Abuse - Behaviour that harms, controls, frightens, exploits or degrades another person. Abuse may be physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, financial or digital. It can occur once or repeatedly, and responsibility always lies with the person using the abusive behaviour.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)- A talking therapy that helps people make room for difficult thoughts and feelings, notice the present moment and take actions guided by their values. Acceptance means acknowledging inner experiences-not approving of harmful circumstances or giving up.
Acute stress reaction - A short-term response that may follow an exceptionally threatening event. A person may feel dazed, anxious, numb, confused or physically activated. In ICD-11 it is described as a normal reaction that usually begins to settle within days, not as a mental disorder.
Addiction - A common umbrella term for a pattern in which control over substance use or a rewarding behaviour becomes impaired, the activity gains increasing priority, and it continues despite harm. A proper assessment considers severity, duration, impairment and the specific substance or behaviour.
Affect- the outwardly observable expression of emotion-for example, through facial expression, voice and movement. Clinicians may describe affect as broad, restricted, flat, anxious or irritable. Affect is what can be observed; mood is the person’s more sustained inner emotional state.
Agoraphobia - Marked fear or anxiety about situations where escape might feel difficult or help might not be available, such as public transport, crowds or being outside alone. It is not simply a fear of open spaces.
Alexithymia - Difficulty identifying, distinguishing or describing one’s emotions. It is a trait or feature that can occur in many people and conditions; it is not, by itself, a psychiatric diagnosis and does not mean a person has no emotions.
All-or-nothing thinking - A thinking habit that treats outcomes as complete success or total failure, with no middle ground. Also called black-and-white thinking. Example: “If I make one mistake, the whole presentation is ruined.”
Anhedonia - Reduced interest or pleasure in activities that would normally feel enjoyable. It is an important symptom of depression but can also occur in other mental or physical health conditions.
Anorexia nervosa - An eating disorder involving persistent restriction of food intake, significantly low body weight, intense fear of weight gain or persistent behaviour that prevents weight gain, together with a disturbed experience of body weight or shape. It is serious and can occur in any gender.
Antidepressant - A medicine used mainly to treat depressive and anxiety disorders, and sometimes other conditions. Different classes work in different ways. Benefits usually develop over time, and starting, changing or stopping treatment should be discussed with a qualified prescriber.
Antipsychotic - A medicine used to reduce psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions, and also to treat some mood disorders and other conditions. The name describes a major use of the medicine; it does not define the person taking it.
Antisocial personality disorder - A personality disorder characterised by a persistent pattern of disregarding other people’s rights and social obligations, often involving deceitfulness, irresponsibility, impulsivity or aggression. “Antisocial” here does not mean shy, quiet or preferring time alone.
Anxiety - A feeling of apprehension, fear or unease that can include physical changes such as muscle tension, sweating or a racing heart. Some anxiety is a normal response to uncertainty or danger; it becomes a clinical concern when it is excessive, persistent or significantly disruptive.
Anxiety disorder - A group of conditions in which fear, anxiety or avoidance is excessive and causes significant distress or impairment. Examples include generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias and agoraphobia.
Attachment - The emotional bond through which a person seeks safety, comfort and closeness, especially in important relationships. Early experiences can influence attachment patterns, but adult relationships are shaped by many factors and attachment styles are not fixed diagnoses.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - A neurodevelopmental condition involving a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is not appropriate for the person’s developmental stage and causes real-life difficulties. ADHD is not simply boredom, laziness or occasional distractibility.
Autism spectrum disorder (autism) - A neurodevelopmental condition involving persistent differences in social communication and interaction, together with restricted or repetitive patterns, interests or sensory experiences. Autism begins in development, varies greatly between people and is not caused by poor parenting.
Avoidance - Staying away from situations, thoughts, feelings or memories that seem threatening or uncomfortable. Avoidance may bring short-term relief, but repeated avoidance can maintain anxiety or trauma-related difficulties by preventing new learning.
Avolition - A marked reduction in the motivation to begin or continue purposeful activities. It can be seen in schizophrenia, severe depression and some neurological conditions; it should not automatically be interpreted as laziness.
B
Behavioural activation - A structured approach, often used for depression, that helps a person gradually reconnect with meaningful, necessary or enjoyable activities. The aim is not to “just cheer up,” but to break cycles of withdrawal, inactivity and low mood through planned action.
Binge-eating disorder - An eating disorder involving repeated episodes of eating an unusually large amount of food while feeling unable to stop or control the eating, followed by significant distress. Unlike bulimia nervosa, the episodes are not regularly followed by compensatory behaviours such as vomiting.
Bipolar disorder - A mood disorder involving episodes of mania or hypomania and usually episodes of depression. These are sustained changes in mood, energy and functioning-not ordinary hour-to-hour mood swings. Diagnosis requires careful assessment of the pattern over time.
Body dysmorphia - A popular shortened expression usually referring to body dysmorphic disorder. People also use it loosely for body insecurity, but ordinary dissatisfaction with appearance is not automatically a disorder.
Body dysmorphic disorder - Persistent preoccupation with perceived flaws in appearance that are minor or not observable to others, accompanied by repetitive behaviours such as mirror checking, reassurance seeking or comparison, and significant distress or impairment.
