Recently Modified
To describe an approach as “Kraepelinian” is to mean that it views mental illnesses as distinct biologically-driven neurological conditions that can be identified through their progression rather than just the current presentation of symptoms. This is in contrast to Freudian psychoanalysis, which located the source of symptoms within someone’s fluid, subconscious emotional conflicts that could…
Kleptomania is a mental health disorder ni which someone has a recurring urge to steal items without personal gain as a motivator. While it’s often considered a behavioral addiction along the lines of gambling or sex addictions, the DSM-5-TR technically categorizes it as an impulse-control disorder. The underlying mechanisms for kleptomania are almost all shared with other addictions. Much like…
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used for surgical procedures, treatment-resistant depression, and chronic pain. As an NMDA receptor antagonist, it blocks glutamate, the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain. With depression, this leads to the brain creating new pathways extremely quickly that can guide someone out of negative loops in their thoughts and feelings. It’s also used…
Intravenous (IV) translates literally into “within a vein.” It’s most often used in the context of IV injections, which deliver some substance directly into a person’s bloodstream through their veins for rapid circulation. As a medical procedure, it’s commonly done to administer medications that act rapidly without going through the digestive system’s metabolic processes. If a patient has lost…
In legal philosophy, particularly in the works of Hanna Pickard, “juridical image” can refer to the model of human behavior that a legal system uses in evaluating actions and interpreting laws. The common traditional juridical image found in most legal systems assumes that an individual is a discrete autonomous unit who makes calculated decisions, such that breaking the law is seen as a choice…
The term “justice-involved individual” (JII) became widespread across state agencies and healthcare fields as a replacement for “convict”, “criminal”, “felon” or “prisoner” which have negative connotations that imply some level of guilt or wrongdoing. There were earlier attempts to shift the language into person-first and system-focused terms like “person with a criminal record” or “formerly…
Kava is a beverage made from the root of the Piper methysticum plant and has traditionally been used in rituals and social gatherings across Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia in the South Pacific. It’s also sold as tea, extracts, and supplemental powders globally. Kava contains kavalactones, which are found in the resin of kava roots and are responsible for its psychoactive effects by serving…
“Junkie” is a derogatory slang term that refers to people with substance use disorders, typically in relation to narcotic substances that were historically called “junk.” In 1923, Nels Anderson published The Hobo: The Sociology of the Homeless Man in which he writes: “The Hop Head is an interesting type. He is usually in a pitiful condition, for he has small chance, living as he does, in the…
Isolation of affect is a psychological defense mechanism in which the cognitive and emotional components of an experience are isolated from each other so that an individual can cognitively engage with an idea without being conscious of their emotional associations with it. It’s considered to be the opposite of repression, where the emotional affect is impacting an individual but they don’t…
“Intervention” in a general medical context has been used to refer to any treatment used to address the natural course of a disease. In preventative medicine, interventions are generally categorized as: primary interventions that prevent a disease before it occurs, like a vaccine secondary interventions that use early detection to address a disease at it’s earliest stages tertiary interventions…
Intrusive thoughts refer to thoughts that interrupt a flow of thoughts. There are some wordier definitions that sound more technical, but that’s the essence of it. In clinical literature, it’s common to see intrusive thoughts referred to as “obsessions”, “mental intrusions”, or other close synonyms. Everyone has some level of intrusive thoughts that come to mind throughout their day and life, but…
The concept of intrinsic motivation refers to the tendency to perceive activities as their own reward rather than the means to an external reward. The term first entered scientific literature in 1950 in a paper titled “Learning and satiation of response in intrinsically motivated complex puzzle performance by monkeys.” The psychologist Harry Harlow observed how some monkeys would learn to solve…
Intramuscular (IM) injections are injections that aim to go deeper than intradermal (in the skin), intravenous (in the veins), and subcutaneous (fatty tissue under the skin) injections. Vaccines, hormones, steroids, and antibiotics are generally delivered at this depth which allows for rapid absorption of high quantities of a medication or drug. With injection drug use, generally the goal is to…
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) refers to instances of physical altercation between partners who are in or used to be in a romantic relationship. In the general population, 33% of women and 25% of men report being the victim of IPV or domestic violence. Within those seeking treatment for substance use disorders, 1 in 2 women report being the victim of IPV. With men, 30% report having engaged in…
Intertemporal bargaining is a behavioral economics concept that refers to a person making a strategic decision that alters the benefits or consequences of their future self. Eating a whole row of Double Stuf Oreos might seem very appealing in the short-term, and the impulse to act on that might cause you to decide that the sugar intake is a problem you’re willing to pass onto your future self.…
Intentionality is broadly the capacity to direct oneself towards something else. If that sounds vague, it’s because intentionality takes on a variety of meanings depending on the specific context. Philosophers of the mind discuss intentionality as a property that separates the physical world from constructs of the mind. From the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: In philosophy, intentionality…
Insomnia is a disorder that disrupts sleep, either by making it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. Short-term insomnia can be caused by stress, travel, substance use, or significant life events that lead to a lot of thoughts at night. Long-term insomnia can be related to chronic pain, mental health disorders like anxiety and depression, and the side effects of some medications. Insomnia and…
Psychopathy isn’t an official medical or clinical diagnosis, but it carries weight as a personality construct explored by researchers of various fields. In general, psychopathy refers to a lack of empathy, a lack of inhibition, and a charming external appearance that compensates for lacking genuine emotional reactions. Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is often used instead, since many of…
Cluster B personality traits makes it difficult for someone to control their emotions and maintain stable, healthy relationships. There are four personality disorders recognized by the DSM-5: Antisocial Personality Disorder, characterized by a pattern of disregard for the rights of others and a lack of empathy after manipulation Borderline Personality Disorder, involving intense mood swings…
Pages
A
“A disease like any other” is a common phrase used in mental health advocacy as an argument that mental health diagnoses should be treated the same as physical ailments. Marty Mann, one of the earlier female members of Alcoholics Anonymous, founded the National Committee for Education on Alcoholism to launch a public relations campaign that argued alcoholism is a “disease like any other” as well.…
Ableism is bias or discrimination against people who are labeled or self-identify as having a disability. Ableism is a complex concept because “disability” is a complex concept. Our norms surrounding the expectations we place on ourselves and others are constantly evolving. Decades ago, the expectation in American workplaces was that people would work 12 hours a day, every day of the week-…
Aboulia is a medical condition where someone has a severe lack of will or drive that impacts their ability to act, speak, or even make independent choices. Causes can include brain injuries or strokes, neurodegenerative diseases like frontotemporal dementia, or other anomalies like tumors. Addiction and aboulia have a bidirectional relationship. Both chronic substance use and aboulia are…
Abstinence refers to refraining from some kind of behavior or substance, as opposed to moderation. In the context of addiction, it means a policy of never using a substance or a process again, usually under the belief that any use will lead to unmanageable consequences. In Latin “abstinere” is formed from “ab” as “away from” and “tinere” as “to hold”. Together, it means “to hold away from.” The…
An Abstinence Violation Effect (AVE) refers to the negative emotions someone feels after they’ve been inconsistent with some rule, goal, or commitment. For instance, if you’re on a diet but you decide to cheat with one Oreo, you might feel that you already failed the diet so eating ten more is no big deal, or even inevitable. If you decide to hit the gym every day, and you skip one because you…
Abuse generally refers to using a position or tool in a way that it wasn’t intended to be used, often in the context of someone having power or influence that they use to harm someone else. Abuse is really difficult to discuss, and not just because no one likes to think of themselves as an abuser or having been abusive at some point. “Abuse” as a term has arguably suffered from a process called…
Accessibility refers to the ability for resources to be accessed. It might sound self-explanatory, but the nuances of accessibility can raise complex issues around design tradeoffs when managing resources. Some studies find that only 5% of websites comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) designed to wrap around standards derived from the American Disabilities Act. When it…
“Accidental poisoning” generally refers to the unintentional ingestion of a substance or amount of a substance that produces unwanted, and generally negative, outcomes. This is meant to encompass more than just accidentally consuming drugs like eating a spiked brownie thinking it was a standard brownie. It also includes chemicals, foods, plants, and venoms that can be harmful after unintentional…
Accountability in its everyday sense refers to the ability to render judgment based on someone’s actions. Holding the government accountable means allowing the voters to judge their actions for transparency and competence to decide if power should change hands. Holding a teenager accountable for curfew means judging their adherence to it with consequences for a lack of compliance. Accountability…
Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is a social theory that posits that social phenomena are the result of a network relationships between interacting entities rather than dividing the world into a material reality and a social reality. For instance, a conventional biomedical perspective of addiction might frame the problem as beginning with exposure to substances, escalating to chronic use that changes…
Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) is a short-term mental health condition that generally develops in the first month after experiencing or learning about a traumatic event. Symptoms include anxiety, intrusive thoughts, avoidance, and dissociative symptoms that interfere with the activities of daily life. Cleveland Clinic
“Adaptive coping” refers to the pattern of choosing methods to manage suffering or problems that are better than the alternatives. Someone who feels mild anxiety in social settings might have a drink to loosen up at a networking event, which could be considered adaptive in an environment where extroverted behavior is the expectation and drinking is the norm. If that same person continues drinking…
An adaptive treatment strategy (ATS) involves tuning treatment plans based on a patient’s history of responses to previous treatments. Chronic diseases and health conditions that require ongoing management and long-term coordination implicitly follow an ATS, but some patients may also have an explicitly specified ATS. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2739674/
Adderall is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that uses mixed amphetamine salts to increase dopamine and norepinephrine levels in the brain. It’s most commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy, usually through improving focus and impulse control. In the United States, adderall is classified as a Schedule II drug as it has high potential for…
From classical Latin, addicere meant roughly “to be given over” and was used in the context of someone being given over to a creditor as a slave to pay off their debts. It also was used in the context of divination to reveal the will of gods as a means of describing the strong devotion it took to perfom augury rituals. In its simplest uses, it could just mean to have a strong preference towards…
“One of the defining features of addiction is an impairment of self-control: addicts are people who (to all appearance) find it especially difficult to bring their behavior into line with their best judgments. Addicts often report a loss of control, and theorists have often used the language of loss of control to describe addiction.” - Neil Levy, Addiction and Self-Control: Perspectives from…
An “addictive personality” is an informal collection of traits that are considered to place someone at a high risk of developing an addiction. These might include a strong preference for novelty-seeking and risk-taking behaviors, high emotional sensitivity that can compel a desire for immediate relief, or alignment with high-stress roles in professional and personal lives. It should be noted that…
Adenosine is one of the four components of RNA and forms adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as the main source of energy in human cells. It directly interacts with dopamine pathways and reward circuits in our brains, which can be disrupted through chronic substance use. Adenosine can function as a kind of “brake” for excessive dopamine signaling, so if it depletes in the course of a dopamine surge from…
Adjustment disorders refer to a pattern of atypical strong reactions to changes or events that usually involve intense stress. Someone might find that they begin to feel depressed or act unusually reckless. Separation anxiety is one way that adjustment disorders can manifest, particularly in children. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/adjustment-disorders/symptoms-causes/syc-20355224…
“Adolescence” refers to a transitional stage of development between childhood and adulthood, suggesting that a process of “maturing” has started. The World Health Organization formally defines the age range for adolescence as between 10 to 19 years old, but studies show that the brain continues significant development that impacts independence and judgment into the 20s. The stage of adolescence…
The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study is a longitudinal project tracking brain development and health in children throughout the United States. The ABCD Study has identified biomarkers associated with a genetic vulnerability to developing a substance use disorder (SUD).
