2. Terminologies related to mental illness
Agitation/Agitated
• Restless, repeated activity arising from a
person's anxiety or frustration. For example
the person may be unable to stand or sit still
and may be noticeably upset.
3. CONTD…
Delusion
• Delusions are psychotic symptoms of particular
types of mental illness, such as schizophrenia.
They are firmly held beliefs which are not held
by other members of the person's social group.
For example, they may believe they are being
spied upon, followed, poisoned.
4. CONTD…
Persecutory delusions: are often called paranoid.
The person is suspicious of people believes that
others are trying to harm him, trying to kill or
person him.
Delusions of grandeur: individuals with grandiose
delusion have irrational ideas regarding their own
worth, talent, knowledge or power.
5. CONTD…
Delusion of reference (ideas of reference):
Are concerned with idea that objects, events or
people have a personal significance for the
patient. For e.g. an article read in a newspaper is
believed to be directed specifically to himself or
false idea that people around talk about him
and make fun of him.
6. CONTD…
Nihilistic delusion:
The false belief that the world is going to end or
his body parts are missing etc.
Delusion of control:
Person believes that his actions, impulses or
thoughts are controlled by some external
agency.
7. CONTD…
Hallucination
• A psychotic symptom characterized by
distorted or imaginary sensations of sight,
hearing, smell, taste or touch that are
experienced by the person as if real (without
stimuli). For example, a person may see
something that is not there or hear the voice
of somebody who is not present.
8. CONTD…
Illusion:
The misinterpretation of real sensory stimulus.
Example on seeing a rope in the dark, the
person mistakes it for a snake or thinking that a
shadow a bear.
9. Terms on disorder of form of thought
• Fight of ideas: where in the person’s thoughts
and conversation move quickly from one topic
from another.
• Neologism: A word newly coined or an everyday
word used in a special way not readily
understood by others.
• Obsessions: are recurrent persistent thoughts,
impulses or image that enter the mind despite
the person’s efforts to exclude them.
10. CONTD…
Insight
• Refers to the level of understanding which a
person suffering from a mental illness has into
the nature of their illness, its causation and
the possible treatments that are available
11. CONTD…
Phobia
• A persistent and unreasonable fear of specific
places, events or objects which leads to
avoidance of that situation and significantly
impacts upon a person's life. For example, fear
of crowds, public places, public speaking,
insects or blood
12. CONTD…
Dementia
Significant loss of intellectual abilities such as
memory capacity, severe enough to interfere
with social or occupational functioning.
13. CONTD…
Depression
Depression is a mood disorder characterized by
intense feelings of sadness that persist beyond a
few weeks. It is associated with many physical
symptoms such as disturbance of sleep,
appetite, and concentration.
14. CONTD…
Mania
A symptom of bipolar disorder characterized by
exaggerated excitement, physical over activity,
and profuse and rapidly changing ideas
(scattered or tangential thoughts). A person in a
manic state feels an emotional high and generally
follows their impulses.
