Psychiatry Mnemonics
C
Conduct disorder vs. Antisocial personality disorder
- Conduct disorder is seen in C
- Antisocial personality disorder is seen in A
- Reference: http://medicalmnemonics.com/
D
Depression: UNHAPPINESS:
- Understandable (such as bereavement, major stresses)
- Neurotic (high anxiety personalities, negative parental upbringing
- Hypochondriasis
- Agitation (usually organic causes such as dementia
- Pseudodementia
- Pain
- Importuniing (whingeing, complaining)
- Nihilistic
- Endogenous
- Secondary (ie cancer at the head of the pancreas, bronchogenic cancer)
- Syndromal
- Author: Peter Loa Medical Student at Adelaide University
Depression: symptoms and signs (DSM-IV criteria): AWESOME:
- Affect flat
- Weight change (loss or gain)
- Energy, loss of
- Sad feelings/ Suicide thoughts or plans or attempts/ Sexual inhibition/ Sleep change (loss or excess)/ Social withdrawal
- Others (guilt, loss of pleasure, hopeless)
- Memory loss
- Emotional blunting
- Author: Muhammad Firdaus, MD Private Practice
E
Erikson’s developmental stages: “The sad tale of Erikson Motors”:
The stages in order by age group:
- Trust and MsTrust had an auto they were ashamed of. She took the initiative to find the guilty
- She found the industry was inferior. They were making cars with dents [identity] and rolling
- fuses [role confusion]. Mr. T. Macy [intimacy] isolated the problem, General TVT absorbed the cost.
- In the end, they found the tires were just gritty and the should have used de- spare!
- Author: VTF SN, NHCC, Texas
M
DIG FAST:
- Distractibility
- Indiscretion (DSM-IV’s “excessive involvement in pleasurable activities”)
- Grandiosity
- Flight of ideas
- Activity increase
- Sleep deficit (decreased need for sleep)
- Talkativeness (pressured speech)
- Reference: http://medicalmnemonics.com/
Mania: diagnostic criteria: Must have 3 of MANIAC:
- Mouth (pressure of speech)/ Moodl
- Activity increased
- Naughty (disinhibition)
- Insomnia
- Attention (distractability)
- Confidence (grandiose ideas)
- Author: Waqar Ahmed Queens University, Belfast
P
Parasomnias: time of onset
- SLeep terrors and SLeepwalking occur during SLow-wave sleep (stages 3 & 4).
- NightmaRE occurs during REM sleep (and is REMembered).
- Reference: http://medicalmnemonics.com/
Psychiatric review of symptoms: “Depressed Patients Seem Anxious, So Claim Psychiatrists”:
- Depression and other mood disorders (major depression, bipolar disorder, dysthymia)
- Personality disorders (primarily borderline personality disorder)
- Substance abuse disorders
- Anxiety disorders (panic disorder with agoraphobia, obssessive-compulsive disorder)
- Somatization disorder, eating disorders (these two disorders are combined because both involve disorders of bodily perception)
- Cognitive disorders (dementia, delirium)
- Psychotic disorders (schizophrenia, delusional disorder and psychosis accompanying depression, substance abuse or dementia)
- Author: Michael Waddell University of Wisconsin Medical School
S
Schizophrenia: negative features: 4 A’s:
- Ambivalence
- Affective incongruence
- Associative loosening
- Autism
- Reference: http://medicalmnemonics.com/
Substance dependence: features (DSM IV): “WITHDraw IT“:
3 of 7 within 12 month period:
- Withdrawal
- Interest or Important activities given up or reduced
- Tolerance
- Harm to physical and psychosocial known but continue to use
- Desire to cut down, control
- Intended time, amount exceeded
- Time spent too much
- Author: Anthony Chan