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are events or situations experienced by minors that could potentially have caused trauma or other lingering effects that impact one’s health and wellbeing. The 10 core types of ACEs currently used are physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, intimate partner violence, household substance misuse, household mental…
A mixture of either liquid or solid particles suspended in a gas. Many substances are consumed through aerosols, such as e-cigarettes and cannabis, but also traditional medications like some metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) used for asthma. Compared to digestion or other forms of consumption, aerosolized delivery of a substance goes to the bloodstream faster through the lungs. The specifics of the…
In the context of psychology, “affect” refers to the observable external expressions of someone’s internal emotional and mental state. That can mean facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, etc. Types of affects used in the Mental Status Examination (MSE) for clinical purposes include: Broad/Normal Affect Restricted/Constricted Affect Blunted Affect Flat Affect Labile Affect…
“Affective world” (also referred to as “affective landscape”, “affective environment”, and “Umwelt”) describes the subjective emotional filter through which every piece of reality is interpreted. For instance, “I am safe” might be a subconscious baseline in an affective world in which trauma is absent or managed well, whereas “I am under constant danger” might be the baseline for someone who has…
Ageism refers to prejudices or biases against older adults that can lead to discrimination. Unlike most other prejudices around immutable characteristics, all healthy adults eventually experience some degree of ageism over time. Ageism can be a barrier to accurate diagnoses in older adults, since some of the symptoms of chronic substance use can align with stereotypical expectations for older…
“Agency” refers to the capacity to act. In everyday terms, we might use agency to describe an individual’s autonomy. To imprison someone is to deprive them of the agency to freely move and participate in society. As children grow, they feel a stronger sense of agency over the environment around them through both experience and brain development. Medical euthanasia gives people with terminal…
“Agitation” in everyday use refers to a state of restlessness, tension, and nervousness or excitement. However, the term has clinical significance as well that can feel much stronger than the casual use of it you might be more familiar with. A 2024 paper posits that “Agitated individuals can be dangerous to themselves and others, making agitation an emergency. Acute presentations of agitation can…
An agonist is a molecule that mimics the behavior of a bodily compound as it binds to cell receptors and triggers a biological response. A full agonist produces as much response as possible from the cell. A partial agonist produces a weaker response. An inverse agonist produces the opposite response of a regular agonist once it binds to the same receptors. A co-agonist activates the receptors in…
“American Indians and Alaska Natives” (AIAN) is a demographic category defined by U.S. federal government standards as ” having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.” In 1977, the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) adopted the Standards for Maintaining,…
Akathisia refers to a severe restlessness that produces an uncontrollable urge to move around, such as pacing, rocking, fidgeting, or constant shifting. Within substance use disorders, it can be both a risk factor and a complication of withdrawal. Medications that block dopamine receptors like antipsychotics or alter serotonin levels like SSRIs can trigger akathisia. It’s also possible for…
Akrasia is sometimes translated as a lack of self-control, but it specifically is used in a situation where one intentionally acts against their own judgment. In active addiction, for example, someone may have complete understanding of all the consequences of using a substance again and have a sincere desire not to, but a craving might be so overwhelming that they give in. Those like Socrates via…
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs (ATOD) was a designation that emerged in the 1980s to capture emerging trends in neuroscientific studies that showed alcohol, nicotine, and other substances shared biological mechanisms that impacted the brain’s reward system. In 1985, the American Public Health Association (APHA) officially created an Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs Section that repeated terms…
Alcoholism refers to the compulsive and habitual consumption of alcohol in spite of worsening consequences, health or social. The history of terms used to describe compulsive and habitual substance use are as varied as presentations of substance use disorders themselves. “Alcoholism” and “alcoholic” have a lot of baggage that produces a lot of stigma, though some groups, particularly Alcoholics…
Alexithymia literally translates from Greek as “a lack of words for emotions,” coined in 1973 by the Greek-American psychiatrist Peter Sifneos. A similar description of a phenomenon had been created by earlier French clinical psychoanalysts like Pierre Marty who noticed some patients presented with physical illnesses but couldn’t articulate their internal emotional reactions to it, instead…
“Alignment” as a concept has wide applicability in psychology, self-help, spirituality and religion, and recovery circles. In general, it refers to bringing different components of an overall system into coordinated functionality. Some examples include alignment of mind-body-soul, of internal values with external behaviors, and of oneself with one’s environment. One of the earliest concepts of…
Allostasis is the active process through which the body anticipates changes and adjusts itself in an effort to maintain stability. As the body undergoes perceived changes in its environment, the brain constantly adjusts hormones, neurotransmitters, and signals throughout the nervous system. For instance, when exercising or physically working, the body raises its blood pressure to ensure it can…
“Allostatic load” refers to the cumulative damage the body experiences as a result of chronic stress, often measured by blood pressure, cortisol levels, cholesterol, blood sugar, and inflammation. These can manifest in everyday life as increased symptoms of anxiety or depression, higher risk of heart disease and diabetes, and persistent fatigue. Substance use disorders come with intense…
Ambivalence refers to the state of holding mixed feelings or thoughts, though it is often incorrectly used to mean “indifferent” rather than “conflicted.” For instance, one might really love their family but also experience a lot of stress talking to them, which means that the idea of interacting with them can feel conflicting. Another common example is wanting to quit a job that feels unbearable…
Amnesia is a loss of memory or information connected to physical or psychological trauma. Contrary to stereotypical media portrayals of amnesia, it is not associated with a huge change in personality, identity, or intelligence. Amnesia tends to be categorized as either retrograde amnesia, meaning memory loss before the date of a traumatic event, or anterograde amnesia, meaning an inability to…
Analgesics are compounds that relieve the experience of pain while maintaining consciousness. Anesthetics cause the loss of consciousness, so while anesthetics are routinely used in surgery, analgesics are used to address pain in a more ordinary daily context. Colloquially, analgesics are referred to as “painkillers,” and they can come in the form of opioids, NSAIDs, and acetaminophen so they…
Anhedonia is the state of being unable to experience happiness or joy. This is in sometimes conflated with alexithymia, which is the inability to articulate the emotions someone might be experiencing. Someone with alexithymia might physically feel a fast heartbeat but not be aware if it’s fear or excitement. Someone with anhedonia doesn’t feel reward or pleasure when engaging with activities that…
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder in which someone restricts their consumption of sustenance leading to a low enough body weight that health issues can arise. This can be a result of an extreme fear of gaining weight, often fueled by body dysmorphia in which someone can persistently feel overweight or in possession of too much fat even while presenting as skinny or seeing metrics…
Answerability in philosophical discourse refers to the responsibility an agent has in providing rational justifications for their actions. For instance, an animal can’t articulate a reason for its actions, so even though we can attribute actions to it and deliver consequences as a form of accountability to learn from, so it might not make sense to assign moral responsibility to it. Similarly, a…
Antagonists are substances that block or reduce the body’s biological response by binding to cell receptors to stop other chemicals from binding to it, applicable to both natural chemicals produced by the body as well as external chemicals called agonists. In some cases, antagonists can displace chemicals already in the body to prevent ongoing reactions. Beta-blockers are a form of antagonists…
The anterior cingulate cortext (ACC) is a part of the brain involved in decision-making, reward anticipation, and impulse control, all of which factor into substance use disorders. After chronic substance use, the gray matter involved in detecting harmful decisions can atrophy while the regions that process negative emotions can become hyperactive. The combination leads to difficulty in…
Antidepressants are a class of medications that target the production of monoamine neurotransmitters like serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine which are thought to be associated with depression and anxiety. The old biological theory of depression posits that an imbalance between these is responsible for depression, and this is still the narrative commonly found in the public consciousness…
“Antisocial” in the context of psychology and psychiatry refers to a pattern of disregard for the rights and wellbeing of others. While it might be used casually to refer to introverted dispositions or self-isolating behavior, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders lays out specific criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder that manifest before the age of 15 outside of…
“Antitoxic” refers to compounds and processes that act to neutralize something identified as toxic. In the early 1900s, physicians like George Pettey and Ernest Bishop argued that chronic substance use should be studied as: “A disease, a toxemia, of drug, auto- and intestinal origin, the management and treatment of which belong to the field of internal medicine and not to neurology. The vital and…
The American Psychological Association defines anxiety as “an emotion characterized by apprehension and somatic symptoms of tension in which an individual anticipates impending danger, catastrophe, or misfortune. The body often mobilizes itself to meet the perceived threat: Muscles become tense, breathing is faster, and the heart beats more rapidly.” When used as a casual shorthand, anxiety is…
Anxious attachment is a type of attachment style in developmental and relational psychology that’s characterized by deep fears of rejection or abandonment. This can result in seeking constant validation or reassurance in the desire for close intimacy, observed through overthinking, people-pleasing, low self-esteem, and “clingy” behaviors. Anxious attachment styles are often thought to develop out…
“Apatheia” is a term that originates from ancient Greek Stoic philosophy in which one’s state of mind is undisturbed by passionate temptations. While the current term “apathy” seems derived from “apatheia”, “apathy” has a connotation centered around negative indifference while “apatheia” is closer to stability and composure.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a discipline that studies the way behaviors are learned and reinforced by one’s environment, especially as a form of therapy. It’s commonly used with developmental disorders or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as an evidence-backed modality that involves positive reinforcement to reward desired behaviors while reducing undesirable ones. A core model for ABA is the…
An armchair expert is someone who has no training or experience in a particular subject but provides commentary or critique as if one does. It’s why I try to emphasize that I have no inherent qualification that makes me better than anyone else at interpreting the evidence I look like, and I characterize my work as a series of amateur and opinionated literature surveys.
An assay refers to a laboratory test used to measure the presence of some target, such as a drug, protein, or cell. Qualitative assays are generally binary, reporting either the presence or absence of a target. Quantitative assays measure the relative concentration or absolute amount of a target. In the context of addiction, assays are used as tests to detect specific drugs or their metabolites…
Assertive communication refers to expressing yourself clearly without passively downplaying your boundaries or aggressively imposing your needs on others.
Attachment theory refers to a framework of understanding the way our development influences our attachments within relationships. While the conventional formulation of attachment theory tends to separate styles into secure, anxious, avoidant, and anxious-avoidant with a strong emphasis on childhood development, modern researchers tend to see anxiety and avoidance as continuous spectrums subject…
Attapulgite is a magnesium-aluminum silicate clay mineral that’s often used as to treat diarrhea and stomach distress. It binds to bacteria and toxins in the digestive tract to harden loose stool and soothe gastrointestinal linings. It can also be found in some industrial drilling sites as a thickening agent and litter boxes for its high liquid absorption. For a while, Donnagel was one of the…
“Attention” is one of those terms that suffers from being used so often that it has numerous definitions put forward by different institutions. From Lindsay, 2020: “Attention is the important ability to flexibly control limited computational resources. It has been studies in conjunction with many other topics in neuroscience and psychology including awareness, vigilance, saliency, executive…
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is widely defined as a neurodevelopment disorder that impacts executive function and makes it difficult to sustain attention, regulate emotions, and manage impulsivity. In most cases, ADHD is genetic with a heritability rate of 80%, thought it has sometimes been observed to occur in adults who experience traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Diagnosing…
With addiction, the debate around attributability centers on whether chronic substance use as a disease impairs judgment enough for addictive behaviors to no longer be attributable to someone’s core character, comparable to a brain injury or dementia. Most with a substance use disorder genuinely want to quit and live a sober life, but they struggle with cravings and withdrawals intensely enough…
Avoidance in a psychological context is a coping mechanism where someone either acts or fails to act in a way that evades an unwanted experience. In the short-term, this serves as a coping mechanism that provides immediate relief in response to a distressing encounter, but in the long-term, this can end up reinforcing avoidance as a reaction instead of addressing the roots of triggers.
Avoidant attachment refers to a style of attachment that’s characterized by hyper-independence when encountering stress or the prospect of emotional intimacy. Historically, under conventional attachment theory frameworks, the avoidant attachment style is thought to emerge from a pattern of neglect or rejection from caregivers in response to a child’s needs, leading the child to believe they must…
B
Barbitutares are a class of nervous system depressants that have a sedative-hypnotic effect inducing relaxation and drowsiness. They were commonly used in the past to address anxiety disorders and insomnia but have since been replaced with safer alternatives like benzodiazepines. Barbiturates are considered to have a high risk of addiction, severe withdrawal if stopped suddenly, and overdose.…
“Bath salts” actually have nothing to do with baths. They refer to a class of stimulants called synthetic cathinones derived from the khat shrub that grows in East Africa and southern Arabia. Manfacturers that were intending to evade drug enforcement laws disingenuously marketed their products as “bath salts” so that they could argue they were never intended for consumption. Some cathinones have…
Bed sores are injuries to the skin and underlying tissue that result from being stationary in a single position for a long period of time. The constant weight applied to a single area can constrict blood flow, and certain postures can lead to skin and bones being slid in opposite directions. In extreme cases, it can lead to deep sores and wounds that expose muscle, tendons, and/or bone. This can…
“Bedside manner” refers to empathetic communication skills that clinicians exercise to build trust with patients. Historically, the stigma around substance use disorders has led to an assumption that punitive measures must be taken to correct someone’s behavior. Recent studies show that labeling substance use as “substance abuse” is still associated with less empathy and more punitive attitudes…
Behavioral Activation (BA) is an approach to addressing depression that considers it a response to an environment that lacks positive reinforcement through meaningful rewards and remedies it by building a plan to engage in behaviors that would naturally lift one’s mood. Under a radical behaviorist perspective, depression is the result of an initial drop in mood and motivation that spirals into a…
“Behavioral economics” is a field that incorporates psychology into economic theories and models instead of assuming humans are purely rational actors. It accepts as a constraint the fact that humans have limited time, information, and resources to make decisions, so they often settle for what seems “good enough” rather than finding the optimal choice. Even when we try to optimize, we might…
Behavioral neurology is a field concerned with the impacts of physical brain changes on memory, thinking patterns, emotional processing, and external behavior. Dementias like Alzheimer’s disease are among the most common conditions addressed by behavioral neurologists, though they deal with all kinds of incidents ranging from strokes to traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) to diseases responsible for…
“Behaviorism” within psychological circles generally refers to an approach to understanding humans through an examination of their behavioral outcomes. For empiricists who embrace behaviorist perspectives, assessing a state of mind is impossible except for the end results that can be empirically observed. If someone says they hate ice cream but eats it every day, there is nothing we can conclude…
“Bender” is colloquially used to refer to an extended period of substance use in which someone is almost perpetually under the influence. For chronic substance users, benders can last from days to weeks to months.