Borderline personality disorder - A condition involving enduring difficulties with emotion regulation, identity, relationships and impulsivity. A person may experience intense fears of abandonment, rapidly changing emotions or self-harm. The label should never be used as an insult; effective treatments are available.
Boundaries - Limits that clarify what a person is comfortable with and what they will do to protect their time, safety, values and well-being. A boundary describes one’s own choices and actions; it is not a rule for controlling another person.
Brain fog - An everyday phrase for feeling mentally slowed, forgetful, unfocused or less clear than usual. It is not a diagnosis and can have many causes, including poor sleep, stress, depression, medication effects, hormonal changes or physical illness.
Breadcrumbing - Giving occasional small signs of romantic or social interest-such as sporadic messages-without consistent effort or commitment. It is a relationship description, not a clinical diagnosis, and a single delayed reply is not enough to establish a pattern.
Burnout - In ICD-11, an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, involving exhaustion, distance or cynicism toward the job, and reduced professional effectiveness. It is not classified as a medical condition, although it deserves serious attention.
C
Catastrophising - A thinking habit in which the mind predicts the worst possible outcome and treats it as likely or unbearable. Example: “If I stumble over one answer, everyone will think I am incompetent.”
Circadian rhythm - The body’s roughly 24-hour timing system, which helps regulate sleep, alertness, hormones, appetite and other functions. Light exposure, routines, work schedules, travel and illness can shift this rhythm.
Clinical psychologist - A psychologist with advanced training in assessing and treating mental, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Training and prescribing rights differ by country; most clinical psychologists provide psychological assessment and therapy rather than medical treatment.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) - A structured talking therapy that examines links among thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations and behaviour. It helps people test unhelpful predictions and practise new responses. Good CBT is collaborative and tailored; it is not simply “thinking positively.”
Cognitive bias - A predictable shortcut or tendency in thinking that can shape how people notice, remember and interpret information. Biases are common features of human thinking, not proof that someone is foolish or dishonest.
Cognitive dissonance - Mental discomfort created by holding conflicting beliefs, or when behaviour conflicts with values. People may reduce the discomfort by changing their behaviour, revising a belief or finding a justification.
Compassion fatigue - Emotional and physical exhaustion associated with prolonged exposure to other people’s suffering, particularly in caring roles. The term overlaps with secondary traumatic stress and burnout, but they are not identical.
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) - An ICD-11 trauma-related disorder with the core features of PTSD plus persistent problems with emotion regulation, a deeply negative self-view and relationships. It is associated with prolonged or repeated trauma, but exposure alone does not establish the diagnosis.
Compulsion - A repetitive behaviour or mental act that a person feels driven to perform, often to reduce anxiety or prevent a feared event. In OCD, compulsions are excessive or not realistically connected to what they are meant to prevent.
Conditioning - Learning through association or consequences. In classical conditioning, one event comes to predict another; in operant conditioning, behaviour becomes more or less likely because of what follows it.
Confirmation bias - The tendency to look for, notice or remember information that supports an existing belief while giving less weight to evidence that challenges it.
Coping strategy - A thought or action used to manage stress, emotion or a difficult situation. Coping can be helpful, unhelpful or mixed depending on the context, timing and consequences.
Core belief - A deeply held assumption about oneself, other people or the world-for example, “I am unlovable” or “People cannot be trusted.” Core beliefs can guide attention and interpretation, sometimes without conscious awareness.
Counselling - A collaborative process in which a trained practitioner helps a person explore difficulties, feelings, choices and coping. The exact training and regulation of counsellors varies by country, so credentials and scope of practice matter.
Countertransference - The therapist’s emotional and behavioural responses to a client, shaped by the therapeutic relationship and the therapist’s own experiences. When recognised and managed carefully, these responses can provide useful clinical information.
Craving - A strong desire or urge to use a substance or engage in a behaviour. Cravings can feel intense but usually rise and fall; having a craving does not mean a person must act on it.
D
Defence mechanism - A largely automatic psychological process that protects a person from anxiety or emotional conflict. Examples include denial, projection and displacement. Defences can be adaptive or problematic depending on how rigidly and often they are used.
Delirium - A sudden and fluctuating disturbance in attention, awareness and thinking, usually caused by an underlying medical condition, medication or substance. Delirium is a medical emergency, especially when it appears abruptly in an older or medically unwell person.
Delusion - A firmly held false belief that is not explained by the person’s cultural or religious context and remains despite strong evidence to the contrary. Clinicians assess the belief sensitively and in context; an unusual or mistaken opinion is not automatically a delusion.
Dementia - An umbrella term for acquired decline in memory or other thinking abilities severe enough to interfere with daily independence. It has many causes, including Alzheimer disease. Dementia is not an inevitable part of normal ageing.
Denial - A defence mechanism in which a person does not fully recognise a painful reality or its significance. The term should be used cautiously: disagreement, uncertainty or needing time to process information is not necessarily denial.
Dependence - A state in which the body and/or behaviour has adapted to repeated substance use. Physical dependence can cause withdrawal when use stops; it can occur with appropriately prescribed medicines and is not, by itself, the same as addiction.
Depression - A mental disorder involving persistent depressed or irritable mood and/or loss of interest or pleasure, together with other changes such as low energy, altered sleep or appetite, guilt, poor concentration or thoughts of death. It is more than ordinary sadness.
