Psychiatry Terms Part 1

In Psychiatry, there are terms you need to be familarized with before you start your psychiatric interview. The terms seem to be quite hard to differentiate. Thus here we try to cover these terms, with their definition, on the series of posts, so that it is easier to get grasp of it.

Lets start with the common one first. Most of the students find it harder to differentiate signs from symptoms. 

SIGN

·               Observation and objective finding

SYMPTOM

·               Subjective experience described by patient

SYNDROME

·               Group of signs and symptoms that make up a recognizable condition

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Now as we get these sorted, lets move to the areas/domains that are investigated in Psychiatry.

• Consciousness
         State of awareness
  
  DISTURBANCES OF SUGGESTIBILITY

  Compliant and uncritical response to an idea or influence

  
  

  Folie a deux/a trois – comunicated emotional illness between two/three                                            persons 

  
  

  Hypnosis – artificially induced modification of consciousness characterized                      by a heightened suggestibility 

  
  
  
  DISTURBANCES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
          Impairment in perception and sensorium
          Most often associated with brain pathology
  
  
  
  • Disorientation - disturbance of orientation in time, place, or person
  • Clouding of consciousness – incomplete clearmindedness with disturbances in perception and attitudes
  • Stupor – lack of reaction to an unawareness of surroundings
  • Coma – profound degree of unconsciousness
  • Somnolence – abnormal drowsiness
  
  
  DISTURBANCES OF ATTENTION
          Inability to focus on certain portions of an experience
          Inability to focus on one activity
          Inability to concentrate
  • Distractibility –attention is drawn to unimportant external stimuli
  • Hypervigilance – excessive attention and focus on all internal and external stimuli