Benzedrine was the brand name for the first commercially successful synthetic stimulant in the world. In 1927, Gordon Alles injected himself with a synthetic amphetamine in the course of investigating an alternative to ephedrine to address asthma. He published clinical results in 1929 and was granted a U.S. patent for oral amphetamine salts by 1932. The same year, the pharmaceutical company…
Benzodiazepines (benzos) are a class of sedative-hypnotic central nervous system (CNS) depressants. Depending on the variation and its half-life, it might be used for medical sedation, insomnia, panic attacks, chronic anxiety, seizure, and alcohol detoxification. They work by attaching to GABA receptors and make them more sensitive, with GABA as the brain’s primary calming neurotransmitter.…
Betel nuts are seeds of a palm tree species called Areca catechu that are chewed as a recreational stimulant. It’s the fourth most commonly used substance associated with addiction in the world after alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine. That might be surprising to many in cultures driven by Western trends, but it’s used with relative regularity in South Asian nations and the Pacific islands,…
The “bigotry of low expectations” is an oft-repeated phrase that argues that having different expectations for minority groups who have been historically discriminated against is itself a form of discrimination that assumes they are bound to perform worse than their peers. It’s heavily politically charged, with many arguing that it’s used in bad faith against diversity initiatives that factor the…
Binge drinking is used casually to refer to a period of heavy drinking, but the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines it specifically as drinking enough alcohol to raise blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08% or higher. That’s also the standard legal limit for driving in the United States. For the average person, this means consuming 4-5 standard drinks in the…
“Biohacking” is a marketing term that refers to commercialized health trends which repackage health and wellness paradigms with the aesthetics of sophisticated technical optimization. One of the problems with health and wellness fields is that the ultimate arbiter for the success of any particular practice is the human whose mind-body is being evaluated. If someone is absolutely convinced that a…
Biopsychosocial models emerged as health models that consider the connection of biological, psychological, and social dimensions to someone’s lived experiences. It was first advocated for within modern medicine by George Engel in 1977, and it has steadily grown in interest and adoption since. In comparison to the biomedical model that preceded it which prefers mechanistic physiology as the mode…
In clinical settings, black-and-white thinking refers to a type of cognitive distortion where someone thinks in extremes or polar opposites. For example, they might define success on an exam by achieving 100% and anything less to be a failure, or they might go between wanting to break up with a significant other to putting them on a pedestal. In the context of substance use disorders,…
Black markets are exchanges for products and services that have been outlawed by a state entity. Historically, government efforts to ban substances like alcohol or addictive processes like gambling tend to shift economic activity into black markets. Localized crime rings or organized crime syndicates often recognize that laws do not remove people’s incentives to pursue illicit activities or…
A blackout is a period of time in which someone might appear to be functional but is failing to transfer any short-term experiences into their long-term memories, so they have no recollection of what happened during the blackout.
“Block grants” in the United States refers to a form of federal funding for programs that delivers money to state governments rather than directly to individual citizens. In theory, this means each state can use the funds to design a program for their unique needs instead of hoping a federal program can manage to fit everyone’s needs. In practice, this can lead to an extremely uneven distribution…
Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) measures the amount of alcohol someone has consumed by testing the weight-to-volume ratio within their body’s bloodstream. 0.08 grams per 100 milliliters, or 0.08%, is generally the legal limit for driving in the United States, which is reached on average after 4 standard drinks defined as 14 grams of pure alcohol, though of course this varies enormously by each…
Despite boredom being a universal experience that extends even beyond humans to other species, researchers and clinicians have historically neglected to create a consensus around its definition. In 2012, John Eastwood was part of a team that proposed a framework in a journal called Perspectives on Psychological Science: “…boredom is best described in terms of attention. A bored person doesn’t…
“Borrachos” translates to “drunkards” in Spanish, referring either to a group of people who are actively drunk a group of people who are generally heavy drinkers. In 1629, Diego Velazquez completed a Baroque painting for King Philip V that was officially called The Triumph of Bacchus as a depiction of the god of wine Bacchus, the Roman interpretation of the Greek Dionysus, placing a crown on…
“Boundaries” generally refer to someone’s stated preferences for social conduct and interpersonal engagement that respects their autonomy and integrity. There are lots of context-specific frameworks and definitions for boundaries. The American Psychological Association (APA) maintains the APA Dictionary of Psychology which articulates two definitions. The casual one reads: “a psychological…
“Brain fog” is a term commonly used to describe some combination of confusion, difficulty thinking, and lack of ability to focus. The term gained fresh momentum in the wake of COVID-19, when it was both a highly publicized symptom of long COVID and discussed alongside a spike in substance use disorder cases defined by a dysregulated state of altered consciousness. Since then, there has been a…
A breathalyzer is, as the name suggests, a tool that analyzes one’s breath to estimate blood alcohol concentration (BAC). The idea that something about alcohol lingers on the breath after drinking is as old as drinking itself. I mean, it’s hard to ignore the odors of a drunk person thinking they’re whispering secrets into your ears. It was generally assumed though that alcohol was still coating…
The Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) was first trialed in 1990 at the University of Washington for college students around 18 to 24 years old. Within trials, it has repeatedly shown to be an effective way to screen for alcohol use disorders and suggest interventions, but institutions vary widely in how they deliver it, including through groups, telehealth,…
Brief motivational interventions (BMIs) are an individualized method to address substance use patterns with personalized feedback from facilitators applying motivational interviewing techniques. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) mentions that “BMI combines a brief intervention with motivational interviewing. BMI emphasizes personal responsibility and self-efficacy of…
A brownout is similar to a blackout where, as a result of drinking to excess, someone loses part of their memory or has hazy recall of it. A blackout is when someone experiences complete memory loss because the brain didn’t transfer anything from short-term to long-term memory. Both are distinct from passing out, which is losing consciousness altogether rather than just losing memory. In terms of…
Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder in which someone cycles between binge eating and a behavior like vomiting, fasting, or excessive exercise in an attempt to offset the amount eaten. The pattern of purging as a potential mechanism to improve health goes back to ancient civilizations where physicians often attributed diseases to having eaten something toxic, and we have ample evidence of…
Bundling bias refers to a pattern where people who buy a bundle of items are less likely to use each one than if they had bought the items individually. The concept emerges out of the intersection of psychology and behavioral economics. Our brains tend to seek shortcuts to estimate the value of a transaction, so when we see a bundle, we look past the cost of each individual item to a general…
Burnout in its most casual sense means running out of the energy or capacity to keep up some level of activity. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) states ““Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental…
C
C-PTSD, or Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a mental health condition that can present with symptoms similar to PTSD, but usually as the result of prolonged recurrring trauma rather than isolated events. It’s also sometimes denoted as CPTSD or cPTSD. The current Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM-5) does not include C-PTSD as a diagnosis, but the International Classification of Diseases…
Caffeine is the most commonly used drug in the world with as much as 90% of the global adult population consuming some version of it daily. On average, adults consume 200mg of caffeine per day, which is more than would be found in two 6-oz cups of coffee. Studies that attempt to measure the prevalence of dependence find that 8% to 20% of regular caffeine users meet the criteria of caffeine use…
“California sober” was a term popularized around 2019 to describe a pattern of substance use that foregoes alcohol and “hard” drugs while allowing for the use of cannabis, psychedelics, caffeine, and other “soft” drugs. Rather than the conventional total abstinence model used by many peer recovery groups, especially 12-step based programs, the concept of “California sober” is a shift towards harm…
Cannabinoids are a group of chemical compounds that interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system, which is involved in the regulation of mood, sleep, and appetite. Phytocannabinoids are derived from the cannabis plant and include the psychoactive THC responsible for producing a high when consumed and CBD which is not considered intoxicating. Endocannabinoids are made naturally by the body.…
Capsaicin is a natural compound found in chili peppers that creates the sensation of spice and heat by interacting with receptors in our tongue’s nerves designed to detect temperature. The brain interprets this as a physical burn and releases endorphins and dopamine to counteract the perceived discomfort, which can create a “natural high.” Much like substances, regularly eating foods high in…
A carcinogen refers to anything that can increase the risk of developing cancer, whether it’s a substance, an organism, or radiation exposure. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) groups carcinogens into four categories based on hazard, defined as whether the carcinogen can cause cancer under any circumstances, rather than risk, defined as the likelihood of the carcinogen causes…
Caregiving is the act or role of providing support to someone who struggles to manage their own lives due to age, illness, disability, or other ailment that makes independent survival difficult or impossible. People who have substance use disorders are likely to need more caregiving from the community and network around them, but also might have developed a pattern of substance use in response to…
Case management is a process in many social work fields that involves a trained case manager evaluating a client and facilitating their connection to health, social, and legal services. In treatment centers, it’s typical for a patient to be assigned a therapist, a psychiatrist, and a case manager as three independent members of their care team. While therapists can deliver cognitive behavioral…
Catatonia is a syndrome common in mood disorders like major depressive disorders that involves a severely withdrawn affect and difficulty processing information, sometimes appearing to be motionless or repeating certain movements. The ICD-11 and DSM-5 both recognized catatonia based on a list of criteria, three of which must be met: Agitation: restlessness or excessive movements Echolalia:…
A category error is a logical error in which some phenomenon is labeled as part of one category when it belongs to another. Children make category errors constantly when learning about the world, which can lead to nonsensical questions like “what color is the number 6?” or “why is the sky angry?” when observing a storm. The term was specifically popularized by Gilbert Ryle in The Concept of Mind…
Cathinones are a class of stimulants derived from the compounds of the khat plant (Catha edulis). In East Africa and other regions where the khat shrub is found, there are traditions around chewing the leaves for a mild stimulant effect. “Bath salts” refer to synthetic cathinones, which are called that purely as a marketing gimmick to get around regulations for stimulant drugs. When consumed,…
Catnip (Nepeta cataria), sometimes called catmint, is an herb of the mint family that contains nepetalactone, a terpene that repels insects, causes euphoria in many cats, and has sedative properties when used in herbal teas. As the name suggests, the herb is strongly associated with its influence on feline species because of its mimicry of familiar pheromones that release endorphines. While many…
“Character defects” is a phrase that comes up often in recovery circles that are based around a 12-step model of facilitating a spiritual awakening, in part through moral introspection of personal wrongdoings. The term is considered interchangeable with “shortcomings.” The website for the AA of Cleveland umbrella organization enumerates some typical ones: Resentment Anger Fear Cowardice Self-pity…
The framework of a “chemical imbalance” is a popular one used to conceptualize neurobiological changes that provide the physiological basis for disorders like Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) or Substance Use Disorder (SUD), but the scientific community generally considers it to be an oversimplified model that overlooks neural connectivity and neuroplasticity. As with many models of health and…
“Child abuse” refers to any act or neglect from a caregiver that leads to harm or risk of harm to someone under the age of 18. Children who undergo severe mistreatment and abuse for a prolonged period of time are two to four times more likely to develop a substance use disorder than children without a history of abuse. Individuals who score 4 or higher on standard Adverse Childhood Experience…
A “Chinatown” refers to a neighborhood where immigrants or cultural establishments from China are concentrated. The term “Chinatown” emerged from the California Gold Rush around the 1850s amidst anti-immigrant hysteria as labor groups blamed Chinese workers for taking jobs rather than poor speculative decisions from investors in a railroad bubble. Xenophobia and anti-drug hysteria often go…
Chloroform, or trichloromethane, is a compound used in research labs and the manufacturing of plastics like Teflon, though it was briefly used as an anesthetic in the mid-19th century before the potential for severe toxicity was acknowledged. There was a period of time in the late-19th century when some European elites, particularly in Paris, experimented with it for recreational use alongside…
The American Center for Disease Control (CDC) defines chronic diseases as “conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or both.” The most common chronic diseases in the United States are heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, which are considered preventable to various extents. The vast majority of adults in America have at least one…
Chronic pain is generally defined as pain that continues for over three months even after an injury has healed or illness has subsided. Often, it results from modifications to the nervous system that causes the brain to continuously perceive pain. The same neuroplasticity that the brain uses to learn and heal from mental health conditions also allows for the brain to misinterpret harmless input…
“Cinchona” describes a genus of plants within the coffee family whose bark is a source of quinine and quinidine, which have historically been used to treat treatment-resistant strains of malaria, heart arrhythmias, and nocturnal leg muscle cramping. Some commercial products like tonic water contain small amounts of quinine that is known to add a bitter taste. However, in high quantities, often…
Circular inference, not to be confused with circular reasoning, is a mathematical model of information-processing defects in the brain where internal predictions are processed as external sensory evidence instead of balancing each other. The concept is used often in interpreting the neurological basis of disordered thinking patterns found in conditions like schizophrenia. In a typical brain,…
Circular reasoning is a common logical fallacy in which an argument’s conclusion is used as evidence for the argument. Examples: “We should support this candidate because they are the only electable choice.” In politics, electability arguments often suffer from circular reasoning; they are electable because people would vote for them, and people would vote for them because they are electable.…
A clinical decision support system (CDSS) is a tool that helps a doctor collect data and make decisions about patient care. The term was coined by Gerald A. Goertzel in 1969, who envisioned a system that would eliminate messy guessing and documentation in favor of a standard structured codes that computers could then analyze. Despite the recent hype around Artificial Intelligence, designs for…
A clinical trial is a research experiment that tests medical or behavioral procedures in humans to measure effectiveness and detect risks. Clinical trials in modern scientific institutions generally follow four phases: An investigation in a small group of people, typically less than 100, to scope out the ranges for safe dosages and document side effects to look at. A larger trial on 100-300…
Cluster B personality traits makes it difficult for someone to control their emotions and maintain stable, healthy relationships. There are four personality disorders recognized by the DSM-5: Antisocial Personality Disorder, characterized by a pattern of disregard for the rights of others and a lack of empathy after manipulation Borderline Personality Disorder, involving intense mood swings…
A co-occurring disorder refers to someone having a mental health condition at the same time as substance use disorder. Sometimes, this is also referred to as a “dual diagnosis” or “comorbidity.” Increasingly, mental health professionals and facilities have begun to recognize that treating substance use disorders only leaves other disorders intact that may have been a source of self-medication.…
Co-regulation describes the process through which two nervous systems influence each other’s state and activities. It includes both internal physiology, such as shared changes in stress and bonding hormone levels, as well as external behaviors mimicking each other. One of the most common examples of co-regulation involves the parent-child dynamic. A child being joyful can lower cortisol and raise…
Coca is a plant native to South America known for containing the alkaloid used in cocaine. Fun fact, the United States has authorized exactly one commercial organization to import and process coca leaves called the Stepan Company with a facility in Maywood, New Jersey. The coca extract, free of cocaine, is sold to The Coca-Cola Company as an ingredient for soda while the filtered cocaine itself…
Cocaine is an alkaloid derived from coca plants (primarily Erythroxylum coca) in South America that serves as a stimulant by causing a buildup of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
Codependence refers to a relationship dynamic characterized by unhealthy reliance on each other. Even when one person might appear to be entirely dependent on another, financially, socially, interpersonally, etc., the other person may have a need to feel like they’re rescuing someone in order to feel secure. This doesn’t apply just to romantic or family dynamics either; friendships and…
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) refers to a set of therapeutic modalities that focus on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and actions with the goal of questioning and reframing thought patterns to promote shifts in behavioral patterns. So, CBT is controversial. Perspectives on CBT are also controversial. There is no way to talk about CBT without making someone upset. But there are…
Cognitive capacity generally refers to the mental abilities and functions involved in language processing, memory and attention spans, sensory perception, decision-making, and ability to learn. As a concept, it isn’t a discrete property that’s easy to measure, so definitions and assessments vary a lot. Adjacent phrases that refer to similar concepts include “mental bandwidth”, “brainpower,” and…
Cognitive distortions in the context of psychology are irrational thought patterns that can worsen symptoms of depression or anxiety. Common distortions include: All-or-Nothing Thinking Catastrophizing Overgeneralization Mental Filtering Disqualifying the Positive Mind Reading Fortune Telling Emotional Reasoning “Should” Statements Personalization A major goal of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy…
Cognitive reframing in modern psychology refers to a shift in mindset that can change the perspective interpreted from a situation. Within Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), cognitive reframing is considered a valuable coping skill to diffuse distressing emotions by finding an equally valid interpretation of the same facts of a situation, generally to shift away from catastrophizing or…
“Cold intimacies” is a concept proposed by Eva Illouz that refers to the way interpersonal connections are mapped onto transactional frameworks and intangible aspects of lived human experience are treated as commodities. Illouz posits that cold intimacies are a byproduct of the intersection between industrialized bureaucracies, institutions of psychological management, and socioeconomic…
“Cold turkey” is an informal phrase that references attempts to quit substance use suddenly at once rather than gradually reducing usage over time. With some substances like alcohol and benzodiazepines, this can be fatal, so it’s almost never a good idea to quit cold turkey. It really is gambling with your life, and most medically-managed detoxification protocols will make your experience vastly…
Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol (CMCA) describes a community-level public health intervention aimed at reducing underage drinking by shaping institutional practices and local social norms. Some of these include: Mandatory Retail Compliance Checks: law enforcement agents might regularly send undercover decoys who look underage to see if clerks ask for valid ID at establishments that…
Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) is a research approach that treats the participants being observed as equal partners in the study as the experts conducting the experiment with the goal of more closely integrating their findings with real-world environments.
