Definitions

Definitions

Anticonvulsants: Drugs that relieve convulsions or seizures - but which have been shown to be effective treatments for Bipolar Disorder
Antenatal Depression: Symptoms of clinical depression with onset during pregnancy
Baby Blues: This refers to a short period following childbirth when many women experience mood swings, tearfulness, sleep disturbance and sometimes anxiety. It usually resolves without treatment within the first week after delivery and is not regarded as a clinical disorder
Bipolar Disorder: Where the individual has episodes of mania (or hypomania) alone or with depressive episodes at other times
Bipolar I Disorder: Where the individual has experienced episode(s) of mania, with or without a history of depressive disorders
Bipolar II Disorder: Where the individual has experienced episode(s) of both hypomania and depression (and has never experienced an episode of mania or had psychotic episodes)
Bipolar Depression: Depression in an individual with Bipolar Disorder. It is most commonly 'melancholic' or 'psychotic' depression in its expression
Clinical Depression: A term for depression that is severe and persistent enough to require clinical intervention
Comorbidity: The presence of illnesses or conditions that coexist with or are additional to the initial diagnosed illness
Cyclothymic: Used to describe either (i) mood swings that are part of a personality style ranging from very sociable and talkative to quiet and solitary; or (ii) a sub-type and milder expression of Bipolar Disorder
Delusions: Fixed, false, irrational or illogical beliefs.
Distal Stressors: Stressful situations that occurred many years before the onset of depression but which have disposed the individual to depressive episodes
Dual Action Antidepressants: A class of antidepressants that target two neurotransmitters (serotonin and noradrenalin) increasing their concentration in the brain. Examples include Duloxetine and Venlafaxine
ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy): A 'physical' treatment which can be very effective for certain mood conditions (e.g. psychotic depression, melancholic depression, mania) when other treatments have failed or have had significant side-effects. It is one of the most effective antidepressant treatments in Psychiatry but such an advantage needs to be balanced against its potential to effect memory in some individuals.
Hallucinations: Hearing, seeing or sensing things without there being a stimulus to cause them.
Hypomania: Comes from the Greek and means 'less than mania'. It describes a high that is less severe than a manic episode and without any psychotic features such as misinterpretation of events
Mania: A high mood that is of distinct severity and where the individual is commonly psychotic (that is, with delusions and/or hallucinations)
MAOIs: Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) - a class of drugs used to treat depression that irreversibly block the enzyme 'monoamine oxidase', slowing the breakdown of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. Examples are Phenelzine and Tranylcypromine.
Melancholia, Melancholic Depression: The quintessential 'biological' sub-type of depression; it has been variously described as: likely to emerge without any immediately preceding stressor; having certain clinical features (such as observable psychomotor disturbance) and having over-represented features (for example, non-reactive mood, loss of pleasure, mood worse in the morning); having genetic and biological causes; being unlikely to respond to placebo medication and being highly likely to respond to physical treatments.
Mixed Episode: Describes a mood state in which there are parallel experiences of both mania and depression
Mood: A personal description of how an individual feels at any one time
Mood Disorder: In psychiatry the term mood disorder refers to one of the following:
- depressive disorder (or depressive illness or clinical depression )
- mania
- bipolar disorder (or, in the more severe form, manic depressive disorder/illness or manic depression)
Mood Stabiliser: These are drugs that help control the fluctuations of mood that are typical in Bipolar Disorder
Non-melancholic Depression: The most common form of depression – it means a depressed mood state lasting more than 2 weeks and affecting functioning at home or at work. There is no psychomotor disturbance and no psychotic features
Perinatal: Throughout pregancy and up to one year postnatally
Personality: Can be defined as an individual’s temperament modified by life circumstances generally experienced in the early years
Postnatal Depression (PND): Refers to depression and/or anxiety with onset during the first year after childbirth. Symptoms of clinical depression occurring within one year after childbirth. There are PND subtypes that differ with respect to causes, nature and severity of symptoms, timing of onset, and treatment
Postnatal (Puerperal) Psychosis: A severe form of postnatal mood disorder that can occur after childbirth
Proximal Stressor: A stressful situation occurring immediately prior to a depressive episode that may have caused its onset
Psychomotor Disturbance: Means decreased movement, or increased or perturbed movement. Psychomotor disturbance has several elements:
- Cognitive processing difficulties, with slowed thoughts and impaired capacity to work or study
- An observable motor disorder (slowing and/or agitation of physical movements)
Psychosis: An impairment of mental functioning in which the individual loses touch with reality and usually experiences hallucinations and/or delusions
Psychotherapy: A non-physical treatment whereby the therapist adopts a particular structure (for example, analytic, interpersonal, cognitive, cognitive-behavioural) to address symptoms and/or personality problems experienced by an individual. It has a number of non-specific components (for example, empathy) that may be therapeutic in themselves
Psychotic Depression: A type of depression whose clinical features are similar to, although generally more severe than, those associated with melancholic depression, including observable psychomotor disturbance, with the added presence of psychotic symptoms (delusions and/or hallucinations)
Rapid Cycling Disorder: Four or more depressed or manic episodes per year
SNRI: Selective Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs) – a class of antidepressants targeting the neurotransmitter noradrenaline, increasing its transmission in the brain. Reboxetine is an example.
SSRI: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) – a class of antidepressant drugs that selectively target the neurotransmitter serotonin (a chemical that regulates mood), inhibiting its uptake or reabsorption, thus increasing the amount of serotonin able to be transmitted between neurones in the brain. Examples include Citalopram, Escitalopram, Fluoxetine, Fluvoxamine, Paroxetine, Sertraline.
Spontaneous Remission: Describes when an individual’s episode of depression (or mania) has seemingly resolved completely and without medical intervention
Tricyclic Antidepressants: First generation antidepressant drugs (emerged in the late 1950s) that have a three-ring nuclear structure and that act on multiple neurotransmitters in the brain. Examples include Amitriptyline, Clomipramine, Dothiepin, Doxepin, Imipramine, Nortriptyline, Trimipramine.