Unit 5: Mental and Physical Health

21 terms. Say what each one means, then open the card to check.

• General adaptation syndrome

  Selye's three-stage pattern of the body's response to lasting stress: alarm, then resistance, then exhaustion if the stress goes on too long.

  Example. During a month of moving house, Ana's body first gears up, then stays on high alert, and by the end she keeps getting sick.

• Eustress

  Stress a person sees as a positive challenge, which can boost energy and focus instead of wearing the person down.

  Example. A swimmer feels her heart pound before a big race and uses the rush to push harder in the first lap.

• Problem-focused coping

  Handling stress by acting on the stressor itself, such as solving the problem or changing the situation.

  Example. Worried about a failing grade, Jonah meets his teacher, gets a tutor and sets a nightly study plan.

• Emotion-focused coping

  Handling stress by managing one's feelings about the stressor, such as seeking comfort, exercising or reframing the event.

  Example. While waiting for medical test results she cannot speed up, Lena goes for walks and talks with her best friend.

• Positive psychology

  The study of what helps people and communities thrive, such as well-being, character strengths, gratitude and resilience.

  Example. A researcher tracks whether writing three good things each night raises students' life satisfaction over a term.

• Posttraumatic growth

  Positive change some people report after a major struggle, such as closer relationships, new priorities or greater personal strength.

  Example. After a long recovery from a serious injury, Malik says he values his family more and has started volunteering.

• DSM-5-TR

  The American Psychiatric Association's manual that lists disorders and the symptom criteria clinicians use to diagnose them.

  Example. A clinician checks whether a client's symptoms and their length meet the manual's criteria before giving a diagnosis.

• Diathesis-stress model

  The idea that a disorder can develop when a built-in vulnerability, such as genetic risk, meets enough stress in life.

  Example. Two cousins share a family risk for depression, but only the one who loses a job and a parent in one year develops it.

• Biopsychosocial model

  An approach that explains health and disorders through biological, psychological and social-cultural factors working together.

  Example. A counselor considers a client's family history, habits of thinking and money troubles when explaining his anxiety.

• Comorbidity

  The presence of two or more disorders in the same person at the same time.

  Example. A client is diagnosed with both generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder during the same year.

• Positive symptoms

  Symptoms of schizophrenia that add something not usually present, such as hallucinations, delusions or disorganized speech.

  Example. A man with schizophrenia hears voices commenting on his actions when no one else is in the room.

• Negative symptoms

  Symptoms of schizophrenia that reflect a loss of typical functions, such as flat emotional expression, little speech or low motivation.

  Example. A young woman with schizophrenia speaks very little, shows almost no facial expression and stops caring for her room.

• Panic disorder

  An anxiety disorder with repeated, unexpected panic attacks plus ongoing worry about having more attacks.

  Example. After several sudden bouts of racing heart and terror in ordinary places, Ezra fears going out in case another one hits.

• Major depressive disorder

  A depressive disorder with at least two weeks of low mood or lost interest, plus symptoms such as sleep or appetite change and feelings of worthlessness.

  Example. For a month, Dana has lost interest in music she loved, sleeps 12 hours a day and feels she lets everyone down.

• Manic episode

  A period of unusually high or irritable mood and energy, often with little need for sleep, racing thoughts and risky choices; it marks bipolar I disorder.

  Example. For a week, a person sleeps two hours a night, talks nonstop and spends a year's savings on a sudden plan.

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder

  A disorder of unwanted, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repeated acts done to ease the anxiety they cause (compulsions).

  Example. Afraid of spreading germs, Iris washes her hands until they crack and cannot leave home until she has washed 20 times.

• Posttraumatic stress disorder

  A disorder that can follow a traumatic event, with intrusive memories, avoidance, negative mood changes and high arousal lasting over a month.

  Example. Months after a building fire, a firefighter has nightmares about it, startles at alarms and avoids the street where it happened.

• Systematic desensitization

  A behavioral therapy that pairs relaxation with a step-by-step list of feared situations, so calm gradually replaces fear.

  Example. A client afraid of elevators relaxes while imagining one, then looks at one, then rides one floor, then several.

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy

  A therapy that helps clients change unhelpful thinking and unhelpful behavior together, often with practice tasks between sessions.

  Example. A client tests his belief that coworkers dislike him by greeting three of them each day and recording how they respond.

• Unconditional positive regard

  In Rogers's person-centered therapy, an attitude of full, nonjudging acceptance of the client, whatever the client says or feels.

  Example. When a client admits she resents her newborn, the therapist stays warm and accepting and invites her to say more.

• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor

  A type of antidepressant that slows the reuptake of serotonin at synapses, so more serotonin stays available.

  Example. A doctor prescribes fluoxetine to a client with major depressive disorder and explains that the effects build over several weeks.