Introduction to Mental Health

Overview – Introduction to Mental Health

Introduction to mental health is a foundational topic for all medical students and healthcare providers. It equips clinicians with the language, definitions, and classification systems necessary to understand, diagnose, and treat psychiatric conditions. Mental health disorders span a wide spectrum, from mood and anxiety disorders to complex personality and psychotic illnesses, and are among the most common reasons for disability and healthcare utilisation worldwide.

In this guide, we present the key terminology, common acronyms, and an overview of major psychiatric disorder categories — providing a vital framework for future learning and clinical application.

Common Acronyms in Mental Health

Psychiatric Disorders

• ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• CD – Conduct Disorder
• ASD – Autism Spectrum Disorder
• ASPD – Antisocial Personality Disorder
• AN – Anorexia Nervosa
• BN – Bulimia Nervosa
• GAD – Generalised Anxiety Disorder
• MDD – Major Depressive Disorder
• OCD – Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• ODD – Oppositional Defiant Disorder
• PD – Personality Disorder
• PTSD – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Clinical Terminology

• MSE – Mental Status Examination
• CBT – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• CT – Cognitive Therapy
• ECT – Electroconvulsive Therapy
• EPS – Extrapyramidal Symptoms

Neurochemicals and Drug Classes

• ETOH – Ethanol (alcohol)
• DA – Dopamine
• 5-HT – Serotonin
• ACh – Acetylcholine
• MAOI – Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor
• SNRI – Serotonin and Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitor
• SSRI – Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor
• TCA – Tricyclic Antidepressant

Key Definitions

• Affect: Subjective experience of emotion without reference to bodily changes
• Emotion: Mental and physiological reaction to stimuli
• Feelings: Affective state in response to people or situations, involving physical and emotional components
• Arousal: Visceral response to stimuli, mediated by autonomic and endocrine activity
• Cognition: The process of knowing — includes awareness, judgment, memory
• Behaviour: Observable response to stimuli (e.g. posture, facial expression, speech patterns)

Classification of Psychiatric Disorders

Anxiety Disorders

• Characterised by excessive fear, worry, and physical arousal
• Includes:
  • Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
  • Panic Disorder
  • Social Anxiety Disorder
  • Specific Phobias

Mood (Affective) Disorders

• Marked by persistent mood changes — low or high
• Includes:
  • Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
  • Mania
  • Bipolar Affective Disorder

Psychotic Disorders

• Involve disordered thinking, perception, and reality testing
• Symptoms: hallucinations, delusions
• Includes:
  • Schizophrenia
  • Brief Psychotic Disorder
  • Delusional Disorder
  • Substance-Induced Psychosis
  • Paraphrenia

Eating Disorders

• Involve distorted body image and dysfunctional eating patterns
• Includes:
  • Anorexia Nervosa (AN)
  • Bulimia Nervosa (BN)

Impulse Control & Addiction Disorders

• Inability to resist harmful urges or behaviours
• Includes:
  • Pyromania
  • Kleptomania
  • Substance Use Disorders (alcohol, drugs, gambling)

Personality Disorders

• Inflexible, maladaptive personality traits that cause distress or dysfunction
• Types:
  • Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)
  • Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic Personality Disorders
  • Avoidant, Paranoid, Schizoid Personality Disorders

Adjustment Disorder

• Emotional or behavioural disturbance in response to a significant life stressor
• Subtypes:
  • With depressed mood
  • With anxiety
  • With mixed anxiety and depression
  • With disturbance of conduct

Dissociative Disorders

• Disruption in identity, memory, or consciousness, often trauma-related
• Includes:
  • Dissociative Identity Disorder
  • Depersonalisation Disorder
  • Dissociative Amnesia

Factitious Disorder

• Falsification of illness (self or others) for psychological gain
• Subtypes:
  • Imposed on self
  • Imposed on another

Summary – Introduction to Mental Health

The introduction to mental health provides the essential terminology, frameworks, and classification systems that underpin psychiatric education and practice. By understanding common acronyms, definitions, and the major diagnostic groups, students build a strong foundation for approaching mental illness clinically. For a broader context, see our Psychiatry & Mental Health Overview page.