Derealisation - A feeling that the surroundings are unreal, distant, dreamlike or strangely unfamiliar, even though the person usually knows this is a subjective experience. It can occur during severe anxiety, trauma-related states or dissociative conditions.
Diagnosis - A clinical conclusion that a recognised pattern of symptoms, duration, severity and impairment meets agreed criteria after appropriate assessment. A diagnosis is a useful description for care-not a complete explanation of a person or their identity.
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) - A structured therapy that combines acceptance and change strategies. It teaches mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal effectiveness, and is especially well supported for recurrent self-harm and borderline personality disorder.
Dissociation - A disruption in the usual integration of awareness, memory, identity, emotion, perception or bodily experience. It may feel like detachment, unreality or gaps in memory. Brief experiences can occur under stress; persistent or severe symptoms need assessment.
Distress tolerance - The ability to get through intense emotional discomfort without making the situation worse. It does not mean liking the distress or tolerating abuse; it means using safe, effective responses while the emotional wave passes.
Doomscrolling - Repeatedly consuming upsetting online news or posts even when it increases anxiety, anger or helplessness. It is not a diagnosis, but it can become a habit that disrupts sleep, mood and attention.
Dopamine detox - A popular phrase for temporarily reducing highly stimulating habits. The brain cannot be “detoxed” of dopamine, and ordinary pleasures do not empty a dopamine supply. A more accurate goal is to change cues, routines and compulsive patterns.
Dysregulation - Difficulty keeping emotions, arousal or behaviour within a manageable range. The term describes a process, not a diagnosis, and should be linked to the specific situation and pattern rather than used as a vague label.
E
Eating disorder - A mental disorder involving persistent disturbances in eating or eating-related behaviour that affect health or functioning. Examples include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder and avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder.
Ego - A word with several meanings. In everyday speech it often means self-importance. In psychoanalytic theory, the ego is the part of the mind that helps balance impulses, reality and moral demands. The intended meaning depends on context.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) - A medical treatment performed under general anaesthesia in which a controlled electrical stimulus produces a brief seizure. It can be highly effective for severe depression, catatonia and some other serious conditions. Memory effects and other risks require informed discussion.
EMDR - Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing: a structured psychotherapy for trauma-related symptoms that combines recalling aspects of a traumatic memory with guided bilateral stimulation, such as side-to-side eye movements. It should be delivered by an appropriately trained practitioner.
Emotion - A coordinated response involving subjective feeling, bodily changes, thoughts and action tendencies. Emotions provide information and prepare us to respond; even uncomfortable emotions are not automatically unhealthy.
Emotional abuse - A pattern of behaviour that undermines another person’s emotional safety or self-worth through humiliation, threats, intimidation, isolation, coercive control or persistent degradation. Ordinary conflict or one insensitive comment is not automatically a pattern of abuse.
Emotional intelligence - A broad concept involving the ability to recognise, understand and manage emotions in oneself and respond effectively to emotions in others. Models and measurement methods vary, so it should not be treated as a single fixed score of human worth.
Emotional regulation - The processes used to notice, influence and respond to emotions, such as naming a feeling, changing a situation, reframing a thought or choosing how to act. Regulation is not the same as suppressing every unpleasant emotion.
Emotional unavailability - An everyday description for difficulty engaging in emotional closeness, sharing feelings or responding consistently to another person’s emotional needs. It is not a diagnosis, and the reasons may include personality, culture, stress, fear, skill or relationship context.
Empath - A non-clinical identity used by some people who feel especially sensitive to other people’s emotions. Empathy is a real human capacity, but “empath” is not a diagnostic or scientifically standardised category.
Empathy - The capacity to understand or resonate with another person’s feelings or perspective. Empathy does not require agreeing with everything, accepting harmful behaviour or taking responsibility for another person’s emotions.
Evidence-based treatment - Care informed by the best available research, the practitioner’s expertise and the person’s needs, values, culture and circumstances. It is not a one-size-fits-all recipe.
Executive function - A set of mental skills used to plan, organise, start tasks, hold information in mind, control impulses and shift attention. These skills can be affected by development, ADHD, stress, sleep, depression, brain injury and other factors.
Exposure therapy - A therapy method that supports gradual, planned contact with feared situations, sensations, thoughts or memories while reducing avoidance and safety behaviours. It is collaborative and paced; it is not forcing someone into danger.
F
Family therapy - Therapy that works with family members or other important people to understand interaction patterns, improve communication and support change. It does not assume that the family caused the problem.
Fawn response - A popular trauma-related term for trying to gain safety by appeasing, pleasing or submitting to a perceived threat. It is a useful description for some experiences but is not a formal diagnosis or a universal response to trauma.
Fight–flight–freeze response - The body’s rapid survival response to perceived threat: confronting it, escaping it or becoming temporarily still or unable to act. These reactions are automatic; context determines whether they are protective or unhelpful.
Flashback - A sudden, vivid re-experiencing of a traumatic event in which memories, images, sensations or emotions feel as though the event is happening again. A flashback is more than simply remembering something unpleasant.
Flat affect - Very limited outward expression of emotion, such as little change in facial expression, voice or gesture. It may occur in several psychiatric or neurological conditions and does not necessarily mean the person feels no emotion.
