mysophobia pathological fear of dirt, filth, and germs, with the repeated washing of hands, a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Also known as germaphobia.
Napoleon complex colloquial term for a form of inferiority complex once believed to be suffered by some people of short stature, so-called after French emperor Napoleon I (Bonaparte), who was perceived to be a small man when standing next to his oversized guards but who in reality was of normal height. The complex supposedly drives shorter men to seek power as compensation for their lack of physical stature, but studies have failed to show any real connection and is today considered a myth. Also known as short man syndrome.
narcissism excessive self-love, selfishness, and self- centeredness.
narco hypnosis hypnotizing a person who is under the influence of drugs.
necrophilism sexual attraction to or sexual intercourse with a corpse. Also, a death wish.
neologism a new or nonsensical word coined by a schizophrenic person to describe a complex or abstract state.
nervous tic an involuntary muscle spasm, particularly around the face, that is illustrative of inner tension.
nihilistic delusions delusions concerning annihilation of self or body organs.
nocebo a sham pill or treatment that, through the power of suggestion, may have a negative effect or actually make someone ill, the opposite of a placebo.
numbing shutting down one's emotional responses to reduce stress, a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder.
nystagmus involuntary eye tics or spasms, with the eyeballs jerking rhythmically in one direction, a sign of a brain or balance disorder.
obsessive-compulsive disorder a mental disorder characterized by thoughts, actions, or rituals repeated again and again, such as checking 10 times to make sure the iron is unplugged before leaving the house.
Oedipus complex the sexual feelings of a child, usually male, for a parent of the opposite sex, and accompanied by feelings of hostility to the parent of the same sex.
olfactory hallucination a hallucination involving smells.
oppositional defiant disorder a disorder in children characterized by an unusual level of defiance, hostility, and spiteful behavior, with frequent lashings out at authority figures. Often evolves into conduct disorder.
organic behavior disorder a disorder caused by physical damage to the brain or nervous system.
organic psychiatry psychiatry emphasizing the physical causes of behavior disorders.
Othello syndrome a syndrome characterized by delusional jealousy and repeated accusations of infidelity, with the scantest of evidence or no evidence at all, and may include constant surveillance of one's partner and eruptions of violence, named after the Shakespearean character who murdered his wife out of the irrational belief that she was adulterous.
out-of-body experience the mysterious but false perception that one is floating outside of one's body and sometimes even observing it. Although little is known about them, out-of-body experiences have been strongly associated with psychedelic drugs, trauma, near-death experiences, and the state of mind that occurs between waking and sleeping.
overvalued idea not quite reaching the level of delusion, a strongly held or extreme belief that is not held by the rest of society.
panic disorder a disorder in which a subject coming face to face with an irrationally feared object may hyperventilate, break into a cold sweat, suffer out-of-control heartbeat, and even pass out, and consequently takes pains to avoid that object.
paradoxical psychology any counterintuitive therapy technique or approach, such as telling a person who is afraid of failure that they probably will fail. Also known as reverse psychology.
paramnesia a state of confusion between one's fantasies and dreams and reality.
paranoid ideation belief that one is being persecuted, targeted, harassed, or treated unfairly, but not quite rising to the level of a delusion.
paranoid personality disorder a disorder characterized by the irrational mistrust of others.
paranoid schizophrenia a schizophrenic disorder in which the person suffers from delusions of persecution.
paraphrenia a late-life schizophrenia with paranoid ideation.
parasomnia any odd behavior or disorder that occurs during sleep.
passive-aggressive personality a chronically discontented, petulant, fault-finding personality that reveals inner hostility by such passive actions as "forgetting" promises or by vacillating between passive dependency on others and stubborn independence.
pathological gambling an addictive behavior in which the sufferer gambles incessantly, causing financial and personal problems.
pedophilia sex act between an adult and child.
persistent sexual arousal syndrome a mysterious disorder in which women experience constant symptoms of genital stimulation and the sensation of imminent orgasms, originally thought to be psychological in origin but now associated with restless leg syndrome and overactive bladder.
personality disorder a personality dysfunction characterized by any one of various maladaptive behaviors, causing difficulty in the sufferer and sometimes in those around him.
phantosmia odor hallucinations.
phobia an irrational fear of a person, place, or thing. Phobias include the following:
animals zoophobia
animal skin or fur, doraphobia touching
blood hemophobia
blushing erythrophobia
bridges
gephyrophobia
burial alive
taphephobia
cancer
cancerphobia
cats
ailurophobia
children
pedophobia
cold
psychrophobia
confinement in
claustrophobia
enclosed space
crowds
demophobia
dark
nyctophobia
dead bodies
necrophobia
death
thanatophobia,
necrophobia
defecation
rhypophobia
depths
bathophobia
dirt
mysophobia
dogs
cynophobia
eating
phagophobia
failure
kakorrhaphiophobia
fire
pyrophobia
flood
antlophobia
foreigners or strangers
xenophobia
ghosts
phantasmophobia
heights
acrophobia
infinity
apeirophobia
insects
acarophobia,
entomophobia
knives
aichmophobia
lice
pediculophobia
marriage
gamophobia
medicine
pharmacophobia
men
androphobia
mice
musophobia
missiles
ballistophobia
money
chrematophobia
night
nyctophobia
noise
phonophobia,
acousticophobia
number 13
triskaidekaphobia
ocean
thalassophobia
old age
gerontophobia
open spaces
agoraphobia
pain
algophobia
poison
toxicophobia
precipices
cremnophobia
responsibility
hypengyophobia
ridicule
catagelophobia
robbers
harpaxophobia
sex
coitophobia, genoph
aichmophobia
peccatiphobia
hypnophobia
ophidiophobia
chionophobia
autophobia
lalophobia
arachnophobia
astrophobia
xenophobia
heliophobia
astraphobia, brontophobia