| Library / English Dictionary |
MENTAL DISORDER
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(psychiatry) a psychological disorder of thought or emotion; a more neutral term than mental illness
Synonyms:
disturbance; folie; mental disorder; mental disturbance; psychological disorder
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("mental disorder" is a kind of...):
disorder; upset (a physical condition in which there is a disturbance of normal functioning)
Domain category:
psychiatry; psychological medicine; psychopathology (the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mental disorder"):
Asperger's syndrome (a psychiatric disorder usually noted during early school years; characterized by impaired social relations and by repetitive patterns of behavior)
anxiety disorder (a cover term for a variety of mental disorders in which severe anxiety is a salient symptom)
psychosomatic disorder (a mental disorder that causes somatic symptoms)
aberration (a disorder in one's mental state)
conversion disorder; conversion hysteria; conversion reaction (a mental disorder characterized by the conversion of mental conflict into somatic forms (into paralysis or anesthesia having no apparent cause))
delirium (a usually brief state of excitement and mental confusion often accompanied by hallucinations)
delusional disorder (any mental disorder in which delusions play a significant role)
encopresis (involuntary defecation not attributable to physical defects or illness)
folie a deux (the simultaneous occurrence of symptoms of a mental disorder (as delusions) in two persons who are closely related (as siblings or man and wife))
personality disorder (inflexible and maladaptive patterns of behavior)
affective disorder; emotional disorder; emotional disturbance; major affective disorder (any mental disorder not caused by detectable organic abnormalities of the brain and in which a major disturbance of emotions is predominant)
schizothymia (resembling schizophrenia but remaining within the bounds of normality)
neurosis; neuroticism; psychoneurosis (a mental or personality disturbance not attributable to any known neurological or organic dysfunction)
dissociative disorder (dissociation so severe that the usually integrated functions of consciousness and perception of self break down)
Context examples:
The medical science that deals with the origin, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders in children.
(Child Psychiatry, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
Hallucinations can be caused by nervous system disease, certain drugs, or mental disorders.
(Hallucination, NCI Dictionary)
A person with dual diagnosis has both a mental disorder and an alcohol or drug problem.
(Dual Diagnosis, NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse)
An obsolete concept, historically used for childhood mental disorders thought to be a form of schizophrenia.
(Childhood Schizophrenia, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
An acquired organic mental disorder with loss of intellectual abilities of sufficient severity to interfere with social or occupational functioning.
(Dementia, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
A mental disorder caused by intrinsic disease which is characterized by persistent or recurrent irrational beliefs.
(Organic Delusional Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)
Lithium salts are used to treat certain mental disorders, especially bipolar (manic depressive) disorder.
(Lithium, NCI Dictionary)
Class of mental disorders milder than psychosis, including hysteria, fugue, obsession, phobia, etc.
(Neurosis, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)
A mental disorder characterized by inattention, easy distraction, careless mistakes and avoidance of tasks that require sustained mental focus.
(Attention Deficit Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)
Anorexia can be caused by cancer, AIDS, a mental disorder (i.e., anorexia nervosa), or other diseases.
(Anorexia, NCI Dictionary)