Flow state - A state of deep absorption in a challenging but manageable activity, with focused attention, reduced self-consciousness and an altered sense of time. Flow is a psychological concept, not a diagnosis.
Functional impairment - Difficulty carrying out important daily roles or activities-such as self-care, relationships, study or work-because of symptoms or disability. Clinicians consider impairment alongside symptoms when judging whether a problem is clinically significant.
G
Gaming disorder - An ICD-11 disorder involving impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming and continuation despite negative consequences, with significant impairment. Heavy gaming alone does not establish the diagnosis; the pattern is usually evident for at least 12 months.
Gaslighting - A pattern of psychological manipulation that leads someone to doubt their memory, perception or judgement. It is more specific than lying, disagreement or having a different recollection, and it should not be used to label every conflict.
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) - Persistent and excessive worry about several areas of life that is difficult to control and accompanied by symptoms such as tension, restlessness, fatigue, poor concentration or disturbed sleep. The worry causes significant distress or impairment.
Ghosting - Abruptly ending communication without explanation, especially in dating or friendship. It can be painful, but it is a social behaviour rather than a mental-health diagnosis; safety concerns may sometimes explain why a person cuts off contact.
Grey rocking - A communication strategy of responding briefly, neutrally and without emotional engagement to reduce reinforcement of provocative behaviour. It is not therapy and may be unsafe in some abusive situations; individual safety planning comes first.
Grief - The emotional, cognitive, physical and social response to loss. Grief varies widely and does not move through fixed stages in a set order. Intense grief is not automatically a disorder, although persistent disabling symptoms may need professional assessment.
Grounding - A set of techniques for reconnecting with the present moment during overwhelming anxiety, dissociation or trauma reactions-for example, naming five things one can see or feeling both feet on the floor. Grounding is a coping tool, not a cure.
Group therapy - Psychotherapy delivered to several participants together by one or more trained therapists. Groups may offer skills, shared learning and interpersonal feedback while following agreed rules about safety and confidentiality.
H
Hallucination - A perception-like experience without a corresponding external stimulus, such as hearing a voice when no one is speaking. Hallucinations can have psychiatric, neurological, medical, substance-related, sleep-related or cultural explanations and require contextual assessment.
Harm reduction - Practical strategies that reduce the negative health and social consequences of substance use or other risky behaviour, whether or not the person is ready or able to stop completely. It combines respect, safety and evidence-based care.
Health anxiety - Persistent fear or preoccupation about having or developing a serious illness, often accompanied by repeated checking, reassurance seeking or avoidance. It is not the same as appropriately investigating a new or concerning symptom.
High-functioning - An informal label suggesting that someone appears to manage daily responsibilities despite significant symptoms. It is not a diagnosis and can hide suffering or support needs. Functioning also varies across tasks, settings and time.
Highly sensitive person (HSP) - A non-diagnostic term linked to the proposed trait of sensory-processing sensitivity-greater responsiveness to subtle or intense sensory and emotional input. It should not be treated as a medical label or proof of a particular disorder.
Hoarding disorder - Persistent difficulty discarding possessions, regardless of their value, because of a perceived need to save them and distress about letting them go. The resulting accumulation congests living areas or creates serious functional or safety problems.
Hoovering - A popular relationship term for attempts to pull someone back into contact after separation, sometimes through promises, crises, affection or guilt. It is not a diagnosis, and a person’s motive cannot be known from the label alone.
Hyperarousal - A state of increased bodily and emotional activation, such as being jumpy, tense, irritable, unable to sleep or easily startled. It can occur after trauma and in anxiety, substance-related or medical conditions.
Hyperfocus - Intense absorption in an activity, sometimes to the point of losing track of time or other needs. It is often discussed in ADHD and autism, but it is not by itself a diagnosis and can occur in many people.
Hypervigilance - Excessive scanning for possible danger, often accompanied by tension, startle responses or difficulty relaxing. It can develop after trauma or with anxiety, but the context and degree matter.
Hypochondriasis - An older term for persistent fear of serious illness. Modern classifications use more precise terms such as health anxiety, illness anxiety disorder or bodily distress/somatic symptom presentations. The older word is often experienced as dismissive.
Hypomania - A distinct period of elevated or irritable mood with increased energy and activity that is clearly different from the person’s usual state. It is less severe than mania and does not cause marked impairment, psychosis or the need for hospitalisation, but it is clinically important.
I
ICD-11 - The 11th Revision of the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases. It provides internationally agreed categories and guidance for health conditions, including mental, behavioural and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Identity - A person’s evolving sense of who they are, including values, roles, relationships, culture, history, body and aspirations. Identity is shaped over time and can contain several equally real parts.
Imposter phenomenon - Persistent doubt about one’s competence despite evidence of achievement, often with fear of being exposed as a fraud. “Imposter syndrome” is widely used, but it is not a formal psychiatric diagnosis.
Impulse control - The ability to pause, consider consequences and choose whether to act on an urge. Impulse control is influenced by development, emotion, sleep, substances, neurological factors and mental-health conditions.
Insight - A person’s awareness and understanding of their experiences, difficulties and possible need for help. Insight is not simply agreeing with the clinician; it can be partial, change over time and differ across aspects of a condition.
Intellectual disability - A developmental condition involving significant limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive skills, beginning during the developmental period. Assessment considers practical, social and conceptual functioning-not an IQ score alone.