“Community trial” sounds self-explanatory as studies that collect data from communities, but this type of collection usually requires paying special attention to the structure of communities beyond just a population-level bucket of relationships. Communities are grounded in physical geographical spaces that sustain institutions and cultures with unique histories understood differently by diverse…
A comorbidity is a medical condition that occurs alongside another condition. For instance, diabetes and hypertension are common comorbidities, as are depression and anxiety. Sometimes the conditions directly related through the mechanisms they operate through, where one is caused by the other or they share underlying dysfunctions. It’s also possible for them to just have shared risk factors like…
Compulsions are reptitive behaviors someone feels they have to do in order to alleviate the anxiety called by persistent thoughts. Common compulsions include handwashing, showering, checking if the stove is off or doors are locked, silently or mentally counting repetitively, or arranged items in a specific order or pattern.
Computational psychiatry refers to a field of applying computational methods to interpret data from brain activity and human behavior to drive clinical treatments of mental health conditions. This includes both optimizing health outcomes for individual patients and driving theoretical models forward with data and, more recently, machine learning.
The American Psychological Association provides a definition for “focus”, though not “concentration” itself, but we can consider the two synonymous: ""the concentration or centering of attention on a stimulus
The concept of a confession is much deeper than just sharing a secret with someone, which is how we commonly speak of it. The New Testament was originally written in Ancient Greek, where the term “homologeo” was used in the place of “confession”. “Homo” means “same” and “logos” means “word”, so from “same words” we actually arrive at the idea of agreeing by saying the same things. When the Romans…
According to the American Sociological Association (ASA), “confidentally generally means that private information about an individual will not be shared without his or her consent.” Honestly, I don’t really believe that any policy about confidentiality can really be trusted to be confidential. Alcoholics Anonymous is explicit that communication in groups is not legally privileged in any way and…
“Confirmation bias” refers to the tendency for people to prefer interpretations of evidence that confirm their prior models and assumptions of reality.
Consent in its most basic sense means an agreement to something, but the devil here is in the details, particularly when we have to make legal judgments. Not every human interaction has a contract or paper trail of evidence we can examine to locate an unambiguous, indisuptable affirmative statement of consent. The role of “enthusiastic consent” becomes particularly important in these cases.
Consumerism is broadly a set of beliefs or practices in which individuals are framed as consumers in a marketplace who can change their quality of life based on their consumption patterns. It’s related but distinct from materialism, as not every good or service necessarily requires material transfers or transformations.
Contaminant loosely refers to an undesirable or unexpected presence of some substance. Depending on the environmental or legal context, the definition may be more narrow. From the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) defines “contaminant” as any physical, chemical, biological or radiological substance or matter in water. Drinking water may…
I fucking love Contingency Management (CM). It is one of the fastest ways to throw a wrench into the works of hyperindividualistic broken-brain models that discourage psychosocial analyses that would lead to systemic critiques and calls for reform. Over three decades of research into contingency management interventions has shown that it routinely outperforms Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and…
A Continuum of Care (CoC) refers to a local agency or organization that manages the coordination plan of social services for homeless members of a community. It is formally defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as “the group organized to carry out the responsibilities prescribed in the CoC Program Interim Rule for a defined geographic area. A CoC should be…
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) defines convulsions as: “A condition in which muscles contract and relax quickly and cause uncontrolled shaking of the body. Head injuries, high fevers, some medical disorders, and certain drugs can cause convulsions. They may also occur during seizures caused by epilepsy.” The distinction between convulsions and seizures pertains to brain activity, with the…
Within the context of psychology, “core beliefs” often refer to “self-related core beliefs” for which the American Psychological Association cites a 2025 study for a definition: “Self-related core beliefs describe what individuals think about themselves. They usually develop due to experiences individuals make while striving for goals or interacting with their environment. In this study, a…
“Corporate-induced disorder” is a slang phrase that emerged to describe anxiety, depression, and burnout that results in part from exposure to unhealthy workplace environments commonly found in 21st century bureaucratic corporations. Other related terms include “Corporate Traumatic Stress Disorder” (CTSD) and “Corporate Stockholm Syndrome,” which earned an article in Psychology Today.
Corporate Political Activities (CPAs) refer to strategies that companies use to shape the political, legal, and social environment that are considered outside the scope of market strategies or business decisions. This can include: Lobbying: meeting with policymakers, lawmakers, and/or decision-makers to influence the way regulations are created or enforced Campaign contributions: donating money…
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a term that describes the arguments that large corporations have become one of the dominant structures of social organization and so they are obligated to be aligned with the social values of the communities they operate in. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) can be argued to be a form of CSR. Although employers benefit from retaining a productive…
A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is a decision-making tool that finds the difference between what is gained and what is lost in a decision. If you’ve ever made a pros and cons list, you’ve done a basic cost-benefit analysis before. It’s considered a basic tool within Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). In policymaking and financial analysis contexts, the costs and benefits are both measured…
A cost-effectiveness analysis is a tool to judge the impact of a policy or decision relative to the costs incurred in enacting it. Specifically, it tends to evaluate the costs monetarily and the effectiveness through a standard non-monetary unit. For example, the Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) metric of a medical intervention that costs $40,000 to extend someone’s lifespan by 4 years…
According to the American Psychological Association, counseling refers to: “professional assistance in coping with personal problems, including emotional, behavioral, vocational, marital, educational, rehabilitation, and life-stage (e.g., retirement) problems. The counselor makes use of such techniques as active listening, guidance, advice, discussion, clarification, and the administration of…
The term “crack baby” is a derogatory reference to babies who were exposed to cocaine as fetuses, which emerged as part of the general hysteria over the crack epidemic in the United States during the 1980s onward. Some studies then had suggested that those exposed to cocain in the womb would develop severe, permanent disabilities that would compromise their quality of life and become a burden for…
“Crack cocaine” refers to a version of cocaine that’s vaporized and smoked by heating up “rocks,” as opposed to chewing coca leaves as South American peoples had for thousands of years or snorting powder cocaine. While powder cocaine was treated as a medical solution in the late 19th century and emerged as a “classy” luxury drug in the late 20th century, crack cocaine was associated with…
“Crank” is slang for methamphetamine, usually with the implication that it’s impure and cheaply manufactured. In other words, the opposite of what Walter White produces. The slang comes out of the 1960s when motorcycle gangs were known to carry methamphetamine inside a bike’s crankcase.
Crisis centers in the context of substance use generally refer to Crisis Stabilization Units (CSUs) and Behavioral Health Urgent Care Centers (BHUCCs), which are designed to address individuals experiencing psychological or physical distress as a result of substance use or other mental health disorders. They tend to be a response to the failures of a system that only provides Emergency Rooms…
Cross-reactions refer to unexpected reactions as a result of a chemical that interacts with something outside the intended target or reaction. When cross-reactions between substances lead to a medical event, we might use the term combined drug intoxication (CDI). Mixing either alcohol or benzodiazepines with opioids, including pharmaceutical ones like vicodin or oxycodone, can lead to a…
Crosstalk, in the context of group therapy or recovery meetings, means directly commenting on the experiences someone shares. Some groups openly allow crosstalk or indicate that a speaker who shares can individually grant permission for others to provide input, while others ban it entirely. Many of these groups are generally intended to be safe spaces to share how one feels without judgment, and…
D
“Daily reprieve” is a phrase found on page 85 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and refers to the idea that sobriety is a temporary pause from a progressive disease that’s only maintained through daily “maintenance of our spiritual condition.” Specifically, page 85 reads: “It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do,…
The Daubert Standard in the American judicial system provides judges and lawyers with guidelines to assess the validity of an expert witness’s testimony. It includes: Testability: can the method, conclusion, or theory applied be tested and falsified? Peer Review: is there a record of peer-reviewed scientific literature that has been published validating the method or theory? Error Rate: if the…
Decriminalization generally refers to movements or policies that argue for undoing policies that treat substance use as a criminal activity, often by regulating substances under a harm reduction framework that puts users into treatment instead of incarceration. In the United States, decriminalization is seen as a movement in the opposite direction of the War on Drugs, which attempted to address…
Degeneration generally refers to some process of decline, but it adopts more specific meanings depending on the context. In medicine, “degeneration” refers to a decline in the function of body parts and processes. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and degenerative disc disease are common examples of the degeneration associated with getting older. In electronics, “degeneration” refers to a…
Delirium is a sudden onset of confusion and decline in cognitive function as a result of brain disturbances. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR) lays out criteria to identify a state of delirium: Disturbance in attention and awareness Acute onsent and fluctuating course Cognitive deficits such as problems with memory, orientation, language or perception Direct…
Delirium Tremens (DTs) are among the most dangerous and severe symptoms to emerge in withdrawals from alcohol. They can begin 2 to 4 days after someone has their last drink, and it can persist as long as 8 days. It includes: Confusion Hallucinations Diaphoresis (intense sweating) Tachycardia (elevated heart rate) High Blood Pressure Fever Body Tremors Seizures
Deliverance refers to being freed or rescued. The term is used often in AA literature like the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous to describe a release from the obsession of drinking, generally by confessing powerlessness and surrendering to a Higher Power who delivers one to a state of sobriety.
A delusion refers to a false belief that is so sincerely held that it seems impossible to change through logic, reason, or an appeal to values. The third and fourth editions of theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defined delusions as “false beliefs due to incorrect inference about external reality.” The DSM-V defines them as “fixed beliefs that are not amenable to change in…
Denial is inherently difficult to work with, since if you know you’re in denial, you’re not really denying you have a problem. If you are in denial, then being told you’re in denial is unlikely to do anything except touch a reflex to double down. If you’re not in denial but being accused of it anyways, then you’re denial of denial can be treated as further evidence of how deep into denial you…
Dependence in the context of substance use refers to a body or mind’s reliance on using a substance to function normally, such that reduction or cessation of use can produce distress or induce symptoms of withdrawal. The National Cancer Institute defines “physical dependence” as: “A condition in which a person takes a drug over time, and unpleasant physical symptoms occur if the drug is suddenly…
Depersonalization is defined by the American Psychological Association as: “a state of mind in which the self appears unreal. Individuals feel estranged from themselves and usually from the external world, and thoughts and experiences have a distant, dreamlike character. In its persistent form, depersonalization is observed in such disorders as depression, hypochondriasis, dissociative states,…
The National Cancer Institute defines “central nervous system depressant” as: “A type of drug that slows down brain activity, which causes the muscles to relax and calms and soothes a person. Central nervous system depressants are used to treat insomnia (trouble sleeping), anxiety, panic attacks, and seizures. They may also be used to relieve anxiety and tension before surgery. Examples of…
Clinically, “depression” refers to Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), but it might be used in more casual ways in reference to prolonged periods of negative feelings.
