#clinical psychology

• At random / Incoherently — A Latin phrase literally translated as 'from this one and from that one' or 'about this and about that'. In clinical psychology, neurology, and psychiatry, it describes a chaotic, incoherent speech with no logical connection between ideas, typical of patients experiencing delirium episodes, dementia, acute mental confusion, or severe intoxication with psychoactive substances.
• In anger / Prompted by rage — A Latin phrase translated as 'by an angry person' or 'under the impulse of rage'. In psychopathology, clinical psychology, and forensic psychiatry, it describes acts, statements, or assaults committed during an intense affective state, where extreme rage temporarily narrows the field of consciousness and reduces the patient's capacity to control impulses or evaluate consequences.
• Abandonment — The act of leaving, or permanently giving up on a person (child, partner), an asset, or an ongoing action. In clinical psychology and psychiatry, it is a central concept studied for its profound impact on emotional development, generating attachment traumas, severe anxiety, and persistent dysfunctional cognitive schemas.
• Abdication document — A literary noun form historically used as a synonym for 'abdicare', denoting the result or official document certifying the relinquishment of authority. In psychiatric semiology and forensic medicine evaluations, the term emphasized the formal act of behavioral relinquishment generated by severe emotional lability, external psychological pressure (blackmail, coercion), or a disabling cognitive deficit.
• Ailurophobe — A person who manifests an intense, irrational, persistent, and pathological fear of cats; pertaining to aelurophobia or specific to people who avoid visual or physical contact with felines. This avoidance behavior is triggered even at the sight of images or the sound of noises associated with cats.
• Aeroacrophobia — A specific anxiety disorder manifested by a pathological, extreme, and irrational fear of open spaces located at high altitudes, often combined with the fear of flying or falling. This compound phobia blends elements of acrophobia (fear of heights) and aerophobia (fear of air/flying), generating intense panic attacks and severe avoidance behaviors.
• Aerophobia — A pathological, intense, and irrational fear of air drafts, fresh air, or flying. In psychiatry, it is classified as a specific anxiety disorder; in neurology and infectious diseases, it represents a severe clinical symptom found in the terminal stage of rabies, where an air draft triggers painful muscle spasms.
• Agoraphobic — A person suffering from agoraphobia, characterized by a pathological, obsessive, and uncontrollable fear of open spaces, crowded public areas, or situations from which escape might be difficult or help unavailable during a panic attack; as an adjective, relating to or exhibiting agoraphobia.
• Agoraphobic — The feminine form of the term agorafob; designates a woman who suffers from agoraphobia, experiencing panic states and intense anxiety in open or public spaces, or, as an adjective, a manifestation or reaction marked by this pathological fear.
• Agoraphobia — A severe anxiety disorder characterized by an intense and persistent fear of open spaces, crowded public places, markets, or situations where escape might be difficult or embarrassing, or where help may not be available in the event of a panic attack. It frequently leads to severe avoidance behavior.
• Amenomania — A mild or specific form of manic manifestation, characterized by a permanent and unjustified state of good mood, exaggerated optimism, cheerful delirium, and an unrealistically positive view of the surrounding reality. From a clinical perspective, it represents a structural disorder of affectivity where the patient completely ignores negative aspects or dangers, building a mental refuge governed exclusively by euphoria.
• Amnesic — The feminine form of 'amnezic'; describes a female person, a clinical state, or a pharmacological reaction characterized by the total or partial loss of the ability to store, consolidate, or recall memories. In a structural neuropsychological sense, the amnestic manifestation can occur as a direct consequence of hippocampal lesions, intense emotional trauma, or as a temporary side effect of sedative substance administration.
• Amok — An acute psychopathological state of trance and blind rage, characterized by the sudden manifestation of an uncontrolled, destructive, and indiscriminate murderous behavior towards people around, usually followed by complete amnesia and extreme physical exhaustion. This culture-bound syndrome was originally described in Southeast Asian regions, but the term is used modernly to describe violent episodes of homicidal blind rage.
• Anideation — The total, temporary, or prolonged absence of the flow of ideas, thoughts, or mental representations; a pathological state manifested by the subject's inability to formulate reasoning or generate logical concepts. This structural phenomenon frequently occurs in advanced stages of neurodegenerative disorders, in states of profound stupor, catatonia, or as an extreme side effect of severe brain injuries.
• Anorectic female — A female individual suffering from anorexia, particularly anorexia nervosa, manifested by severe dietary restriction, a pathological phobia of gaining weight, and a deeply distorted perception of her own body weight. As an adjective, the term qualifies a restrictive energy manifestation or clinical behavior associated with drastic weight loss and secondary endocrine or metabolic dysfunctions.
• Anorexias — The structural plural form of the noun anorexia, designating multiple clinical cases, manifestations, or typologies of the pathological absence or loss of appetite. In a broad sense, the term covers the spectrum of eating disorders characterized by extreme caloric restrictions, whether neuro-psychiatric in nature (anorexia nervosa) or secondary to severe organic diseases or aggressive oncological treatments.
• Anorexic female — A female individual suffering from anorexia, manifested by a drastic reduction in food intake, intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted perception of her own body. As an adjective, it qualifies a clinical manifestation, a physical state, or a psychological behavior marked by the refusal of food and a sharp weight loss, dangerous for the body's metabolic and hormonal balance.
• Astasobasophobia — A rare and complex phobic disorder manifested by an intense, irrational, and pathological fear of standing up (astasia) and walking (basasia), frequently associated with the obsessive fear of losing balance and falling down, in the absolute absence of any organic motor or neurological lesion that would physically justify this inability.
• Asthenophobia — A phobic disorder characterized by an intense, irrational, and obsessive fear of weakness, physical exhaustion, or falling into a state of asthenia; the affected individual experiences severe anxiety toward the idea of losing vital energy, muscular strength, or control over their own body due to fatigue.
• Asthenomania — A rare mental disorder or obsessive preoccupation characterized by a person's deliberate simulation, exaggeration, or morbid focus on states of weakness, fatigue, and asthenia, often used as an unconscious or conscious mechanism to gain attention, sympathy, or social advantages.