Introversion - A personality tendency to prefer lower levels of social stimulation or to restore energy through quieter activities. Introversion is not shyness, social anxiety or antisocial personality disorder, although they can coexist.
Intrusive thought - An unwanted thought, image or urge that enters the mind. Intrusive thoughts are common and do not equal intention, character or risk. In OCD and some other conditions they become frequent, distressing and difficult to disengage from.
Isolation - Having little social contact or feeling disconnected from others. Isolation may be chosen or unwanted and can be a cause, consequence or warning sign of mental-health difficulties. Solitude, by contrast, can be restorative when freely chosen.
J
Journalling - Writing about thoughts, emotions, experiences or goals to support reflection and problem-solving. It helps some people but is not a substitute for needed treatment, and repeated unstructured writing can sometimes deepen rumination.
L
Learned helplessness - A pattern in which repeated experiences of having little control can lead a person to stop trying to change later situations, even when options become available. It is a psychological model, not a judgement about weakness.
Limerence - An intense, often involuntary preoccupation with another person, marked by longing for reciprocation, idealisation and strong emotional reactions to signs of acceptance or rejection. It is not a formal diagnosis and is not the same as mature, mutual love.
Locus of control - A person’s general expectation about whether outcomes are influenced mainly by their own actions (more internal) or by outside forces (more external). Both personal agency and real external constraints matter.
Loneliness - The painful feeling that one’s social relationships are fewer or less meaningful than desired. A person can feel lonely in a crowd and content while alone; loneliness is about perceived connection, not simply the number of contacts.
Love bombing - An intense display of attention, affection, gifts or promises early in or during a relationship. It can be sincere or manipulative; the concern is a pattern linked to pressure, control, rapid commitment or later withdrawal-not affection itself.
M
Mania - A sustained episode of abnormally elevated, expansive or irritable mood with markedly increased energy and activity, plus changes such as reduced need for sleep, rapid speech, racing thoughts, grandiosity or risky behaviour. It causes major impairment, may include psychosis and can require urgent care.
Masking - Concealing or compensating for traits, distress or support needs to fit social expectations-for example, consciously copying social behaviour. The term is often used in autism and ADHD. Masking can be effortful, but experiences vary greatly.
Meditation - A family of practices that train attention, awareness or compassion. Meditation can support well-being and some treatments, but it is not suitable in the same way for everyone and is not a replacement for professional care when that is needed.
Mental disorder - A clinically significant disturbance in thinking, emotional regulation or behaviour, usually associated with distress or impairment in important areas of life. A disorder is diagnosed from a pattern and context, not from one isolated feeling or behaviour.
Mental health - A state of mental well-being that helps people cope with life, use their abilities, learn, work and participate in their communities. Mental health exists on a continuum and is more than the absence of a mental disorder.
Mental status examination - A structured description of a person’s current presentation, including appearance, behaviour, speech, mood, affect, thinking, perception, cognition, insight and judgement. It is one part of assessment, not a complete diagnosis.
Mindfulness - Paying purposeful, non-judgemental attention to present-moment experience. It can be practised formally or in daily activities. Mindfulness means noticing thoughts and feelings, not emptying the mind or forcing calm.
Mood - A relatively sustained inner emotional state, such as sadness, irritability or elation. Mood usually lasts longer than a brief emotion and is distinguished from affect, which is the outward expression observed by others.
Mood stabiliser - A medicine used to treat or prevent episodes of mania and depression, particularly in bipolar disorder. The term includes medicines with different actions and risks, so monitoring and individual prescribing are important.
Moral injury - Deep distress after perpetrating, witnessing or being unable to prevent events that violate one’s moral beliefs, or after betrayal by a trusted authority in a high-stakes situation. It overlaps with but is not identical to PTSD and is not a formal diagnosis in major classifications.
Motivation - The processes that energise, direct and sustain action toward a goal. Motivation is influenced by needs, values, reward, confidence, habits, health and environment; it is not simply a fixed character trait.
Motivational interviewing - A collaborative counselling style that helps people explore mixed feelings about change and strengthen their own reasons and confidence for changing. It avoids arguing, shaming or forcing a decision.
N
Narcissism - A trait involving self-focus, need for admiration or limited empathy that exists on a spectrum. Occasional self-centred behaviour does not equal narcissistic personality disorder, and “narcissist” should not be used as a remote diagnosis or casual insult.
Narcissistic personality disorder - An enduring pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration and impaired empathy that begins by early adulthood and causes difficulties across contexts. Diagnosis requires a comprehensive professional assessment, not a social-media checklist.
Nervous breakdown - A non-medical phrase for a period when distress becomes overwhelming and everyday functioning deteriorates. It does not identify the cause; depression, anxiety, trauma, psychosis, substance use, sleep loss or medical illness may require assessment.
Neurodiversity - The idea that human brains and minds vary naturally, including differences associated with autism, ADHD, dyslexia and other forms of neurocognitive variation. It is a framework for understanding diversity, not a diagnosis.
Neuroplasticity - The nervous system’s ability to change its connections and functioning in response to learning, experience, injury and environment. Plasticity supports adaptation, but it does not mean every condition can be changed quickly or through willpower alone.
