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| Munchausen Syndrome |
| Munchausen syndrome is a form of psychological disorder known as a factitious disorder. Sufferers mimic real diseases, presenting a great problem to themselves and their healthcare professionals. |
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| General Anxiety Disorder |
| General anxiety disorder or generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by uncontrollable worry about everyday things. |
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| Clinical Depression |
| It is common to feel sad, discouraged, or "down" once in a while, and anyone in this state might say they are suffering from depression. But for some people, this mood persists. For depression, or any other condition, to be termed "clinical" it must reach criteria which are generally accepted by clinicians. When symptoms last two weeks or more, and are so severe that they interfere with daily living, one can be said to be suffering from clinical depression. Using DSM-IV-TR terminology, someone with a major depressive disorder can, by definition, be said to be suffering from clinical depression. |
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| Delusional Disorder |
| Delusional disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis denoting a mental illness that involves holding one or more non-bizarre delusions in the absence of any other significant psychopathology (signs or symptoms of mental illness). In particular a person with delusional disorder has never met any other criteria for schizophrenia and does not have any marked hallucinations, although tactile (touch) or olfactory (smell) hallucinations may be present if they are related to the theme of the delusion. |
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| Alcoholism |
| Alcoholism is an addictive dependency on alcohol characterised by craving (a strong need to drink); loss of control (being unable to stop); physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms; and tolerance (increasing difficulty of becoming drunk). |
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| Psychosis |
| Psychosis is a psychiatric classification for a mental state in which the perception of reality is distorted. Persons experiencing a psychotic episode may experience hallucinations (often auditory or visual hallucinations), hold paranoid or delusional beliefs, experience personality changes and exhibit disorganized thinking (see thought disorder). This is sometimes accompanied by features such as a lack of insight into the unusual or bizarre nature of their behavior, difficulties with social interaction and impairments in carrying out the activities of daily living. |
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| Alzheimer's Disease |
| Alzheimer's disease (AD) or senile dementia of Alzheimer's type is a neurodegenerative disease which results in a loss of mental functions due to the deterioration of brain tissue. Its exact etiology (cause) is still unknown, but environmental as well as genetic factors are thought to contribute (mutations in at least four genes predisposing to AD have been identified). |
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| Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) |
| Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most commonly diagnosed and controversial mental disorders among children, and is increasingly recognized as afflicting adults as well. Its symptoms include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. According to sources such as the CDC, the causes are currently unknown, and it is thought that the term covers a variety of related disorders. There is no single medical test that can accurately diagnose ADHD, though there are assessment tools. |
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| Autism |
| Autism refers to a spectrum of disorders, and lies somewhere under the umbrella of a greater encompassing spectrum, that of pervasive developmental disorders that involve the functioning of the brain. Autism as a term is most commonly used to refer to classical autism, towards which the texts of this page are biased. Autism once was believed to be a psychiatric disorder but is now known to be neurological, even though many of its characteristic traits appear psychological. |
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| Mental Retardation |
| Mental retardation (abbreviated as MR), is a term for a pattern of persistently slow learning of basic motor and language skills ("milestones") during childhood, and a significantly below-normal intellectual capacity as an adult. |
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