MENTAL HEALTH


mania /ˈmeɪniə/ (n):

#1. [uncountable] (psychology) a mental illness in which somebody feels extremely active and excited with a lot of energy, may not feel like sleeping or eating, and may see or believe things that are not real.

During periods of mania she felt extremely creative.

Children with bipolar disorder will experience discrete episodes of depression and mania, as adults do.

SEE ALSO bipolar disorder.


breakdown /ˈbreɪkdaʊn/ (n):

# [countable] (also nervous breakdown) a period of mental illness in which somebody becomes very depressed, anxious and tired, and cannot deal with normal life.

She's still recovering from her breakdown.

It all became too much and he had some sort of breakdown.


insane /ɪnˈseɪn/ (adj):

# (formal, law or old-fashioned, often offensive) having a serious mental illness that makes somebody unable to think or behave normally; seriously mentally ill and unable to live in normal society. (The use of insane with this meaning can be offensive, although it still has a technical use in law, meaning that somebody is not able to understand that their own actions are wrong or not able to understand a trial process).

Doctors certified him as insane.

The prisoners were slowly going insane.


diminished responsibility /dɪˌmɪnɪʃt rɪˌspɒnsəˈbɪləti/ (n):

(British English)

(North American English diminished capacity)

# [uncountable] (law) ​a state in which a person who is accused of a crime is not considered to be responsible for their actions, because they have a serious mental illness.

He was found not guilty of murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.


bipolar disorder /ˌbaɪˈpəʊlə dɪsɔːdə(r)/ (n):

(also bipolar affective disorder)

# [uncountable, countable] (also old-fashioned manic depression [uncountable]) (psychology) ​a mental illness in which somebody has periods of time when they feel extremely depressed and tired and other periods when they feel extremely active and excited with a lot of energy.


seasonal affective disorder (SAD) (n):

# a condition in which a person feels sad and tired during late autumn and winter when there is not much light from the sun.


fear of missing out (FOMO) (n):

# a feeling of worry that an interesting or exciting event is happening somewhere else.

We all live internet lives, and when we see everyone else having more fun than us, we experience anxiety and FOMO.


joy of missing out (JOMO) (n):

# enjoying spending your free time doing whatever you want to do, without worrying that something more interesting is happening somewhere else)

Cherishing time to yourself and embracing JOMO will leave you feeling refreshed.


psychological /ˌsaɪkəˈlɒdʒɪkl/ (adj):

# [usually before noun] connected with a person’s mind and the way in which it works.

the psychological development of children.

psychological phenomena.


>>> the psychological moment (idiom): ​the best time to do something in order for it to be successful.

The trick is in finding the (right) psychological moment to ask him for more money.


>>> psychological warfare /ˌsaɪkəlɒdʒɪkl ˈwɔːfeə(r)/ (n): [uncountable] ​things that are said and done in order to make an opponent believe that they cannot win a war, a competition, etc.

a subtle form of psychological warfare.