(in alphabetical order)
Abreaction
is when we relive the trauma in some
way. This may seem bizarre to but if it’s happening to us it is very real and
very painful. When we abreact some part or all of a traumatic experience it’s
as if it is happening all over again and even our body reacts as if it’s
happening in the present, with adrenalin pumping, sweating, and rapid breathing
for example. And the emotions come with
it as well, feelings of fear, sometimes even anger if the trauma was caused by
another person. Many of us may have abreactions when in the course of therapy,
sometimes right in sessions with the therapist.
Acute Stress Disorder
After a traumatic event we might feel numb, detached from everything and everyone. It might feel like we are in a daze or fog, not as aware as usual of our surroundings. Things may feel unreal. We may not feel like our usual self.
At some point we may begin to relive the event with recurrent images, thoughts, and/or dreams. We might try to avoid anything or any place that reminds us of the trauma. We may also feel a lot of anxiety and fear, be constantly on alert in case it happens again, have difficulty sleeping and have very poor concentration.
The symptoms of Acute Stress Disorder tend to start either during the trauma or within four weeks of the event. Usually they last a minimum of two days and a maximum of four weeks.
means the fluctuating expression of emotions that we experience such as sadness, elation, or anger. It’s like talking about the “weather” which is on a more daily basis than the “climate” which is over a longer period of time. We need to keep in mind however that what is considered the normal range of expression of emotions varies from culture to culture.
People sometimes differ in their expression of emotions too, and it may or may not be a symptom of a mental illness. There may be other factors involved that don’t point to an illness but simply a situation the person is in.
Blunted affect is when the intensity of a person’s emotions are significantly less than what would be considered normal.
Flat affect is when there is no, or nearly no signs of emotion, again, that what would be expected or considered normal expression in that situation and/or culture.
Labile affect is when a person shows an abnormal variation of emotions with repeated, rapid and abrupt shifts in their expression. Sometimes a person with Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personality) may be like this because of switching between alters or personalities.
Restricted or constricted affect is when there is a more mild range and intensity of emotion than considered to be normal. This might be the case for someone who is severely depressed.
is when you feel depressed but you also feel restless and anxious.
See also Depression
Akathisia
This is when you have an uncomfortable feeling of restlessness or the need to keep moving. Most people notice it in their legs and it causes them to feel as though they have to keep pacing or walking. I had this many years ago and was addicted to Gravol at the time. So I thought it was due to the Gravol. But one source says akathisia is often caused by antipsychotics, called "movement disorder side effects" or "extrapyramidal side effects" (EPS). There's a mouthful. Anyway it's a very uncomfortable feeling.
Algophobia
An unusual and more extreme fear of pain than most people.
Anniversary Reaction
This is a time when we re-experience
some feelings on the anniversary of an event that was traumatic. Many of us may
know this experience simply when someone significant in our life dies and the
anniversary of their death comes around. At that time we may feel our grief
more intensely. With trauma we might feel some of the fear again as well as
anger or grief. Some people experience temporary depression at the time of the
anniversary.
Anosognosia
is the lack of awareness of illness. It is sometimes called “lack of insight”. About1/3 of people with bipolar disorder lack awareness of their illness however most
of the time awareness improves when they are treated.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD)
Thought I'd also cover ADHD. The reason? Because, and I did not know this, the symptoms are often found in people with Bipolar Disorder as well. Apparently 3/4 of children and adolescents who are diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder also qualify for the diagnosis of ADHD. And conversely, 1/4 of children and adolescents who have ADHD also meet the criteria for Bipolar Disorder. Disorder (ADHD)
The symptoms are hyperactivity, agitation, impulsivity, distractibility, talkativeness, and poor concentration.
Autonomic Arousal
This is a symptom of PTSD (Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder) when we experience a situation to be
life-threatening, even if in reality it is not. Our body responds as if in
danger with faster heart rate, dilated pupils, sweating and other fear
reactions. Autonomic arousal is what happens when a person is abreacting a
traumatic experience.
Bipolar Disorder
Used to be called Manic-Depressive Disorder. It has two main symptoms or categories of mood – mania (or hypomania) and depression. There’s a real variation in the symptoms too. Some people might have mania most of the time and little depression, or they might have mania for years then have depression for years. Some people might have depression most of the time, with rare or infrequent episodes of mania.
Cyclothymia, Cyclothymic
Cycylothymia, says Wikipedia, “is a serious mood and mental disorder that causes both hypomanic and depressive episodes.” It is a part of the bipolar spectrum of mood. It is an unstable mood pattern that can go from mild elation to mild depression. Even though it is less severe than bipolar disorder it can still greatly affect a person’s life and inhibit them from functioning normally. It's probably quite confusing for the person as well to be feeling energetic one day and depressed the next. Very difficult to figure out what's going on much less plan any activities.
Depression
is both a mental disorder on its own as well as a major "symptom" of Bipolar Disorder. Someone who is depressed may
> feel sad or down a lot
> stop enjoying things they used to enjoy
> have no desire to go to work or school
> sleep less or more than normal
> eat less or more than usual
> feel a lot of anxiety
> not be able to concentrate on things such as reading, watching tv, etc
and many other symptoms.
Dysthymia, Dysthymic
is a milder form of major depression. It essentially means someone with very little energy. Dysthymia is a chronic type of depression where your moods are low. The exact cause is not known but it tends to run in families. Many people with it may suffer with anxiety, or substance abuse. It is characterized by feelings of hopelessness, too much or too little sleep, fatigue, low self esteem, under- or over-eating, poor concentration, poor memory, social withdrawal and lack of motivation.
