Read each term where it’s used
In Augment’s notes, a marked term shows its definition when you hover or tap it, and each page ends with the terms it introduces.
In Augment’s notes, a marked term shows its definition when you hover or tap it, and each page ends with the terms it introduces.
111 terms from Health and well-being, each defined in a sentence or two, with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it.
A pattern of compulsive use of a substance or engagement in an activity that continues despite harmful consequences, marked by craving, loss of control and often tolerance and withdrawal.
A reduced ability to feel pleasure or interest in activities a person used to enjoy; one of the two core symptoms of major depressive disorder.
A drug used to treat depression that alters neurotransmission, mainly by increasing the activity of serotonin, noradrenaline or both at the synapse.
A group of mental health disorders characterised by excessive, persistent fear or worry that is out of proportion to real danger and leads to avoidance, such as panic disorder and phobias.
A tendency to attend selectively to certain kinds of information, such as negative or threatening stimuli, so that they are noticed sooner or held in attention longer.
A person’s habitual way of explaining the causes of events; a depressive attributional style explains bad events as internal, stable and global.
A psychological treatment for depression that helps people schedule and carry out rewarding and meaningful activities, reducing avoidance and increasing contact with positive reinforcement.
A planned activity in cognitive behavioural therapy in which a client tests a negative prediction in real life, so that the belief can be checked against what actually happens.
A treatment of a mental health disorder that acts directly on the body, for example by changing neurotransmission with drugs or brain activity with electrical or magnetic stimulation.
A measure of body size calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres, used as an indirect measure of body fat in population research.
The process by which a person evaluates whether a situation is relevant and threatening (primary appraisal) and whether they have the resources to cope with it (secondary appraisal).
A structured, time-limited psychological treatment in which client and therapist work together to identify and change the unhelpful thoughts and behaviours that maintain a disorder.
A systematic error in reasoning, such as overgeneralisation or catastrophising, that leads a person to interpret events more negatively than the evidence justifies.
Beck’s model in which a dormant negative self-schema, activated by a matching stressful event, produces cognitive distortions and negative thoughts about the self, world and future that cause depression.
A technique in cognitive behavioural therapy in which a client identifies negative automatic thoughts, examines the evidence for and against them and replaces them with more balanced alternatives.
In Beck’s model, the pattern of negative thinking about the self, the world and the future that characterises depression.
The working relationship in cognitive behavioural therapy in which client and therapist act as a team, treating the client’s beliefs as hypotheses to be tested against evidence rather than as facts.
The use of a biological treatment, such as an antidepressant, together with a psychological treatment, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, for the same disorder.
The cognitive and behavioural efforts a person makes to manage a stressful situation and the emotions it causes, either by changing the problem (problem-focused) or by regulating the emotions (emotion-focused).
A treatment whose content, language, delivery or goals have been systematically changed to fit the culture of the people receiving it, while keeping its active ingredients.
A pattern of distress and behaviour recognised as an illness within a particular culture, with its own local name and explanation; DSM-5 calls these cultural concepts of distress.
A small signalling protein released by immune cells; pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α promote inflammation and can affect mood and behaviour.
The process of identifying a disorder by comparing a person’s symptoms, their duration and their effects with the criteria of a classification system such as DSM-5-TR or ICD-11.
The American Psychiatric Association’s classification of mental health disorders, now DSM-5-TR (2022), which defines each disorder by its symptoms, their duration and their effect on functioning.
Physical and psychological symptoms, such as dizziness, anxiety and sleep disturbance, that can occur when an antidepressant is reduced or stopped, especially suddenly.
The hypothesis that the symptoms of schizophrenia, especially hallucinations and delusions, are linked to excessive dopamine activity in certain pathways of the brain.
The use of a legal or illegal drug in a way that harms the user or others, or that is not medically intended, such as taking a prescription drug in larger doses than prescribed.
A mental health disorder involving persistent disturbance of eating and of how body weight and shape are experienced, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder.
A biological treatment in which a brief electrical current is passed through the brain of an anaesthetised patient to produce a controlled seizure; used mainly for severe or treatment-resistant depression.
Any influence on behaviour or mental health that comes from outside the person’s biology, such as life events, relationships, socioeconomic conditions, culture and physical surroundings.
The beliefs a person holds about an illness, including its name, cause, course, effects and appropriate treatment, which shape how they understand distress and what help they seek.
A behavioural treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder in which a person is exposed to situations that trigger obsessions and helped not to perform the compulsions that usually reduce the anxiety.
