meaning only to the client |
Thought blocking | Abrupt stop in speech or thinking |
Thought broadcasting | Belief others can hear one’s thoughts |
Thought content | What the client is actually saying |
Thought insertion | Belief others are putting thoughts into one’s mind |
Thought process | How the client thinks |
Thought withdrawal | Belief others are taking thoughts away |
Verbigeration | Meaningless repetition of words/phrases |
Waxy flexibility | Maintaining awkward posture for long periods |
Word salad | Unconnected words with no meaningful communication |