Makes me think of the character Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh who tends to see the world in a constant gray light. A constant gloom and doom outlook.
Flashback
is when we re-experience a traumatic
experience in some form. It is also known as “intrusive recall”. There are four
types of flashbacks - dreams or nightmares
- dreams
we wake up from but are still under the influence of the dream and have a hard
time making contact with our waking reality
- conscious
flashback where we might lose contact with reality and be very lost in the past
trauma – an abreaction and may even experience “hallucinations” of some type
- unconscious
flashback where we relive the traumatic event but don’t realize it. we don’t
make the connection between what we are experiencing (which may be terror,
anger, etc) and the trauma that happened
Hyperthymia, Hyperthymic Hyperthymia is the opposite of dysthymia where the person has increased energy and productivity, shorter sleep periods, is self-assured and self-confident, has a strong will, is very talkative, tends to repeat themselves, loves attention, has a low threshold for boredom, may overspend, tends to be more emotionally sensitive, is unusually warm, expansive, tireless, irrepressible and has an infectious quality. One dictionary on line describes Hyperthymia as “a condition characterized by extreme overactivity” and “exaggerated emotionalism”.
Wikipedia says it’s a lesser form of hypomania where a person is in a state of mild euphoria, has a flood of ideas, endless energy and very ambitious.
Hypomania, hypomanic
is a milder form of mania. There is often less distress for the person yet enough to cause them a lot of discomfort and suffering. Sometimes a person can be quite “lucky”,if you will, and be mildly hypomanic most of the time. This means they have a lot of energy, are quite productive, feel pretty good a lot of the time. However, they might sometimes suffer with depression or possibly could tip into mania at times. See also Bipolar Disorder & Mania
Insane
the word is from the Latin insanus meaning unsound of mind. It was widely used for 400 years to designate people who had delusions, hallucinations, disordered thinking, bizarre behaviour, excess mood swings or some combination of these. Other terms used were “madness” and “lunacy”. In the early 20th century the term insanity was replaced by “psychosis”.
Mania, Manic
Mania is a major "symptom" of Bipolar Disorder. When a person is said to be manic they may
> need little sleep
> be extremely productive
> feel really good and excited
> be very talkative. You may not be able to interrupt them
> lack some good judgment – such as spend a lot of money, more than they could afford or invest in something that’s not a good investment, be very promiscuous, or take other dangerous risks
> lack even the insight that they are manic and/or ill
> become psychotic (lose touch with reality) and have delusions (think they are Jesus or they can save the world) and/or hallucinations (hear voices in their head, see things that other people don’t see)
See also Bipolar Disorder, & Hypomania
Mood,
in contrast to “affect” , is when our emotions and expression don’t change as often and tend to last a longer period of time. For example, if we have depression, we may feel sad for months and months at a time (mood) rather than for only one day (affect).
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Many of the symptoms of PTSD are the same as with Acute Stress Disorder. The main symptoms are:
> recurring and intrusive dreams, images, thoughts or perceptions that are actually recollections of the event or events. This can go on for months and even years and is very distressing. It can render us quite dysfunctional;
> feeling or acting as if we are reliving the event or events;
> trying to avoid any situations that remind us of the events because they trigger memories of the trauma. Certain people can also trigger us and remind us of a person that caused our trauma;
> constantly on alert for any signs of danger, as if the trauma may happen at any moment again. This is called hypervigilance. It may also mean we are very easily startled, or have difficulty sleeping or concentrating during the day;
> emotionally numb and sometimes less responsive than most people to situations. For example, not feeling grief about the loss of someone, or even talking about the trauma without feeling or expressing any distress. Or we may feel less interest in activities than we used to when we start to experience PTSD. We may also feel detached from others, unable to feel love or affection.
This disorder is a very difficult one to live with as people around us don’t
understand why we are behaving so strangely. They may not understand why we
avoid certain situations or why we are so jumpy. They may wonder why we seem
so emotionally dead or why we are so fearful.
People with Dissociative Identity Disorder, or multiple personality, usually have PTSD as well because DID is most often caused by prolonged childhood trauma.
Trauma
It is an event or situation that we experience that is usually outside of normal and usual human experience and is so distressing to us that we are absolutely overwhelmed by it and are quite likely to have lasting emotional harm from it. Another way to look at it is an event or situation in which we feel the threat of harm or even death and we can see no way out of it, no escape. The result is we feel terrified and helpless. Feeling helpless and having no control over the situation is probably the key experience of trauma and most likely the biggest cause of our distress.
Trauma can also be a loss, or threatened loss, of an important person in our life or even an important object we own. It may also be an overwhelming urge to hurt ourself or another person. Finally, keep in mind, that trauma for one person may not be trauma for another. It depends on such things as who we are, how we cope with things in life, and the situation itself.
An author named Lenore Terr described two different types of trauma.
she defined as a single event such as fire or a single rape episode. If we experience this we may be fortunate enough to have family and/or friends to support us afterwards and help us deal with the situation. Also, we usually remember the details of the event, although that’s not always the case. However, we may develop Acute Stress Disorder as a result of the incident.
Type II Trauma
is when we experience prolonged and repeated trauma. We might then develop PTSD symptoms much later, months or even years after the traumatic incidents. Also we might keep the incidents a secret or not even remember them for years. Even when we do remember them there may not be the same kind of support as there was for Type I Trauma. Often people go to therapy first and then begin to remember what happened. 