psychological distress A range of symptoms and experiences of a person’s internal life that are commonly held to be troubling, confusing, or out of the ordinary.
psychometric measures Standardized instruments such as scales, questionnaires, tests, and assessments that are designed to measure human knowledge, abilities, attitudes, or personality traits.
psychomotor agitation Excessive motor activity associated with a feeling of inner tension.
The activity is usually nonproductive and repetitious and consists of behaviors such as pac- ing, fidgeting, wringing of the hands, pulling of clothes, and inability to sit still.
psychomotor retardation Visible generalized slowing of movements and speech.
psychotic features Features characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and formal thought disorder.
psychoticism Exhibiting a wide range of culturally incongruent odd, eccentric, or un- usual behaviors and cognitions, including both process (e.g., perception, dissociation) 828 Glossary of Technical Terms and content (e.g., beliefs). Psychoticism is one of the five broad PERSONALITY TRAIT DO-
MAINS defined in Section III ”Alternative DSM—S Model for Personality Disorders.” purging disorder Eating disorder characterized by recurrent purging behavior to inﬂu- ence weight or shape, such as self—induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or other medications, in the absence of binge eating.
racing thoughts A state in which the mind uncontrollably brings up random thoughts and memories and switches between them very quickly. Sometimes the thoughts are related, with one thought leading to another; other times they are completely random.
A person experiencing an episode of racing thoughts has no control over them and is unable to focus on a single topic or to sleep.
rapid cycling Term referring to bipolar disorder characterized by the presence of at least four mood episodes in the previous 12 months that meet the criteria for a manic, hypo- manic, or major depressive episode. Episodes are demarcated either by partial or full remissions of at least 2 months or by a switch to an episode of the opposite polarity (e.g., major depressive episode to manic episode). The rapid cycling specifier can be ap- plied to bipolar I or bipolar II disorder.
rapid eye movement (REM) A behavioral sign of the phase of sleep during which the sleeper is likely to be experiencing dreamlike mental activity.
repetitive speech Morphologically heterogeneous iterations of speech.
residual phase Period after an episode of schizophrenia that has partly or completed re- mitted but in which some symptoms may remain, and symptoms such as listlessness, problems with concentrating, and withdrawal from social activities may predominate.
restless legs syndrome An urge to move the legs, usually accompanied or caused by uncomfortable and unpleasant sensations in the legs (for pediatric restless legs syn- drome, the description of these symptoms should be in the child’s own words). The symptoms begin or worsen during periods of rest or inactivity. Symptoms are partially or totally relieved by movement. Symptoms are worse in the evening or at night than during the day or occur only in the night/evening.
restricted affectivity Little reaction to emotionally arousing situations; constricted situations. Restricted affectivity is a facet of the broad personality trait domain DETACH-
MENT.
rigid perfectionism Rigid insistence on everything being ﬂawless, perfect, and without errors or faults, including one’s own and others’ performance; sacrificing of timeliness to ensure correctness in every detail; believing that there is only one right way to do things; difficulty changing ideas and / or viewpoint; preoccupation with details, orga- nization, and order. Lack of rigid perfectionism is a facet of the broad personality trait domain DISINH'IBITION.
risk taking Engagement in dangerous, risky, and potentially self-damaging activities, un- necessarily and without regard to consequences; lack of concern for one’s limitations and denial of the reality of personal danger; reckless pursuit of goals regardless of the level of risk involved. Risk taking is a facet of the broad personality trait domain DISINHIBrI'ION.