Derealization goes hand-in-hand with depersonalization as a feeling of disengagement with reality, although depersonalization describes disengagement with oneself while derealization describes disengagement with one’s surrounding environment and external circumstances.
From Pesce and Krock 2023: “Designer drugs are synthetic compounds developed to mimic the physiologic effects of other abused drugs. Many designer drugs are chemically similar to other abused drugs but are modified to avoid being classified as illegal. Moreover, they are often altered in ways that render them undetectable by conventional drug screening tests. Most designer drugs try to imitate…
“Detail man” is an old term that refers to pharmaceutical sales representatives who had to deliver the details about a drug’s properties and the evidence from the scientific community supporting its efficacy. In the mid-20th century, these representatives emerged as a new profession since pharmaceutical companies realized that doctors, rather than patients, were their actual marks to persuade due…
According to the Detoxification and Substance Abuse Treatment publication within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) series: “Detoxification is a set of interventions aimed at managing acute intoxication and withdrawal. It denotes a clearing of toxins from the body of the patient who is acutely intoxicated and/or dependent on…
In social analyses, “deviance” refers to actions or characteristics outside of a society’s standards and norms. A 2023 publication in the Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior journal argues, as the title says, Substance Use Disorder is the Outcome of Deviant Socialization: A Prospective Investigation Spanning Childhood to Adulthood: “it is theorized herein that a social environment…
Diabetes is an impairment in the body’s ability to process glucose for energy. Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune condition that results in the body attackings its own cells responsible for producing insulin. Type 2 Diabetes is the result of insulin resistance, where the body produces insulin but doesn’t respond effectively to its presence. Substance use can increase the chances of developing Type…
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is considered an authoritative set of standards for classifying mental health conditions. In 1952, the DSM-I was published as a 32-page booklet with 106 disorders that was heavily influenced by the psychodynamic ideas proposed by Adolf Meyer and Sigmund Freud, where mental health disorders were seen as underlying conflicts within the…
Diet pills have historically referred to stimulants like amphetamines that can suppress appetites, though more recent classes of weight-loss drugs include GLP-1 agonists without the same risks of chemical dependencies. Around the 1930s, amidst the initial wave of manufacturing amphetamines, clinicians noticed that they suppressed appetites in their patients and began prescribing them for weight…
Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a natural psychedelic compound, often found in plants such as those used for Amazonian ayahuasca brews. Depending on how it’s taken, it can last up to 30 minutes or, if taken orally with an MAOI inhibitor, several hours. I once attended a Recovery Dharma meeting where we tried a form of breathwork that felt at first like hyperventilating, but the facilitator told us it…
Dionysus is the Ancient Greek god associated with alcohol and celebratory festivities. In Ancient Greece, many believed that drinking was literally allowing the consciousness of Dionysus to possess one’s body and mind. This motif has been popular in Latin-inspired cultures. Los Borrachos is a painting that was originally called “The Triumph of Dionysus.”
“Dipsomania” is an outdated term to describe habitual compulsions to drink alcohol. In the mid-19th century Victorian era, the term arose into prominence among physicians and psychiatrists as part of other monomanic compulsions like pyromania, kleptomania, and nymphomania, which put it into a pathologized and medicalized category of human behavior rather than a simple moral or willpower issue.…
The definition of “disability” has been fluid relative to social expectations of the archetypal “standard person.” Some models arguing for a biomedical framework of disability that supposes some type of medical functioning is “standard” and that deviations from that level might manifest as a disability. For instance, someone who frequently has panic attacks more often than the average person…
In finance and behavioral economics, discounting refers to the process of determining the current value of future gains. For instance, getting 10 in a week since you can invest the 10 in a week will be worth less due to inflation. When businesses put products on sale, they often consider the value of being able to quickly move products to…
While the National Cancer Institute defines disease as: “an abnormal condition that affects the structure or function of part or all of the body and is usually associated with specific signs and symptoms.” “Disease” has been used in enough ways that a discussion of its usage in contexts outside of references to physiological etiologies for suffering and dysfunction is warranted. A 2004 report…
The National Cancer Institute defines “disorder” thusly: “In medicine, an abnormal condition that affects the body’s function but may or may not have specific signs and symptoms. A disorder may indicate that a specific disease is present, but there is usually not enough evidence to make a diagnosis. There are many different types of disorders, including physical, mental, emotional, behavioral,…
“Dissocation-informed” is a relatively recent term that describes medical care and guidelines that fully consider the way dissociation can present itself. “Trauma-informed” is a related concept about updating models of treatment that overlooked the long-term impacts of trauma on the mind and body. Since dissociation is a common outcome of trauma (PTSD even has a specific Dissociative Subtype in…
Dissociation is often defined as: “disconnections between thoughts, feelings, behaviors, sensations, and other mental processes that would normally be connected. It is a human phenomenon, experienced by all to varying degrees on a continuum ranging from benign to problematic. On one end of the continuum are experiences of daydreaming, “highway hypnosis,” or absorption and flow wherein the…
Distress tolerance refers to the capacity to cope with negative experiences or internal states. In the late 1940s, Else Frenkel-Brunswik studied the concept of Tolerance of Ambiguity (TOA) to track how people handled complex, unfamiliar, or vague stimuli. Those with low TOA appeared to respond to those kinds of ambiguities with pushback and potentially destructive behaviors. After WWII, there was…
“Diversions” in the context of substance use disorders and criminal justice systems refer to alternative options compared to incarceration that can be less disruptive to someone’s long-term recovery or quality of life. The American Bar Association (ABA) provides several standardized definitions for diversion programs: “(a) ‘Diversion’ refers to any opportunity for a person to avoid arrest, to…
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are programs designed to correct historical exclusion of groups based on their identity or associations. DEI initiatives have come under a lot of scrutiny in the past decade, but I think it’s extraordinarily difficult to point to any place on Earth at any point in time and argue that there was anything like a pure meritocracy that ignored…
The Dodo bird verdict/conjecture is a claim that all psychotherapies, when practiced with equivalent treatment fidelity, produce equivalent outcomes in a patient’s symptoms. Rather than being a concrete finding that devastated the field of clinical psychology, the claim leads us to difficult questions about the biases and subjective elements of evaluating evidence of effectiveness. Some therapies…
Donnagel was a medication available both over-the-counter (OTC) and through prescriptions that addressed diarrhea and stomach distress. It was made out of a combination of kaolin, pectin, and belladonna alkaloids. The most popular version was Donnagel-PG using paregoric, which contained powdered opium dissolved in a liquid tincture. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 in the United States…
“Doomscrolling” means habitually consuming content that fuels negative or pessimistic emotions. The movable-type printing press that brought on a revolution in mass media was developed in 1440, shortly after which appeared sensationalist broadside ballads that contained gruesome and shocking stories that could be sung in spaces for public gathering, like bustling marketplaces. Often, these…
“Dopamine is an enormously important molecule in addiction, central to th experience of learning and reward prediction, but its functioning is far more complicated than it is commonly portrayed. In a way, the popular stories about dopamine still rely on a circa-1980s level of understanding… For one thing, dopamine is not a ‘pleasure’ molecule: it has more to do with the feelings of desire and…
The drift-diffusion model (DDM) is a framework in cognitive psychology and neuroscience that models how people quickly evaluate and make decisions between two choices. When we say quickly, we mean decisions with reaction times between 1 to 1.5 seconds with a single stage rather than reasoning problems that require carrying heuristics and models of a problem through multiple stages of decisions.
Driving Under Influence (DUI) is one of the most common legal issues encountered as a result of substance use. Approximately 30% of all traffic fatalities in the United States involved alcohol-impaired driving. A BAC of 0.08 is associated with a four times higher chance of a crash, and a BAC of 0.15 is 12 times more likely to lead to a crash.
Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs), also referred to as a supervised injection site or overdose prevention center (OPC), are facilities where someone can use substances they’ve obtained while under medical supervision as part of harm reduction policies. This allows the immediate administration of medications like naloxone (narcan) for opioid overdoses, access to social services like peer counseling…
Drug user unions are peer-led groups that advocate for those who either use substances actively or used to struggle with substance use disorders to improve access to healthcare, overall quality of life, and civil and human rights. One of the first formal drug user union was Junkiebond in Rotterdam, Netherlands as a response in 1977 to the spread of infectious diseases like hepatitis and police…
“Druggist” is an older term for “pharmacist,” though some locations, particulary those associated with early psychiatric establishments, still use it.
Dual diagnosis treatment programs are iterations of substance use and mental health programs that acknowledge the co-occurrence of multiple mental health conditions and disorders alongside substance us. The relationship is bidirectional: the self-medication hypothesis claims that people use substances as a way of addressing underlying health issues that could be a source of emotional or mental…
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), often called dysmorphia as a shorthand, is a mental health condition in which someone is obsessively preoccupied with an apparent flaw that might be minor or nonexistent. These can include skin anomalies like acne or blemishes, hair conditions, nose shape, and overall bodily proportions, which someone might be excessively or compulsively checking. Repetitive…
Dysphoria refers to a state of strong mental discomfort or distress, the opposite of euphoria. It’s not necessarily considered a mental illness itself, but it often accompanies mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, chronic stress, hormonal shifts, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and withdrawal symptoms. The ICD-11 includes dysphoria as a distinct diagnosis under…
The exact definitions and parameters of dysregulation depends on the context, but generally it means deviations from some expected normal regulatory functions. Emotional dysregulation refers to difficulty controlling or adjusting one’s emotional state.
E
Under the Schema Therapy model advanced by Jeffrey Young, an early maladaptive schema (EMS) is a recurring pattern or core belief that develops in childhood or adolescence that serves as a source of dysfunction throughout one’s life. Generally, these schemas are rooted in formative experiences or trauma and are strongly held in a way that shapes new information to reinforce them. Following the…
Eating disorders are patterns of consumption that are based in an unhealthy level of concern about caloric intake, weight gain, body image, or relationship to food. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR) acknowledges the following conditions under “Feeding and Eating Disorders”: Anorexia Nervosa: restriction of food intake driven by excessive concerns about weight…
Most commonly, “edibles” reference cannabis products that can be consumed the same as any food or drink item. The most popular edibles tend to be candies like gummies, baked goods like cookies and brownies, and other products that are based in fats like butter and oils in order to bind to the THC that produces psychoactive effects. Some forms of edibles have been around for thousands of years.…
Elder abuse refers to intentional acts or intentional failure to act that causes harm to older adults, generally 60 or older, though this varies by legal jurisdictions. For elders who aren’t necessarily capable of taking care of themselves and have caregivers, being intentionally over- or under-medicated can be classified as elder abuse. Seniors who have struggled with substance abuse in the past…
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a medical procedure that runs electrical currents to the brain and triggers seizures for mental health conditions that are otherwise treatment-resistant. This stimulates a kind of reset in the brain that can break toxic patterns without needing weeks or months like antidepressants and therapeutic interventions. I was honestly surprised that ECT was still a real…
Electroencephalograms (EEGs) are tests to measure the electrical activity in the brain. EEG Neurofeedback (EEG-NF) is a medical intervention that retrains the brain’s electrical patterns that connect to subconscious cues for cravings and impulsive behavior. Someone might be hooked up to a brainwave monitoring system through EEG sensors and told to achieve some rewarding tasks solely through…
Electronic drug delivery devices (EDDDs) are medical instruments that release medications into the body. These can include: Insulin Pumps that continuously monitor glucose levels to release insulin Connected Inhalers that use sensors to track adherence to medication schedules and log usage on devices like smartphones Iontophoretic Devices are systems that use electrical currents to push drugs…
Electronic health records (EHRs) are a major part of the technical infrastructure in our healthcare system. When I worked on healthcare AI problems, parsing and interpreting EHRs was a common task, and it’s not as straightforward as it sounds. The proliferation of software vendors in the healthcare space often means that there are significant hurdles to clean and efficient communication of EHR…
Emergency medicine is the field of medicine concerned with diagnosing and treating health issues that require immediate care to avoid long-lasting harm or fatalities. Many who struggle with substance use disorders don’t seek or receive treatment until the disorder leads to a crisis point, whether that involves external harm addressed by a criminal justice system or a health crises that could…
The term “emotional flashback” was popularized by Pete Walker in 2005: “Emotional flashbacks are sudden and often prolonged regressions (‘amygdala hijackings’) to the frightening circumstances of childhood. They are typically experienced as intense and confusing episodes of fear and/or despair - or as sorrowful and/or enraged reactions to this fear and despair. Emotional flashbacks are especially…
“Emotional sobriety” is a term from 12-step programs that refers to maintaining emotional, mental, and spiritual conditions conducive to a healthy and sober lifestyle. The term comes from a January 1958 issue of the AA Grapevine magazine where William Wilson (known as Bill W. in AA circles) published an article, based on an old personal letter, titled “The Next Frontier: Emotional Sobriety”: “I…
In its most basic sense, empathy describes the ability to understand how others feel, think, or believe things. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP) describes the complexity of defining and measuring the concept: “…since researchers in different disciplines have focused their investigations on very specific aspects of the broad range of empathy-related phenomena, one should probably…
An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is defined by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management as: “a voluntary, work-based program that offers free and confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-up services to employees who have personal and/or work-related problems. EAPs address a broad and complex body of issues affecting mental and emotional well-being, such as alcohol…
The American Psychological Association (APA) offers two contexts to define enabling through: “a process whereby someone (i.e., the enabler) contributes to continued maladaptive or pathological behavior (e.g., child abuse, substance abuse) in another person. The enabler is typically an intimate partner or good friend who passively permits or unwittingly encourages this behavior in the other…
Endocannabinoids, or endogenous cannabinoids, are molecules naturally made by the body that maintain the body’s internal homeostatic balance through regulating mood, appetite, sleep, pain, memory, and the movement of other molecules like dopamine and serotonin. A chapter from Neurobiology and Physiology of the Endocannabinoid System (2023) describes endocannabinoids as: “a class of small…
“Endogenous” in the context of chemicals and biology refers to something produced from within a system. For instance, the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) present in cannabis mimic the endogenous cannabinoids, or endocannabinoids manufactured naturally by the body’s system. Many of the substances and medications that we use, illicitly or otherwise, function by emulating endogenous…
Enmeshment is defined by the American Psychological Association as “a condition in which two or more people, typically family members, are involved in each other’s activities and personal relationships to an excessive degree, thus limiting or precluding healthy interaction and compromising individual autonomy and identity.” It’s one of the signs of codependence in relationships, where someone…
“Entitlement” has at least two distinct uses depending on the context. For healthcare providers and insurance, “entitlement” refers to a legal right to receive healthcare benefits or coverage once an individual meets criteria. Within psychology and psychiatry, entitlement can be interpreted as a personality trait or a cognitive distortion that presents with personality disorders: Narcissistic…
Epidemiology is the field that concerns the spread of health determinants and distributions across populations, generally with the goal of influencing public health policy. This extends beyond infectious diseases and environmental contamination to trends in obesity and stress. Studies show that weight gain actually spreads across populations, implying that even something as fundamental as diet…
Epigenetics is the field of studying how behavioral functions and environmental factors influence how genes and DNA operate. The term “epigenome” is used to describe the chemical tags that collectively attach to DNA that turn certain genes on or off. With chronic substance use, the “hijacking” of neural pathways associated with reward and self-control are directly rooted in epigenetic mechanisms.…
“Ethanol” is the name for the type of alcohol that goes into alcoholic beverages. In the context of chemistry, “alcohol” refers to a group of compounds that contain a hydroxl group bound to a carbon atom. What we call “alcohol” in a casual context to refer to beverages is specifically ethanol. For the rest of this page, I’ll use “alcohol” in its chemical context and “ethanol” when referring to…
“Etiology” is a term for the study of causes, which historically has meant a combination of medical, biological, political, and theological analyses into understanding why someone might be suffering. Suppose we look at someone who experienced a car crash. We can obviously trace the physical injuries resulting from it to the traumatic experience itself, but it may not be sufficient to explain why…
Eugenics refers to the application of selective reproduction towards creating a human population with particular genetic characteristics. It is widely considered one of the most horrific set of beliefs that humans have ever proposed and put into practice. Not only has it relied heavily on pseudoscientific essentialist frameworks that are widely refuted through empirical analyses, but it has…
Euphoria refers to a state of intense joy and pleasure. There’s no real criteria that distinguishes ordinary happiness and contentment from euphoria, but we generally call certain substances euphoric for the “high” of using them.