Neurotransmitter - A chemical messenger used by nerve cells to communicate. Mental states arise from complex brain-body-environment systems; simple claims that a single neurotransmitter fully explains happiness, depression or personality are misleading.
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) - Deliberate injury to one’s body without the intention to die, often used to manage overwhelming emotion or communicate distress. It still carries medical and suicide risk and deserves compassionate assessment and support.
O
Obsession - In OCD, a recurrent unwanted thought, image or urge that causes anxiety or distress and is difficult to dismiss. Everyday enthusiasm or strong interest is not the same as a clinical obsession.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) - A disorder involving obsessions and/or compulsions that are time-consuming or cause significant distress or impairment. OCD is not simply liking cleanliness, order or routines, and symptoms can centre on many themes beyond contamination.
Occupational therapist - A regulated health professional who helps people participate in meaningful daily activities-such as self-care, study, work, leisure and social life-by developing skills, adapting tasks or modifying environments.
Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) - A childhood disorder involving a persistent pattern of angry or irritable mood, argumentative or defiant behaviour and/or vindictiveness that exceeds what is expected for age and causes impairment. Assessment considers family, school, development, trauma and other conditions.
Overstimulation - Feeling overwhelmed by more sensory, social, emotional or informational input than one can comfortably process. It is not a diagnosis and may occur with stress, fatigue, autism, ADHD, anxiety, migraine or many other circumstances.
Overthinking - Repeatedly analysing a situation without reaching a useful decision or action. It may involve worry about the future or rumination about the past. The word describes a pattern, not a diagnosis.
P
Panic attack - A sudden surge of intense fear or discomfort that peaks quickly and may include a racing heart, breathlessness, dizziness, shaking, chest discomfort, unreality or fear of losing control or dying. Panic attacks can occur with several conditions and do not always mean panic disorder.
Panic disorder- Recurrent unexpected panic attacks followed by persistent worry about further attacks or significant behaviour change, such as avoidance. Medical and substance-related causes should be considered.
Paranoia - Intense, poorly supported suspicion that others intend harm, deception or persecution. In everyday speech the word is often used loosely for ordinary caution; clinically, context, conviction, evidence and impact are carefully assessed.
Parentification - A family pattern in which a child takes on developmentally inappropriate practical or emotional responsibilities normally carried by adults. Helping at home is not automatically parentification; the burden, role reversal and impact matter.
People-pleasing - A pattern of prioritising approval or other people’s needs while repeatedly neglecting one’s own limits, preferences or safety. Kindness and cooperation are not problems; concern arises when fear, resentment or loss of self accompanies the pattern.
Personality - Relatively enduring patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that make each person distinctive. Personality develops through temperament and experience and can show both stability and change across life.
Personality disorder - An enduring and inflexible pattern of inner experience and behaviour that differs markedly from cultural expectations and causes significant distress or impairment across situations. Diagnosis should be careful, contextual and never used as a moral judgement.
Phobia - A marked, persistent and disproportionate fear of a particular object or situation that leads to avoidance or intense distress. A strong dislike or mild nervousness is not necessarily a phobia.
Placebo effect - A real change in symptoms related to expectations, learning and the treatment context rather than the specific active ingredient being studied. It does not mean symptoms were imaginary or that a person deliberately produced them.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - A disorder that can follow an extremely threatening or horrific event, involving re-experiencing in the present, avoidance and a persistent sense of current threat, with significant impairment. Not everyone exposed to trauma develops PTSD.
Postnatal (postpartum) depression - A depressive episode arising during pregnancy or after childbirth, involving persistent low mood and/or loss of interest plus other symptoms. It is more severe and lasting than brief “baby blues” and can affect any parent; urgent help is needed if safety or psychosis is a concern.
Projection - A defence mechanism in which a person attributes their own unacceptable feelings, motives or impulses to someone else. The term should describe a carefully considered pattern, not be used to dismiss another person’s criticism.
Psychiatrist - A medical doctor who specialises in mental health. Psychiatrists assess biological, psychological and social factors; diagnose and treat mental disorders; prescribe medicines; and may provide psychotherapy or other medical treatments.
Psychiatry - The branch of medicine concerned with understanding, preventing, assessing and treating mental, behavioural and neurodevelopmental disorders, while considering physical health and the person’s social and cultural context.
Psychoeducation - Clear, collaborative information about a condition, treatment, warning signs, coping and recovery. It helps people and families make informed decisions and is most useful when tailored to their needs, language and culture.
Psychological assessment - A structured process of gathering information through interview, observation, records and, when appropriate, validated tests to understand a person’s symptoms, strengths, risks, functioning and context. It is broader than taking an online quiz.
Psychologist - A professional trained in the scientific study of mind and behaviour. Psychologists may work in clinical care, counselling, education, organisations or research. Qualifications, protected titles and prescribing rights vary by country.
Psychopath - A non-diagnostic label often used for a cluster of traits such as callousness, manipulation and lack of remorse. It is not an official diagnosis in ICD-11 or DSM-5-TR and should not be casually equated with violence or antisocial personality disorder.
Psychosis - A state involving impaired reality testing, commonly with delusions, hallucinations or markedly disorganised thinking or behaviour. Psychosis has many possible causes and does not automatically mean schizophrenia or violence. New or severe symptoms need prompt assessment.
