Glossary

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by persistent and excessive worry about a number of different things. People with GAD may anticipate disaster and may be overly concerned about money, health, family, work, or other issues.

Separation Anxiety

Separation Anxiety is when someone is afraid of being separated from a particular person, persons, or even pet. While many people associate separation anxiety with children, adults can experience the condition as well.

Social Phobia

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized bysentiments of fear and anxiety in social situations, causing considerable distress and impaired ability to function in at least some aspects of daily life.

Panic Disorder

Panic Disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by reoccurring unexpected panic attacks. Panic attacksare sudden periods of intense fear that may include palpitations, sweating, shaking, shortness of breath, numbness, or a feeling that something terrible is going to happen.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder in which time people have recurring, unwantedthoughts, ideas or sensations (obsessions) that make them feel driven to do something repetitively(compulsions).

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition triggered by a terrifying event, causing flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety.

Acute Stress Disorder

Acute Stress Disorder is an intense, unpleasant, and dysfunctional reaction beginning shortly after an overwhelming traumatic event and lasting less than a month. If symptoms persist longer than a month, people are diagnosed as having Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), also known simply as depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year.

Persistent Depressive Disorder

Persistent Depressive Disorder, formerly known as dysthymia, is a form of chronic depression. Learn about its symptoms, causes, treatment, and more.

Child Specific

School Avoidance

School refusal is a child-motivated refusal to attend school or difficulty remaining in class for the full day. Child-motivated absenteeism occurs autonomously

Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD)

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is a type of behavior disorder. It is mostly diagnosed in childhood. Children with ODD are uncooperative, defiant, and hostile toward peers, parents, teachers, and other authority figures. They are more troubling to others than they are to themselves.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disorder marked by an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development.

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) is a childhood condition of extreme irritability, anger, and frequent, intense temper outbursts. DMDD symptoms go beyond a being a “moody” child—children with DMDD experience severe impairment that requires clinical attention.

LGBTQIA+

Transgender

Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from their sex assigned at birth.
Some transgender people who desire medical assistance to transition from one sex to another identify as
transsexual. Transgender, often shortened as trans, is also an umbrella term.

Non-Binary

Non-binary gender identity is just one term used to describe individuals who may experience a gender identity that is neither exclusively male or female or is in between or beyond both genders. 1 Non-binary
individuals may identify as gender fluid, agender (without gender), third gender, or something else
entirely.

Bisexual

Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females, or
to more than one sex or gender. It may also be defined as romantic or sexual attraction to people of any sex
or gender identity, which is also known as pansexuality.

Gay

Gay is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term was
originally used to mean “carefree”, “cheerful”, or “bright and showy”.

Lesbian

A lesbian is a homosexual woman. The word lesbian is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexuality or same-sex attraction.

Gender Fluid

Gender Fluidity is when gender identity shifts between masculine and feminine. “Orange Is the New Black”
actor Ruby Rose identifies as gender-fluid. Expert: Millennials are using the Internet as a guide to put a
name to their gender identity.

Gender Non-Conforming

Gender variance, or gender nonconformity, is behavior or gender expression by an individual that does not match masculine or feminine gender norms.

Pansexual

Pansexuality is sexual, romantic or emotional attraction towards people regardless of their sex or gender
identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not
determining factors in their romantic or sexual attraction to others.

Gender Identity

Gender Identity is the personal sense of one’s own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person’s
assigned sex at birth or can differ from it. Gender expression typically reflects a person’s gender
identity, but this is not always the case.

Sexual Orientation

Sexual Orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to
persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender.

Asexual

Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual
activity.

Trauma

Child Abuse

Child Abuse is when a parent or caregiver, whether through action or failing to act, causes injury, death, emotional harm or risk of serious harm to a child. There are many forms of child maltreatment, including neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation and emotional abuse.

Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse, also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation.

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without that person’s consent.

Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence (also named domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse in a domestic setting, such as in marriage or cohabitation.

Depersonalization

Depersonalization can consist of a detachment within the self, regarding one’s mind or body, or being a detached observer of oneself. Subjects feel they have changed and that the world has become vague, dreamlike, less real, lacking in significance or being outside reality while looking in.

Derealization

Derealization is an alteration in the perception or experience of the external world so that it seems unreal. Other symptoms include feeling as though one’s environment is lacking in spontaneity, emotional coloring, and depth.

Dissociation

Dissociation is a break in how your mind handles information. You may feel disconnected from your thoughts, feelings, memories, and surroundings. It can affect your sense of identity and your perception of time. The symptoms often go away on their own. It may take hours, days, or weeks.

Hypervigilance

Hypervigilance is a state of increased alertness. If you’re in a state of hypervigilance, you’re extremely sensitive to your surroundings. It can make you feel like you’re alert to any hidden dangers, whether from other people or the environment. Often, though, these dangers are not real

Flashback

A flashback, or involuntary recurrent memory, is a psychological phenomenon in which an individual has a sudden, usually powerful, re-experiencing of a past experience or elements of a past experience.

Grief/Loss

Grief is the response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, cultural, spiritual and philosophical dimensions.