The Evaluative Beliefs Scale (EBS) is a psychological assessment in the form of a questionnaire that is designed to evaluate beliefs associated with negative affects, cognitions, and emotional disturbances such as anxiety and depression.
Evidence-based interventions (EBIs) are treatments and programs whose results have been validated through scientific research. These can include therapies like: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Relational-Cultural Therapy (RCT) Rational Emotive…
Often referred to as skin-picking, excoriation disorder is considered a form of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in which someone feels compulsions to pick at their skin or lips, even to the point of leaving scars that bleed. One of the most effective interventions for excoriation disorder is exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), a type of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) that…
Executive dysfunction is a symptom that presents as disruption to the brain’s ability to manage information, create plans, and regulate emotions. It’s unfortunately all-too-common for executive dysfunction to be framed as a “character defect” like laziness, flakiness and inconsistency, or poor time management skills. Underlying disorders or conditions that might be present when observing…
“Exogenous” refers to biochemical factors that originate or operate outside of a given system, in contrast to endogenous factors. Bacteria, drugs, and radiation are all considered examples of exogenous factors to the human body that can act to change its state and relative health. In the world of designer-drugs, the goal is often to produce a product that, despite being exogenous to the body,…
“Expected value” is a statistical construct that estimates the value of something by multiplying it by the probability of it happening. For example, if you want to buy a pack of random Pokemon cards where the chance of getting a card worth 50 * 0.02 = 10 for it, you can reason that it’s not…
In the philosophy of science, explication refers to the process of creating precise and logically consistent definitions for fluid and ambiguous concepts. In Logical Foundations of Probability (1950), Rudolf Carnap proposed four principles for explication: Similarity: new definitions or formulations for a concept should map onto similar old ones Exactness: definitions should have strict logical…
“Expungement” refers to a legal process of sealing or destroying a criminal record so that it no longer appears on background checks or public reviews. The criteria for expungement varies based on the legal jurisdiction, and especially serious crimes are often excluded from the possibility of expungement entirely.
The externalizing spectrumi is a psychological framework that groups impulsive and rule-breaking behaviors together because of shared predispositions in vulnerabilities and deficiencies in impulse control. This includes: Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) Conduct Disorder (CD) Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) Substance use disorder (SUD)…
Extraversion, also spelled extroversion, is a personality or character trait that psychometric instruments aim to measure around orientation towards stimulation from the external world like social interactions. Low extraversion is also called introversion, which is to say that there’s a spectrum of extroversion than a simple introvert vs. extrovert dichotomy. High extraversion has been associated…
F
In the context of eating disorders, Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is an outpatient therapeutic intervention in which a trained clinician provides parents with guidance in supporting the healthy eating habits of their adolescent children.
Fascism refers to a totalitarian movement or ideology that rejects individual rights and pluralistic societies in favor of a collectivized nationalist or ethnic identity maintained through strict crackdowns on expressive liberties and political opposition. In the aftermath of WWII, researchers became interested in potentially identifying markers of a “fascist personality” and even designed some…
The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) defines MG22 Fatigue as: “A feeling of exhaustion, lethargy, or decreased energy, usually experienced as a weakening or depletion of one’s physical or mental resource and characterised by a decreased capacity for work and reduced efficiency in responding to stimuli. Fatigue is normal following a period of exertion, mental or physical, but…
In 1972, researchers at Washington University led by John Feighner proposed a set of diagnostic rules to be operationalized for psychologists and psychiatrists: Primary Affective Disorders, divided into depression and mania Seconday Affective Disorders, like depression resulting from another disorder or condition Schizophrenia Anxiety Neurosis Obsessive-Compulsive Neurosis Phobic Neurosis…
A fellowship is any association of people bound by common interests, friendship, or shared values. It can also refer to a financial grant or title bestowed to someone by an organization, usually in the context of research and education. In the context of peer recovery circles, a “fellowship” means a group of sober peers who regularly meet to discuss their struggles and provide mutual aid support.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be prescribed for severe pain after surgery or as a result of advanced cancer, and pharmaceutical versions come in patches, lozenges, injections, and nasal sprays. It’s considered to be 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine and heroin. The precursor chemicals for fentanyl are manufactured primarily by industrial chemical and pharmaceutical companies in…
A fentanyl test strip (FTS) is a cheap, portable assays that can detect the presence of fentanyl in powders, pills, and injectable substances. FTS were originally manufactured for clinical settings to test human urine for fentanyl, but harm reduction activists like Tino Fuentes realized they could be used off-label to test for fentanyl prior to consumption. Syringe service programs (SSPs) and…
Fermentation is a metabolic process that breaks down sugars to create acids, gases, and alcohols: Lactic acid fermentation: bacteria turn sugars into lactic acid, which is how we get yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickles Alcoholic fermentation: yeast breaks down sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide, which is how we produce beer, wine, and rising dough for bread Acetic acid fermentation:…
Fidelity is the quality of being faithful or loyal to something, sometimes with an implication of accurately reflecting something else. For instance, when examining the treatment fidelity of a therapeutic intervention, we might look at how closely the therapist follows a manualized outline to implement the intervention. Every therapist is only human after all, and each client has their own unique…
“Fiend” is slang for someone who uses drugs compulsively, so it amounts to a more derogatory version of calling someone an “addict.” Someone that’s “fiending” is expressing strong cravings to either relapse or continue a bender. “Fiend” from Old English originally meant “enemy” or Satan as the enemy of mankind. Around the late 19th century, American media was using “fiend” to imply someone with…
The 4 Fs represent four general buckets of reactions to potential threats: Fight: react aggressively towards the threat Flight: run from the threat Freeze: minimize attention from the threat Fawn: try to appease the threat through flattery or negotiation It used to be common for this threat response framework to just be “fight or flight,” but since then we’ve come to acknowledge freeze and fawn…
The firewater myth is the disproven myth that those with indigenous American heritage (including Alaskan Native tribes) have a unique genetic vulnerability to alcohol and addiction. Critical scholarship argues that it arose as a way to deflect blame from the traumas caused by colonization and genocide that disrupted communities and their ways of life. Studies have failed to find evidence to…
First-pass metabolism refers to the way that human bodies first metabolize compounds and substances through the digestive system before it reaches the cells to be processed again. Prescription medications often take this into consideration when designing their structure so that certain compounds are released when the dose is moving through the digestive tract while other interactions occur only…
A flashback, as defined by the American Psychological Association (APA) in their online Dictionary of Psychology, has two definitions: the reliving of a traumatic event after at least some initial adjustment to the trauma appears to have been made. Memories may be triggered by words, sounds, smells, or scenes that are reminiscent of the original trauma (as in a backfiring car triggering a…
Folk psychology, which stands apart from armchair psychology and pop psychology, refers to the common explanations used by lay people to explain concepts and predict human behavior. The moral model of addiction, which posits that individuals who compulsively use substances are simply suffering from a weak will or moral foundation, and the rational actor model, which assumes that people make…
Formaldehyde is a flammable gas used in industrial manufacturing and can be dissolved in water as a way to preserve organic samples or specimens in laboratories. In underground labs, substances like tobacco and marijuana might be combined with embalming fluid, which is a mixture of formaldehyde and methanol. This has the effect of both slowing the burn rate of cigarettes and joints while causing…
Proposed in 2005 by Karl Friston, the free energy principle states that any self-organizing biological or mechanical system maintains existence by minimizing internal surprisal and uncertainty through adaptations to the environment. This means that the self-organizing system must maintain some set of internal states distinct from the outside world but also have boundaries that allow information…
A free base is a neutral, non-salt form of a compound, especially an alkaloid like cocaine, nicotine, and morphine. Many chemicals are manufactured in a salt form for the convenience of dissolving in water and remaining stable. Pharmaceutical companies manufacture different versions of drugs depending on the ideal consumption method. In recreational substance use, “freebasing” refers to…
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a brain scan that monitors blood flow to map brain activity. Parts of the brain that are more active consume more oxygen, driven by the blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) response. fMRI scans were instrumental in determining substance use disorders to be more than moral failings by demonstrating that parts of the brain functioned differently in…
“Future tripping” is a popular casual term for the concept of anticipatory anxiety, which is a form of anxiety about potential negative outcomes from an event before it happens. This can manifest as constant rumination over “what-if” worst-case scenarios and the standard physical symptoms of anxiety like muscle tensions, elevated heart rate, tension headaches, stomach discomfort, and difficulty…
G
The gambler’s fallacy is the belief that random outcomes of the past affect the probability of future outcomes. For example, if you’re flipping a coin and it lands on 5 heads in a row, the fallacy would be in assuming that a tail is due imminently because a 50-50 chance of tails should balance out in the long-run. In reality, the coin always has a 50-50 chance of landing on heads or tails, so…
“Gambling disorder” is the term used by the DSM-5 in reference to persistent gambling compulsions. Specifically, it’s defined as: “Persistent and recurrent problematic gambling behavior leading to clinically significant impairment or distress, as indicated by the individual exhibiting four (or more) of the following in a 12-month period:” “needs to gamble with increasing amounts of money in order…
Gangrene refers to the death of body tissue as a result of lost blood supply, which can be a downstream consequence of the complications of many different conditions. It should be seen as a life-threatening emergency that warrants immediate care and surgical interventions. Within the umbrella of substance use, gangrene can begin as a result of injecting drugs into arteries instead of veins which…
Ganja, also spelled ganjah, is a traditional Sanskrit term for cannabis in the form of dried flowers and leaves, which spread to the Caribbean in the 19th century and integrated into Jamaican culture and the Rastafari movement.