A behavioural treatment in which a person is repeatedly and safely confronted with a feared object, situation or memory, without escape or avoidance, until the fear response weakens.
A persuasive message that tries to change behaviour by arousing fear of the harmful consequences of not following its recommendation, such as graphic warnings on cigarette packets.
A list of feared situations, ranked by the person from least to most anxiety-provoking, which is worked through step by step in systematic desensitisation or graded exposure.
The rapid set of physiological changes, such as increased heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and blood glucose, that prepares an organism to confront or escape an immediate threat.
A payment, voucher or other reward made conditional on a health-related behaviour or outcome, such as biochemically verified abstinence from smoking.
Selye’s model of the body’s non-specific response to any prolonged stressor, in three stages: alarm, resistance and exhaustion, in which illness becomes more likely.
A clinician-rated scale, usually of 17 items scored after an interview, used to measure the severity of depression in treatment research; higher scores mean more severe depression.
A cognitive model proposing that health behaviour depends on perceived susceptibility to and severity of a health problem, the perceived benefits of and barriers to action, cues to action and self-efficacy.
A condition that harms physical health and is strongly influenced by behaviour and the environment, such as obesity, drug misuse or problematic social media use.
The process of enabling people and communities to increase control over and improve their health, through education, campaigns, and changes to policies and environments.
The process of looking for support for a health or mental health problem, from formal sources such as doctors or from informal sources such as family, religious leaders and traditional healers.
The tendency of people to form ties with others who are already similar to them, which can make friends look alike without any influence between them.
A cognitive theory proposing that people who explain negative events by stable, global causes become hopeless after negative life events, and that hopelessness leads to depression.
The slower stress pathway in which the hypothalamus releases CRH, the pituitary gland releases ACTH and the adrenal cortex releases cortisol, which keeps energy available during continuing stress.
A culturally shared way of expressing and communicating suffering, such as “thinking too much” or “nerves”, which other members of the culture recognise and respond to.
The number of new cases of a condition that develop in a population during a stated period, usually expressed as a rate per 100 or per 1,000 people per year.
The hypothesis that long-lasting activation of the immune system and raised pro-inflammatory cytokines contribute to the development of depression in some people.
Cognitive behavioural therapy delivered through structured online modules or an app, either with brief support from a therapist (guided) or entirely as self-help (unguided).
A structured, time-limited psychological treatment that treats depression by improving current relationships, focusing on grief, disputes, role transitions or social isolation.
A form of chronic work stress in which high demands are combined with low control over how and when the work is done, linked to a higher risk of coronary heart disease.
An anaesthetic drug that blocks NMDA glutamate receptors and, at low doses, can reduce depressive symptoms within hours in treatment-resistant depression, although the effect is short-lived.
A mental health disorder involving depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure for at least two weeks, with symptoms such as sleep and appetite changes, fatigue, worthlessness and poor concentration.
A state of psychological and emotional well-being in which a person can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and contribute to their community; more than the absence of a disorder.
A pattern of thoughts, emotions and behaviour that causes significant distress or impairment in daily functioning and meets agreed diagnostic criteria, such as those of DSM-5-TR or ICD-11.
A way of paying attention, on purpose and without judgement, to present-moment experience, including thoughts and feelings, which are noticed as passing events rather than facts.
A group treatment combining mindfulness meditation with elements of cognitive therapy, designed to prevent relapse in people who have recovered from recurrent depression.
The hypothesis that depression is caused by low levels or reduced activity of monoamine neurotransmitters, especially serotonin and noradrenaline, in the brain.
An antidepressant that blocks monoamine oxidase, the enzyme that breaks down serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine, so that more of these neurotransmitters is available for release.
Brief, spontaneous negative thoughts about the self, the world or the future that arise in everyday situations, feel believable and are rarely questioned.
An organised set of negative beliefs about the self, formed through early experience, that biases how self-relevant information is processed and creates vulnerability to depression.
A diagnosis of “weakness of the nerves”, with fatigue, headaches, poor concentration and poor sleep, widely used in China for distress often classed in the West as depression or anxiety.
A treatment for tobacco addiction that supplies nicotine through patches, gum, lozenges or sprays without tobacco smoke, reducing withdrawal and cravings while the person stops smoking.
A change to the way choices are presented (choice architecture) that steers people towards a particular option, such as a healthier food, without forbidding alternatives or significantly changing their cost.
The shift in a population’s diet and activity from traditional foods and active work towards processed, energy-dense foods, sugary drinks and sedentary lives, which accompanies economic development and urbanisation.
An excess of body fat that presents a risk to health; in adults it is usually operationalised as a body mass index of 30 kg/m² or more.
