Glossary

Affective flattening: Having little emotion or inappropriate expression in certain situations.

Active listening: A way of listening in which interest is shown in what a person is saying and there is an understanding of their point of view.

Agitated: Feeling restless and anxious.

Alogia: Reduced speech and a disruption in thinking. Difficulty speaking with others; characterized by brief, empty replies.

Atypical antipsychotic: A class of drug developed and first used in the 1990s that can help control the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Avolition: Lack of motivation, drive, or initiative. Losing interest in everyday activities, such as bathing or getting dressed. Feeling disconnected from other people and not wanting to be around friends or family.

Bipolar disorder: A mood disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.

Caregivers: People who take care of a family member or a friend.

Catatonia: Catatonic schizophrenia includes extremes of behavior. At one extreme, a person is unable to speak, move, or respond. At the other end, a person has overexcited or hyperactive motion and involuntarily sounds or movements.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): Helps a person focus on his or her current problems and how to solve them.

Conventional antipsychotic: This class of drug has been used for over 50 years to help control the symptoms of schizophrenia.

Delusions: Strongly believing in ideas that are false; for example, believing that a light bulb is sending secret messages or that the FBI can read one's thoughts.

Depressive episodes: Times of feeling really down or sad, tired, and hopeless.

Disorganized behavior: Behaving in a way that seems unpredictable or silly to onlookers.

Disorganized speech: Ongoing, rambling speech that does not make any sense.

Hallucinations: Hearing, seeing, tasting, feeling, or smelling things that do not exist to anyone other than the person who experiences them. The most common hallucinations are those that affect hearing, such as hearing imaginary voices. A person with schizophrenia may be seen talking to imaginary people.

Healthcare professional: Someone who is professionally educated to treat people with a mental health condition and/or other diseases.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): Designed to provide protection for consumers of health insurance. Specific to mental health, HIPAA promotes the confidentiality of information being passed from one organization to another. Read more: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/.

Impulsive: Doing something without thinking about it first.

Long-acting antipsychotic injectable medication: A type of medication given by injection that is released slowly and steadily in the body, allowing the medicine to work for weeks at a time.

Manic episodes: Times of feeling extreme highs, elated or joyful feelings, racing thoughts or irritability.

Mixed episodes: Times of experiencing both the highs of manic episodes and the lows of depressive episodes nearly every day.

Motivation: A person's real reason for doing or saying something.

Negative symptoms: These are the symptoms of schizophrenia that are restrictions in the range and intensity of emotional expression.

Oral medication: A type of medication taken by mouth; comes in tablet, capsule (pill), and liquid forms.

Peer support: A group consisting of other individuals with schizophrenia, or who care for those with schizophrenia, who meet to socialize and/or receive informal support and services on an as-needed basis.

Personal hygiene (self-care): Attention to personal grooming, such as brushing or combing hair, bathing, and getting dressed.

Positive symptoms: These are the symptoms of schizophrenia that are an excess or distortion of normal functions.

Relapse: When the signs or symptoms of a condition return.

Schizoaffective disorder: Symptoms of both schizophrenia and a mood disorder at the same time.

Schizophrenia: A cognitive disorder. A complex, lifelong, but manageable mental illness that can affect a person's ability to think clearly, manage feelings, make decisions, and relate to others.

Self-care (personal hygiene): Attention to personal grooming, such as brushing or combing hair, bathing, and getting dressed.

Sensory overload: When too much is happening at once around a person, causing them to feel overwhelmed.

Treatment: Medical care for an illness or injury.