Geneva is an older British English term for gin from the Netherlands and Belgium called jenever. You’ve likely noticed that Geneva is also the name of a city in Switzerland, but there’s actually no connection between the city and the drink. English speakers who brought the drink home after fighting alongside the Dutch in the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648) mistakenly called it Geneva instead of…
Geritol is a brand of supplements that are high in B-vitamins and iron among other minerals. For those in recovery from chronic substance use, especially alcohol, they may need to correct severe nutritional deficiencies such as a depletion of Thiamine (Vitamin B1). Geritol Liquid is sometimes used to help restore baseline levels of these nutrients. At the same time, using the supplement without…
The “gift of desperation” is a term coined in Alcoholics Anonymous circles to describe a desire to change after an alcoholic hit a bottom in which they lost, or were about to lose, something important enough as to inspire intense desperation. The premise of the term is that most alcoholics are unable to change until they experience consequences so severe that the resulting hopelessness tears at…
The Gin Craze described several decades of a trend of “rotgut gin” being consumed in increasingly large quantities by the English populace. From Carl Erik Fisher’s book The Urge: Our History of Addiction (2022), gin consumption doubled from 1700 to 1720 and then again by 1729. 1743 had six times the levels of 1700. The term “gin” was popularized during this period as a shorthand for “geneva”,…
Ginseng is a plant used in traditions of medicine across various cultures and is considered an adaptogen that promotes homeostasis by counteracting the physiological impacts associated with both physical and mental stress. It can also lead to side effects like insomnia, headaches, an upset stomach, and increased anxiety.
A “gold standard” refers to the best possible practice, method, or benchmark available within a field or discipline. There are a handful of practices that are often considered a gold standard in treatment for substance use disorders, though it should be noted that gold standards are highly subject to change as more research is conducted and more evidence is aggregated: Medication-Assisted…
Gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis resulting from uric acid crystals surrounding the body’s joints after eating certain foods that contain purines. Alcohol consumption and diuretic medications both increase the concentration of uric acid in the body. Beer is actually more likely to trigger a gout flare than wine or hard liquor because it contains high levels of purines, though hard liquor…
Gratification is defined in the American Psychological Association’s Dictionary of Psychology as: “the state of satisfaction following the fulfillment of a desire or the meeting of a need.” There are several dimensions of gratification: Instant/Immediate Gratification vs. Delayed Gratification, with the former driven by the limbic system chased dopamine and the latter managed by a prefrontal…
Grey rocking, or the grey rock method, is the practice of making oneself as non-response and non-reactive as possible in order to avoid giving manipulative individuals the reactions or attention they’re looking for. This can look like: One- or two-word answers like “yes,” “no,” and “okay” that try to end the conversation as soon as possible Limiting emotional expressions like keeping a neutral or…
Grog is a synonym for alcohol. It used to refer to a specific drink made from rum, lime, and sugar as a precursor to modern hard seltzers. Over time, it became slang for any type of liquor, and “groggy” became a common term for feeling fatigued, disoriented, or dazed.
“Grounding” in a psychological context refers to coping mechanisms and techniques that can disrupt dissociative episodes, oncoming flashbacks, hypervigilance and hyperarousal, and anxiety or panic attacks by interrupting these symptoms to redirect awareness towards the present. These include: The 5-4-3-2-1 Method: Name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things…
“Fixed mindset” is a term that refers to mindsets that viewed people and their traits as rigid and static entities. In other words, the fixed mindset is characterized by the idea that you either had talent or you didn’t, and nothing you do could change that fact. It’s often framed as a contrast to a “growth mindset,” which views people and their traits as malleable and capable of predictable…
Guardianship in a legal context refers to a relationship in which a designated guardian is given the authority to make decisions for a ward whose ability to safely and rationally make decisions for themselves is compromised. Courts can grant various levels of guardianship as a result of substance use: Emergency or Temporary Guardianship: this often lasts 30 to 90 days in crisis situations like…
The American Psychology Association’s (APA) Dictionary of Psychology: “a self-conscious emotion characterized by a painful appraisal of having done (or thought) something that is wrong and often by a readiness to take action designed to undo or mitigate this wrong. It is distinct from shame, in which there is the additional strong fear of one’s deeds being publicly exposed to judgment or…
H
“Habit-forming” is a legal definition, not a medical one, that refers to substances with a risk of introducing chemical dependence. Medical organizations like the World Heath Organization (WHO) have explicitly mentioned that “habit-forming” introduces confusion when we’re also considering the nuances of the definitions of “dependence” and “addiction.” Still, it persists in legal codes as a way to…
Habitual drunkenness, much like habit forming and other terms associated with “habit”, is an outdated reference to some constant use of alcohol that might today be described as “alcoholic dependence”, “alcoholism”, or “alcohol use disorder.” “Habitual drunkenness” is a term we can trace at least as far back as Benjamin Rush, a prominent physician who was alive to sign the Declaration of…
Hadacol was a vitamin and mineral supplement mixed in a 12% alcohol solution. The story of Hadacol is one of the many that can make someone in 2026 wonder if everyone was just always wasted on something in the 20th century. Hadacol was a backyard laboratory concoction made by Louisiana State Senator Dudley J. LeBlanc, who had no medical training and was trying to reverse-engineer a painkiller his…
“Half-life” is the period of time it takes for the amount of some substance to reduce by half. You might be wondering why we use “half-life” to measure the duration of a drug instead of its total lifetime or an hourly rate, which might be more intuitive. In many chemical reactions, the concentration of substances follows exponential decay closely, which means that it disappears quickly at first,…
Hallucinogens are defined in the American Psychological Association’s Dictionary of Psychology as: “a substance capable of producing a sensory effect (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, or tactile) in the absence of an actual stimulus. Because they produce alterations in perception, cognition, and mood, hallucinogens are also called psychedelic drugs or psychedelics (from the Greek, meaning…
Hangovers refer to the unpleasant feelings and physical symptoms that start shortly after the levels of the substance in the body return to almost zero, most commonly in reference to alcohol, where the symptoms include: Headaches, thirst, and dry mouth: alcohol blocks the release of vasopressin, an antidiuretic hormone that inhibits the reabsorption of water by the kidneys (which is why you feel…
Harm reduction is an approach to substance use policy and treatment that views any reduction in substance use to be a victory, in contrast to viewing anything except total abstinence as a defeat. These policies include: Syringe Services Programs (SSPs) Naloxone Distribution Policies Overdose Prevention Centers (OPCs) Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT) Fentanyl Test Strips (FTS) Managed Alcohol Programs…
Hashish is a cannabis concentrate made by compressing the plant’s resin glands, called trichomes, which contain high levels of cannabinoids like THC that produce intense psychoactive effects.
Hazardous medicinal products (HMPs) are pharmaceutical substances that can have adverse health consequences or present health risks to both the healthcare workers managing them and the patients ingesting them. There is no single definition that’s universal, as different regulatory agencies use different processes to arrive at the label. Even within the United States alone, NIOSH, OSHA, the EPA,…
Heat-not-burn (HnB) devices heat tobacco leaves just enough to create an aerosolized version of a nicotine vapor instead of burning tobacco completely like in traditional cigarettes. This still exposes users and those around them to toxins and carcinogens, but less than traditional cigarette smoke. The United States Food and Drug Administration does not consider it an aid in quitting tobacco or…
The Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an infection that attaches to liver cells and causes inflammation and liver damage. White blood cells that attempt to destroy the virus end up killing healthy liver cells. The virus clears up in 30% of people within six months without treatment, and many people in this stage may not appear sick or show symptoms that can be attributed to other conditions. 70% of…
Hepatotoxicity literally means liver toxicity. Specifically, it refers to the liver damage that might be caused by prescription medications, substance use, herbal supplements, and exposure to toxins. For the most common substances in disorders: Cocaine overdoses can cut off oxygen and blood flow to cause sudden cell death in the liver MDMA and methamphetamine can cause extremely high body…
Heroin, or diacetylmorphine, is a synthetically manufactured substance that uses natural morphine as a base before being altered with chemical groups to dissolve more effectively in lipids and penetrate the blood-brain barrier. It metabolizes back into morphine inside the central nervous system, but the rapid and concentrated delivery presents more intense impacts and a higher risk of dependency…
“Higher Power” refers to a religious deity, spiritual force, or other entity that has a role or power over one’s life. The 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) explicitly call on individuals to submit to or engage with some kind of Higher Power in Steps Two, Three, Five, Six, Seven, and Eleven. The language of “Higher Power” was used in the place of “God” in AA in an attempt to make the program…
The hippocampus is a part of the brain’s limbic system that handles the formation of long-term memories, processing of spatial information, and association of emotions to experiences. With chronic substance use, the hippocampus stores the people, places, and things as cues associated with the high of using substances. The processes of long-term potentiation (LTP), in which the connections between…
The Hippocratic Oath is an ethical commitment that medical professionals take in the interests of building confidence that their actions will be solely for the benefit of the patient’s health. The traditional Hippocratic Oath, as printed by Johns Hopkins Press in a publication by Ludwing Edelstein in 1943, reads, I swear by Apollo Physician and Asciepius and Hygieia and Panaceia and all the gods…
“Holding space” is a pop psychology term that refers to listening and witnessing someone’s emotions without attempting to judge their solutions or provide one yourself. It differs from the idea of being a good listener in that holding space focuses on allowing someone to express their emotions without judgment while good listening often involves active participation in a conversation. The concept…
“Holistic” means a consideration of all aspects of a situation or circumstance. In college applications, “holistic review” refers to an admissions review process that considers every aspect of a student’s profile like extracurricular activities and personal struggles rather than just their test scores and GPA. In healthcare, “holistic care” refers to an approach that considers every aspect of…
Homeostasis is the process through which an organism’s body attempts to regulate itself to some baseline of stable balance, essentially forming a negative feedback process in response to either internal or external changes. This contrasts with allostasis, in which the body predicts that a change will happen and proactively adjusts itself in anticipation to preserve some kind of baseline…
The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a self-report questionnaire that serves as a screening for anxiety and depression. The fourteen items, each ranked somewhere between 0 and 3 depending on frequency or intensity, are split between Anxiety and Depression. For Anxiety: I feel tense or ‘wound up’ I get a sort of frightened feeling as if something awful is about to happen Worrying…
“Housing First” refers to a policy framework that addresses homelessness by directly providing housing options without requiring sobriety or treatment for any potential health conditions, including substance use disorder. I’m a huge advocate for Housing First policies. I think it’s one of the most obvious solutions to the cycles of chronic homelessness and substance use that we have and treats…
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a chronic infection that destroys the body’s immune system and spreads through the transfer of bodily fluids, including blood, semen, vaginal and rectal fluids, and even breast milk. It can be dormant or present with mild flu-like symptoms for years before progressing into chronic fevers from frequent infections and extreme fatigue. The final stage of HIV is…
The HALT acronym points to four emotional states that make one more vulnerable to impulsive decision-making. It originated in 12-step programs as a way to stave off the triggers or cravings for a potential relapse. Hungry: low blood sugar can be a source of irritability and anxiety Angry: many people within recovery spaces will stand by the claim that resentment is the number one trigger of…
Hyperarousal refers to a physical state that the body enters as a response from the nervous system to continuous stress. This includes hypervigilance, and it contrasts withhypoarousal. In a typical stress response, the amygdala sends signals to the adrenal glands to flood the bloodstream with adrenaline and norepinephrine and trigger a potential fight-or-flight response while increasing your…
Hypervigilance is a part of hyperarousal, in which the nervous system’s “fight-or-flight” stress response is continually excited. Specifically, hypervigilance refers to the component of hyperarousal in which someone is constantly diverting their attention to scanning the environment for threats. Hypervigilance can manifest as: Analyzing micro-expressions, like reading subtle changes in someone’s…
Hypoarousal is a state in which the nervous system shuts down to conserve energy in response to prolonged or intense stress and trauma. This is in contrast to hyperarousal, though notably, a stressed nervous system may swing abruptly from one to the other. Signs of hypoarousal include: Emotional numbness Low energy or chronic fatigue Brain fog or trouble concentrating Dissociation
Hypochondria, or Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD) as of the publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in 2013, refers to a condition in which someone experiences constant and intense fear of having a serious illness. The term “hypochondriac” is weighed down by a lot of social stigma, much like “addict,” so the American Psychiatric Association (APA) began…
Hypomania is a short-lived form of mania in which someone experiences increased energy and elevated or irritable moods. Someone must be experiencing symptoms for four days consecutively that are not considered characteristic of someone’s personality outside of the symptomatic episodes. More specifically, these symptoms include: Grandiosity Decreased desire for sleep Speaking fast or as if under…
Hysteria in a casual everyday sense refers to some kind of extreme excitement or overwhelming emotion. I use it often in the context of anti-drug or anti-immigrant hysteria, in which people are so frightened over something unfamiliar that they jump to radical or pseudoscientific solutions. However, “hysteria” used to describe a now-defunct disorder that framed an excess of emotion as a pathology…
I
I-statements are expressions that avoid generalizing by focusing on personal experiences. For instance, rather than saying “a good parent is always attentive to their kids’ needs”, an I-statement might reframe the sentiment as “I feel like a good parent when I’m attentive to my kids’ needs.” No one ever actually does this anywhere. I don’t even consistently do it on this site. In fact, I’m about…
“Iatrogenic” refers to an illness or condition caused by a medical procedure or the actions of a medical practitioner. This includes everything from predictable side-effects of prescribed medication to botched surgeries worthy of medical malpractice suits.
The National Cancer Institute defines “impairment” as: A loss of part or all of a physical or mental ability, such as the ability to see, walk, or learn. Taber’s Medical Dictionary provides a somewhat more specific definition that explicitly invokes a biopsychosocial perspective: Any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure or function. Impairments represent a…
Imposter syndrome is not an official medical diagnosis, but it was coined by clinical psychologists to describe the specific anxieties where people continually doubt themselves and feel like a fraud even when experiencing undeniable success. This can manifest as low self-esteem or self-worth, rationalizations that success was the result of luck, worrying about how others perceive one’s…
The American Psychological Association’s Dictionary of Psychology defines “impulsive” as: describing or displaying behavior characterized by little or no forethought, reflection, or consideration of the consequences of an action, particularly one that involves taking risks.
