Canadian Medical Guide > Psychiatry and Psychology > Mental Disorders Terms and Definitions

Mental Disorders

Medical Definition:	Psychiatric illness or diseases manifested by breakdowns in the adaptational process expressed primarily as abnormalities of thought, feeling, and behavior producing either distress or impairment of function.
Also Called:	Behavior Disorders,Diagnosis, Psychiatric

Mental Disorders Categories.

	Adjustment Disorders - Maladaptive reactions to identifiable psychosocial stressors occurring within a short time after onset of the stressor. They are manifested by either impairment in social or occupational functioning or by symptoms (depression, anxiety, etc.) that are in excess of a normal and expected reaction to the stressor.
	Anxiety Disorders - Disorders in which anxiety (persistent feelings of apprehension, tension, or uneasiness) is the predominant disturbance.
	Delirium, Dementia, Amnestic, Cognitive Disorders - Cognitive disorders including delirium, dementia, and other cognitive disorders. These may be the result of substance use, trauma, or other causes.
	Dissociative Disorders - Sudden temporary alterations in the normally integrative functions of consciousness.
	Eating Disorders - A group of disorders characterized by physiological and psychological disturbances in appetite or food intake.
	Factitious Disorders - Disorders characterized by physical or psychological symptoms that are not real, genuine, or natural.
	Impulse Control Disorders - Disorders whose essential features are the failure to resist an impulse, drive, or temptation to perform an act that is harmful to the individual or to others. Individuals experience an increased sense of tension prior to the act and pleasure, gratification or release of tension at the time of committing the act.
	Mental Disorders Diagnosed in Childhood - Those psychiatric disorders usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence. These disorders can also be first diagnosed during other life stages.
	Mood Disorders - Those disorders that have a disturbance in mood as their predominant feature.
	Neurotic Disorders - Disorders in which the symptoms are distressing to the individual and recognized by him or her as being unacceptable. Social relationships may be greatly affected but usually remain within acceptable limits. The disturbance is relatively enduring or recurrent without treatment.
	Personality Disorders - A major deviation from normal patterns of behavior.
	Schizophrenia and Disorders with Psychotic Features - Marked disorders of thought (delusions, hallucinations, or other thought disorder accompanied by disordered affect or behavior), and deterioration from a previous level of functioning.
	Sexual and Gender Disorders - Mental disorders related to sexual dysfunction, paraphillias, and gender identity disorders.
	Somatoform Disorders - Disorders having the presence of physical symptoms that suggest a general medical condition but that are not fully explained by a general medical condition, by the direct effects of a substance, or by another mental disorder. The symptoms must cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning. In contrast to FACTITIOUS DISORDERS and MALINGERING, the physical symptoms are not under voluntary control. (APA, DSM-IV)

Mental Disorders Medical Definitions and Terms

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