Psychosomatic - Refers to the interaction of psychological and bodily processes. It does not mean “imaginary”: stress and emotion can influence genuine physical symptoms, and physical illness can affect mental health. Medical assessment remains important.
Psychotherapy - A planned, collaborative treatment using psychological methods to help with emotions, thoughts, behaviour, relationships or functioning. Different approaches have different evidence and training requirements; fit, safety and therapeutic relationship also matter.
Q
Quality of life - A person’s own evaluation of well-being and functioning across areas such as physical health, emotions, relationships, independence, environment and meaning. It is broader than symptom severity alone.
R
Racing thoughts - Thoughts that seem to move very quickly, jump between topics or feel difficult to slow. They can occur in mania, anxiety, ADHD, substance effects and severe stress, so the surrounding pattern is important.
Radical acceptance - A DBT skill of fully acknowledging present reality as it is, especially when it cannot immediately be changed. Acceptance does not mean approval, forgiveness, passivity or remaining in an unsafe situation.
Recovery - A personal process of building a meaningful, hopeful and self-directed life, with or without continuing symptoms. Recovery can include clinical improvement, social inclusion, purpose, relationships, rights and practical support.
Red flag - A warning sign that a situation or relationship may be unsafe, unhealthy or incompatible. One behaviour can be important, but meaning depends on pattern, severity and context; a social-media checklist cannot replace careful judgement or safety planning.
Reframing - Looking at a situation from a different, more balanced or useful perspective without denying the facts. Reframing is not forced positivity; it aims to widen the interpretation and possible responses.
Rejection sensitivity - A tendency to expect, notice and react strongly to possible rejection or criticism. “Rejection sensitive dysphoria” is widely discussed, especially with ADHD, but is not a formal stand-alone diagnosis in major classifications.
Relapse - The return or significant worsening of symptoms after a period of improvement. Relapse does not mean treatment or the person has failed; it signals a need to review triggers, supports and the care plan.
Resilience - The capacity to adapt and recover during or after adversity, supported by personal, relational, community and structural resources. Resilience does not mean being unaffected, coping alone or tolerating preventable harm.
Rumination - Repetitive, passive thinking about distress, causes or consequences without moving toward problem-solving. It often focuses on the past and can maintain depression and anxiety.
S
Schizophrenia - A serious mental disorder involving persistent disturbances in thinking, perception, emotional expression and functioning. Symptoms may include delusions, hallucinations, disorganisation and reduced motivation. It does not mean “split personality,” and most people with schizophrenia are not violent.
Self-care - Intentional actions that support physical and mental health, such as sleep, nutrition, movement, connection, rest, medication adherence or seeking help. Self-care is not only comfort or consumer products, and it cannot replace necessary social support or health care.
Self-compassion - Responding to one’s own pain or mistakes with kindness, recognition of shared humanity and balanced awareness. It is not self-pity, avoidance of responsibility or believing one is always right.
Self-esteem - A person’s overall evaluation of their own worth or adequacy. Healthy self-esteem can coexist with awareness of limitations and does not require feeling superior to others.
Self-harm - Intentional injury or poisoning of oneself, with or without suicidal intent. The term covers different behaviours and functions. Every episode deserves compassionate attention because medical and future suicide risk can be present.
Self-sabotage - An informal description for patterns that interfere with one’s own goals, often through avoidance, impulsivity or short-term coping. The label can sound blaming; it is usually more useful to identify the behaviour, trigger and immediate function.
Sensory overload - A state in which sensory input-such as noise, light, touch or movement-feels too intense or difficult to organise, leading to distress or shutdown. It can occur in autism, ADHD, anxiety, migraine and other contexts.
Serotonin - A neurotransmitter involved in many functions, including mood, sleep, appetite and digestion. Depression is not adequately explained as a simple “serotonin deficiency,” and psychiatric medicines have effects more complex than adding a happiness chemical.
Sleep hygiene - Habits and environmental conditions that support healthy sleep, such as a regular schedule, suitable light exposure, a quiet sleep space and limiting late caffeine. It can help, but persistent insomnia may need a fuller assessment and specific treatment.
Social anxiety disorder - Marked fear of being negatively judged, embarrassed or rejected in social or performance situations, leading to distress or avoidance. It is more than introversion or ordinary shyness.
Sociopath - A non-clinical label often used for antisocial or callous behaviour. It is not a formal diagnosis and is used inconsistently; clinicians use defined diagnoses and describe specific traits and behaviours instead.
Somatic symptom disorder - A disorder involving distressing physical symptoms together with excessive thoughts, anxiety or behaviour related to them. The symptoms are real; the diagnosis does not require them to be medically unexplained.
Split personality - A misleading phrase often confused with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia does not involve multiple personalities. Dissociative identity disorder is a different and uncommon condition involving disruption of identity and memory.
Splitting - A defence pattern in which people or situations are experienced in extreme all-good or all-bad terms, with difficulty holding mixed qualities at the same time. It can occur under stress and is not exclusive to any one diagnosis.
Stigma - Negative stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination directed toward people because of a characteristic or health condition. Mental-health stigma can delay help-seeking, reduce opportunities and worsen health.
Stonewalling - Withdrawing from or refusing to engage in a conversation, sometimes by going silent or leaving. It may be defensive, overwhelmed or controlling; the pattern and context matter. Taking an agreed pause and returning later is different.
