DEFINITIONS PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH 1 Psychological health Mental health defined negatively as the absence of illness or positively as the presence of wellness 2 Self actualization The highest level of growth in Maslow s Hierarchy of needs 3 Self concept The ideas feelings and perception a person has about himself or herself Also called self image 4 Self esteem Satisfaction and confidence in one s self the valuing of oneself as a person 5 Autonomy Independence the sense of being self directed 6 Emotion A feeling state involving some combination of thoughts physiological changes and an outward expression or behavior 7 Emotional intelligence The capacity to identify and manage one s own emotions and the emotions of other s 8 Identity crisis Internal confusion about who one is 9 Values Criteria for judging what is good and bad which underlie an individual s moral decision and behavior 10 Cognitive distortion A pattern of negative thinking that makes events seem worse than they are 11 Self talk The statements a person makes to himself or herself 12 Defense mechanism A mental mechanism for coping with conflict or anxiety 13 Pessimism The tendency to expect an unfavorable outcome 14 Optimism The tendency to expect a favorable outcome 15 Assertiveness Expression that is forceful but not hostile 16 Anxiety Fear that is not a response to any definite threat 17 Specific phobia A persistent and excessive fear of a specific object activity or situation 18 Social phobia An excessive fear of being observed by others speaking in public is the most common example 19 Panic disorder A syndrome of severe anxiety attacks accompanied by physical symptoms 20 Agoraphobia An anxiety disorder characterized by fear of being alone away from help and by avoidance of many different places and situations in extreme cases a fear of leaving home 21 Generalized Anxiety Disorder GAD An anxiety disorder characterized by excessive uncontrollable worry about all kinds of things and anxiety in many situations 22 Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD An anxiety disorder characterized by uncontrollable recurring thoughts and the performance of senseless rituals 23 Obsession A recurrent irrational unwanted thought or impulse 24 Compulsion An irrational repetitive forced action usually associated with an obsession 25 Post traumatic stress disorder An anxiety disorder characterized by relieving traumatic events through dreams flashbacks and hallucinations 26 Mood Disorder An emotional disturbance that is intense and persistent enough to affect normal function Two common mood disorders are depression and bipolar disorder 27 Depression A mood disorder characterized by loss of interest sadness hopelessness loss of appetite disturbed sleep and other physical symptoms 28 Electroconvulsive Therapy ECT The use of electric shock to induce brief generalized seizures used in the treatment of selected psychological disorders 29 Seasonal Affective Disorder SAD A mood disorder characterized by seasonal depression usually occurring in winter when there is less daylight 30 Mania A mood disorder characterized by excessive elation irritability talkativeness inflated self esteem and expansiveness 31 Bipolar disorder A mental illness characterized by alternating periods of depression and mania 32 Schizophrenia A psychological disorder that involves a disturbance in thinking and perceiving reality