The sum of the surroundings, opportunities and conditions of life, such as food supply, marketing, transport and urban design, that promote weight gain in a population.
A mental health disorder involving unwanted, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviours or mental acts (compulsions) performed to reduce the anxiety they cause.
A form of modelling in which the model is a peer similar to the observer in age or status, used in interventions to change behaviours such as eating, smoking or studying.
An anxiety disorder involving an intense, irrational fear of a specific object or situation, such as heights or spiders, which the person avoids or endures with great distress.
A mental health disorder that can follow a traumatic event, involving intrusive memories, avoidance of reminders, negative changes in mood and thinking, and heightened arousal.
The proportion of a population that has a condition at a particular time (point prevalence) or at any time in their life (lifetime prevalence), usually given as a percentage.
Any strategy that aims to stop a health problem developing (primary prevention), to detect and act on it early (secondary) or to reduce its harm once established (tertiary).
A treatment of a mental health disorder that works by changing a person’s thoughts, emotions, behaviour or relationships through structured contact with a trained practitioner, rather than by acting directly on the body.
The study of the interactions between psychological processes, the nervous and endocrine systems and the immune system, including how stress can suppress immune function.
The return of the symptoms of a disorder after a period of improvement, during or soon after treatment, before the person has fully recovered.
The point at which a person’s symptoms have fallen below the threshold for the disorder, usually defined as a score below a cut-off on a rating scale.
A style of responding to distress by repeatedly and passively focusing on one’s symptoms and their possible causes and consequences, without acting to solve the problem.
The fast stress pathway in which the hypothalamus activates the sympathetic nervous system, which stimulates the adrenal medulla to release adrenaline and noradrenaline into the bloodstream.
A mental health disorder involving psychosis, such as hallucinations and delusions, together with disorganised thinking and reduced motivation and emotional expression.
An antidepressant that blocks the serotonin transporter on the presynaptic neuron, so that less serotonin is reabsorbed after release and more remains in the synaptic gap.
An antidepressant that blocks the reuptake of both serotonin and noradrenaline, so that more of each remains in the synaptic gap.
A person’s or family’s social and economic position relative to others, usually measured through income, education and occupation.
A questioning technique used in cognitive therapy in which the therapist asks open questions that lead clients to examine the evidence for their own beliefs, rather than telling them what to think.
The experience and expression of psychological distress mainly through bodily symptoms, such as fatigue, pain, poor sleep or dizziness.
A physiological and psychological response that occurs when a person perceives that the demands of a situation exceed their resources to cope with it.
Significant changes or threats in a person’s life, such as bereavement, divorce, job loss or assault, that demand adjustment and are associated with the onset of mental health disorders.
Any event, situation or demand, physical or psychological, that can trigger a stress response, such as a deadline, a bereavement or long-term caring for a sick relative.
A behavioural therapy for phobias in which a person learns relaxation and then works up a hierarchy of feared situations while relaxed, so that the fear response is replaced by calm.
The delivery of a treatment by people without specialist qualifications, such as trained lay counsellors or community health workers, under specialist supervision, to widen access where specialists are scarce.
A model in which attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control predict intention, and intention, together with perceived control, predicts behaviour.
The collaborative relationship between client and therapist, made up of agreement on the goals and tasks of therapy and the emotional bond between them.
A structured written log used in cognitive behavioural therapy to note a situation, the automatic thoughts and feelings it triggered, the evidence for and against the thoughts and a more balanced alternative.
Lazarus and Folkman’s model in which stress results from an interaction between person and environment, depending on the person’s appraisal of the demands of a situation and of their resources for coping.
A biological treatment in which a magnetic coil on the scalp induces electrical currents in a targeted area of the cortex; repeated daily sessions (rTMS) are used to treat depression.
A stage model of behaviour change in which people move through precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance, with relapse possible, and interventions are matched to the stage.
The extent to which a person follows a treatment as prescribed, such as taking medication at the right dose and for the recommended length of time.
Major depressive disorder that has not improved after at least two adequate courses of different antidepressant treatments.
An older class of antidepressant, named after its three-ring chemical structure, that blocks the reuptake of serotonin and noradrenaline and also acts on many other receptors, causing more side effects.
A characteristic or circumstance that does not cause a disorder on its own but increases the chance that a stressful event will lead to it, such as lacking a confiding relationship.
A person’s self-reported sense that their life is pleasant, satisfying and meaningful; subjective, but measurable reliably by self-report.
The proposal that the stresses and deprivations of low socioeconomic status cause mental health disorders.