Inebriety refers to the state of being drunk, normally from alcohol. While the term “inebriate” can be found in the 15th century in the context of being “inebriate in the love of God” in reference to feeling overwhelmed with religious zeal and spirit, it was used as a euphemism for being drunk for centuries until the late 1800s. Physicians began using the term when addressing addiction, such as…
Inflammation is typically a response from an immune system that increases blood flow, heat, and fluid build up towards some area of the body that might be injured, infected, or irritated. In the short-term, in cases such as a cut or a cold, inflammation is a healing process that helped deliver immune cells and healing factors to an affected region of the body. In the long-term, chronic…
The “inner child” is a metaphor that refers to some collection of schemas and emotions rooted in childhood experiences or perspectives. The “inner child” is not a rigid scientific or clinical concept. It has origins in analytical psychology dating back to Carl Jung’s archetypes of a “Divine Child” and “wounded child”, but the concept isn’t defined in ways we can measure for empirical testing.…
The term “inner city” has been used as a euphemism for low-income predominantly minority neighborhoods in urban environments, which came to the forefront of sociopolitical discourse through media coverage of the crack cocaine epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s under the banner of the War on Drugs.
“Inner work” is a term that’s widely used in pop psychology, though it’s rooted in ideas going back to Carl Jung about reflecting on one’s psyche as an internal world that interacts with the external world. If you’ve encountered phrases like “healing your inner child,” “doing shadow work,” or “protecting your peace” as general concepts divorced from specific therapeutic modalities or treatment…
Inpatient programs involve staying in a treatment facility continuously in order to receive care. Inpatient rehabs, also sometimes called residential treatment, are considered the most intensive level of care for substance use disorders, as well as other mental health disorders as appropriate. Bringing someone out of their old environment that’s laden with cues and routines related to their…
Insanity is not a term used in the medical field due to its social stigma and lack of precision. Instead, it has legal weight by labeling a person as being in a state of mind in which they are incapable of understanding the consequences of their actions during a crime. Contrary to popular wisdom, the definition of insanity is not actually doing the same thing over and over while expecting…
Insomnia is a disorder that disrupts sleep, either by making it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. Short-term insomnia can be caused by stress, travel, substance use, or significant life events that lead to a lot of thoughts at night. Long-term insomnia can be related to chronic pain, mental health disorders like anxiety and depression, and the side effects of some medications. Insomnia and…
“Intellectualization” is considered a defense mechanism against unwanted emotions that draws someone’s focus to abstractions rather than the lived experience of painful feelings. One of the most commonly depicted forms of intellectualization follows the death of a loved one, where someone might throw themselves entirely into the headspace of resolving the logistical problems of a person’s…
Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOPs) address substance use disorders and other mental health disorders by structuring about 10-20 hours of therapy a week so that patients can continue to live at home, maintain full-time employment, or take a full-time class schedule at school. Generally, patients step down from a 24/7 inpatient facility or residential center to a Partial Hospitalization Program…
Intentionality is broadly the capacity to direct oneself towards something else. If that sounds vague, it’s because intentionality takes on a variety of meanings depending on the specific context. Philosophers of the mind discuss intentionality as a property that separates the physical world from constructs of the mind. From the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: In philosophy, intentionality…
Intertemporal bargaining is a behavioral economics concept that refers to a person making a strategic decision that alters the benefits or consequences of their future self. Eating a whole row of Double Stuf Oreos might seem very appealing in the short-term, and the impulse to act on that might cause you to decide that the sugar intake is a problem you’re willing to pass onto your future self.…
“Intervention” in a general medical context has been used to refer to any treatment used to address the natural course of a disease. In preventative medicine, interventions are generally categorized as: primary interventions that prevent a disease before it occurs, like a vaccine secondary interventions that use early detection to address a disease at it’s earliest stages tertiary interventions…
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) refers to instances of physical altercation between partners who are in or used to be in a romantic relationship. In the general population, 33% of women and 25% of men report being the victim of IPV or domestic violence. Within those seeking treatment for substance use disorders, 1 in 2 women report being the victim of IPV. With men, 30% report having engaged in…
Intramuscular (IM) injections are injections that aim to go deeper than intradermal (in the skin), intravenous (in the veins), and subcutaneous (fatty tissue under the skin) injections. Vaccines, hormones, steroids, and antibiotics are generally delivered at this depth which allows for rapid absorption of high quantities of a medication or drug. With injection drug use, generally the goal is to…
Intravenous (IV) translates literally into “within a vein.” It’s most often used in the context of IV injections, which deliver some substance directly into a person’s bloodstream through their veins for rapid circulation. As a medical procedure, it’s commonly done to administer medications that act rapidly without going through the digestive system’s metabolic processes. If a patient has lost…
The concept of intrinsic motivation refers to the tendency to perceive activities as their own reward rather than the means to an external reward. The term first entered scientific literature in 1950 in a paper titled “Learning and satiation of response in intrinsically motivated complex puzzle performance by monkeys.” The psychologist Harry Harlow observed how some monkeys would learn to solve…
Intrusive thoughts refer to thoughts that interrupt a flow of thoughts. There are some wordier definitions that sound more technical, but that’s the essence of it. In clinical literature, it’s common to see intrusive thoughts referred to as “obsessions”, “mental intrusions”, or other close synonyms. Everyone has some level of intrusive thoughts that come to mind throughout their day and life, but…
Isolation of affect is a psychological defense mechanism in which the cognitive and emotional components of an experience are isolated from each other so that an individual can cognitively engage with an idea without being conscious of their emotional associations with it. It’s considered to be the opposite of repression, where the emotional affect is impacting an individual but they don’t…
J
“Junkie” is a derogatory slang term that refers to people with substance use disorders, typically in relation to narcotic substances that were historically called “junk.” In 1923, Nels Anderson published The Hobo: The Sociology of the Homeless Man in which he writes: “The Hop Head is an interesting type. He is usually in a pitiful condition, for he has small chance, living as he does, in the…
In legal philosophy, particularly in the works of Hanna Pickard, “juridical image” can refer to the model of human behavior that a legal system uses in evaluating actions and interpreting laws. The common traditional juridical image found in most legal systems assumes that an individual is a discrete autonomous unit who makes calculated decisions, such that breaking the law is seen as a choice…
The term “justice-involved individual” (JII) became widespread across state agencies and healthcare fields as a replacement for “convict”, “criminal”, “felon” or “prisoner” which have negative connotations that imply some level of guilt or wrongdoing. There were earlier attempts to shift the language into person-first and system-focused terms like “person with a criminal record” or “formerly…
K
Kava is a beverage made from the root of the Piper methysticum plant and has traditionally been used in rituals and social gatherings across Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia in the South Pacific. It’s also sold as tea, extracts, and supplemental powders globally. Kava contains kavalactones, which are found in the resin of kava roots and are responsible for its psychoactive effects by serving…
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used for surgical procedures, treatment-resistant depression, and chronic pain. As an NMDA receptor antagonist, it blocks glutamate, the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain. With depression, this leads to the brain creating new pathways extremely quickly that can guide someone out of negative loops in their thoughts and feelings. It’s also used…
Kleptomania is a mental health disorder ni which someone has a recurring urge to steal items without personal gain as a motivator. While it’s often considered a behavioral addiction along the lines of gambling or sex addictions, the DSM-5-TR technically categorizes it as an impulse-control disorder. The underlying mechanisms for kleptomania are almost all shared with other addictions. Much like…
To describe an approach as “Kraepelinian” is to mean that it views mental illnesses as distinct biologically-driven neurological conditions that can be identified through their progression rather than just the current presentation of symptoms. This is in contrast to Freudian psychoanalysis, which located the source of symptoms within someone’s fluid, subconscious emotional conflicts that could…
L
If you’re anything like me (which if you are, my condolences), you might have been tempted to dismiss these as “anecdotes” that don’t count as real data, which we only get through quanitative measurements that are “objective” and reproducible. Personally, I feel short-sighted for having felt that way and ignoring how the intuition of lived experience is necessarily the starting point for any…
M
At the time that the Vedas were written, alcohol wasn’t known as a distinct concept. Madya originally referred to something providing exhilaration or intoxication. In the Charaka Samhita, a foundational Sanskrit text for the Hindu medical system of Ayurveda, alcohol is described as either amrita, implying a medicinal substance, or visha, implying a poisonous one, depending on how it’s used.…
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as MDMA, ecstacy, and molly, is a psychedelic stimulant known to cause euphoria, heightened senses, and deep emotional connections.
Methocarbamol is used as a muscle relaxant and pain reliever for health conditions that produce painful muscle spasms or cramps. Anecdotally, this didn’t too much for me when taking it for the soreness following motor tics, though it did seem to provide a slight comforting tingling at a very conservative dose, well under the standard starting dosages.
“The term ‘morphinism,’ or morphine disease, is used in this work to include all forms of opium disease. In fact, it is intended in most instances to be the equivalent of narcotic disease. While sixteen alkaloids have been isolated from opium, morphine is present in so much larger quantities, and is so much more potent than any of the other alkaloids, that practically all the medicinal or…
N
N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is an amino acid supplement that can help raise antioxidants, decongest the lungs, and address acetaminophen overdoses. There is some mixed evidence on whether NAC can also address symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). NAC tastes and smells like straight ass. It is made with sulfur, so opening a bottle of NAC can feel like releasing a mild stink bomb. Seriously,…
Naikan is a Japanese approach to introspection that uses three fundamental questions about each relationship in one’s life to guide a sense of gratitude and agency: What have I received from this person? What have I given to this person? What troubles and difficulties have I caused this person? Traditional naikan involves 7 days of isolation with 15 hours a day spent on self-reflection,…
NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) refers to the various movements opposed to developing social service institutions within their neighborhoods, generally out of fear that it would impact property values to have lower-income people in-need using services nearby.
In the field of psychology, the term “novelty-seeking” is considered a core personality or character trait that has substantial empirical backing in psychology and biology. C. Robert Cloninger is a psychiatrist who proposed the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), which breaks down novelty-seeking into four subscales: Exploratory excitability vs. Stoic indifference Impulsiveness vs.…
O
Referring to items that can be purchased at any store by taking it to the counter rather than requiring a prescription or special approval process. Over the years, some truly crazy things have been available OTC. Benzedrine Inhalers (Amphetamines) by Smith, Klein & French (SKF)
P
“Passive-aggressive” refers to a communication style in which someone doesn’t explicitly articulate how they feel while still acting or saying things that suggest they have negative opinions or feelings. Critically, the term did not originate from academic or research circles, but instead emerged in the context of compliance to orders in the United States military. During WWII, military…
Also called angel dust.
The time course of drug concentrations in the body determined through absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination (ADME). Area Under the Curve (AUC) is one measure of drug exposure, as are the time of peak and lowest concentrations.
Philopotes is an ancient Greek term that translates literally to lover of drinking. It didn’t have a negative connotation the way we might associate with “drunk” or “heavy drinker”; perhaps “partygoer” is a more fair comparison, since it might have been used to describe someone attending a party called a symposia.
Psychopathy isn’t an official medical or clinical diagnosis, but it carries weight as a personality construct explored by researchers of various fields. In general, psychopathy refers to a lack of empathy, a lack of inhibition, and a charming external appearance that compensates for lacking genuine emotional reactions. Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is often used instead, since many of…
Q
R
Re-narcotization is the unfortunate result of naloxone (Narcan) staying in the body for less time than the fentanyl it seeks to neutralize in the case of an overdose, which can lead someone to slip back into a potentially fatal overdose after naloxone wears off.
I’m not stuck in here with you. You’re stuck in here with me.
S
Edwin Van Bibber-Orr translates “shi jiu” from Song dynasty literature as “love of alcohol” in the context of an overwhelming craving or thirst for drinks.
In the Rig Veda, soma refers to a sacred ritual drink offered to the gods. Consuming it was believed to grant divine vision, greater awareness of the universe, immense strength, and even immortality. Some researchers have proposed that soma historically might have referred to Amanita muscaria mushrooms, cannabis, ephedra, and other guesses involving flowers or herbs.
Substance use navigators (SUNs) are peer counselors or social workers that help stabilized patients with substance use disorders from facilities like Emergency Rooms (ERs) enter outpatient clinic or rehabilitation programs for long-term treatment.
An alcoholic beverage brewed from grains, sugar canes, fruits, and flower saps. It is described in the Charaka Samhita as having potentially medicinal or toxic properties depending on whether it is appropriately consumed.
T
Media scholar Janice Peck observes that Oprah
Big T, Little T.
Ironically, no word seems to trigger the general public more than “trigger.”
V
According to current medical consensus, Viagra is not physically addictive, but it is possible to develop a psychological dependence on it such that lacking it can contribute to anxiety and performance issues. Stopping the medication does not cause physical sickness, and sildenafil, the active ingredient, doesn’t activate the same pathways in the brain’s reward center as substances associated…
This is perhaps one of the worst phrases I’ve encountered in mental health circles. First of all, “victim mentality” is not an academic or clinical term. It is not something that appears in the DSM-V or the ICD-11. It is a term forged through pop-psych and political rhetoric to dismiss the aftermath of trauma, particulary for those on the receiving end of oppressive policies. It is ambiguous…
W
“The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could…
Y
Tukano Indians use this vine to induce a narcotic state that comes with “jaguar eyes.” Jaguars also consume the bark of this vine to achieve similar effects to catnip in cats.