Stress - The mental and physical response to demands or threats. Short-term stress can support action, while intense or prolonged stress can affect sleep, mood, concentration and physical health. Stress is not itself the same as an anxiety disorder.
Substance use disorder - A clinically significant pattern of substance use involving impaired control, increasing priority, risky use and/or physical features such as tolerance or withdrawal, with distress or impairment. Severity and terminology vary across diagnostic systems.
Suicidal ideation - Thoughts about ending one’s life, ranging from passive wishes not to wake up to active thoughts with intention or a plan. Any suicidal thinking deserves a calm, direct safety assessment; immediate danger requires urgent local emergency help.
T
Temperament - Early-appearing tendencies in emotional reactivity, activity and self-regulation. Temperament contributes to personality but does not determine destiny; relationships, culture, learning and life events also shape development.
Therapy - A broad word for treatment. In mental health it often means psychotherapy, but can also refer to occupational, family, creative or other therapies. The practitioner’s qualifications and the evidence for the approach should be clear.
Thought disorder - A disturbance in the organisation or expression of thinking, often noticed through speech that becomes difficult to follow, unusually tangential or incoherent. It requires clinical assessment and should not be confused with ordinary distraction or creative speech.
Toxic positivity - Pressure to stay positive or focus on gratitude in a way that dismisses genuine pain, risk or injustice. Hope can be helpful; the problem is using positivity to silence difficult but valid emotions.
Toxic relationship - A non-clinical phrase for a relationship with persistent patterns that seriously harm well-being, such as control, humiliation, fear or chronic instability. It is better to name the specific behaviours, especially when assessing abuse or safety.
Transference - Feelings, expectations or relationship patterns from earlier important relationships that become directed toward the therapist or another current person. Exploring transference can help reveal recurring interpersonal themes.
Trauma - An event, series of events or circumstances experienced as physically or emotionally harmful or life-threatening, with lasting adverse effects on functioning or well-being. Not every painful event causes a trauma disorder, and people respond differently.
Trauma bond - A strong attachment that can develop in an abusive relationship through cycles of harm, fear, relief and intermittent affection or reward. It does not mean two people bonded by sharing difficult experiences.
Trauma dumping - A potentially shaming internet phrase for sharing intense traumatic material without checking the listener’s readiness, boundaries or role. Open disclosure is not inherently wrong; consent, timing, support and the relationship context matter.
Trauma-informed care - An approach that recognises how trauma may affect people and services, prioritising safety, trust, choice, collaboration and empowerment while seeking to avoid re-traumatisation. It does not assume everyone has a trauma disorder.
Trichotillomania - A body-focused repetitive behaviour involving recurrent hair pulling that leads to hair loss, repeated attempts to stop and significant distress or impairment. It is not simply a bad habit.
Trigger - A cue that sets off a strong emotional, bodily or behavioural reaction because of learned associations, often related to trauma, anxiety or craving. In everyday speech it is sometimes used for anything irritating; clinically, the reaction and link matter.
U
Unconscious - Mental processes occurring outside current awareness that can still influence attention, emotion, memory and behaviour. Different psychological theories use the term in different ways.
Urge surfing - A mindfulness-based technique for noticing an urge as a temporary wave that rises, peaks and falls without automatically acting on it. It is used in work with cravings, compulsions and impulsive behaviours.
V
Validation - Communicating that another person’s feelings or perspective make sense in context. Validation does not mean agreeing with every interpretation, approving harmful behaviour or abandoning one’s own boundaries.
Vicarious trauma - Changes in worldview, emotion or sense of safety that can develop through repeated empathic exposure to other people’s trauma, particularly in helping professions. It overlaps with but is not identical to burnout or compassion fatigue.
Vulnerability - Openness to uncertainty, emotional exposure or the possibility of being hurt. Healthy vulnerability is selective and supported by safety and boundaries; it is not the same as disclosing everything to everyone.
W
Well-being - A broad state of functioning and quality of life that includes emotional, psychological, social and often physical dimensions. Well-being is not constant happiness and can coexist with symptoms, disability or difficult circumstances.
Window of tolerance - A trauma-informed model for the range of arousal in which a person can stay present and respond flexibly. Above it may be hyperarousal; below it may be shutdown or numbness. It is a useful metaphor, not a diagnosis or precise biological measurement.
Withdrawal - Physical and psychological symptoms that can occur when a substance or certain medicines are reduced or stopped after adaptation. Some withdrawal states can be dangerous, so medical guidance may be necessary.
Working memory - The limited mental workspace used to hold and manipulate information briefly-for example, remembering a number while completing the next step of a task. Stress, fatigue and several conditions can affect it.
Worry - Repeated thinking about possible future problems or threats. Some worry supports planning; excessive, hard-to-control worry can maintain anxiety and interfere with sleep, concentration and daily life.
X
Xenophobia - Fear, distrust or hostility toward people perceived as foreign or outsiders. It is a social attitude shaped by individual and group processes, not a psychiatric diagnosis.
Z
Zoning out - An everyday phrase for temporarily losing focus or feeling mentally absent. It may reflect ordinary mind-wandering, fatigue, stress, dissociation, attention difficulties or other causes; frequency, context and impairment determine whether assessment is needed.