Stress Glossary of Terms

1. Diet for Stress Management Slideshow
2. Take the Stress Quiz!
3. Tips for Exercise, Diet and Stress Reduction

Acupuncture: The practice of inserting needles into the body to reduce pain or induce anes...

Aging: The process of becoming older, a process that is genetically determined and environ...

Anxiety: A feeling of apprehension and fear, characterized by physical symptoms such as pa...

Baseline: Information or data gathered at the beginning of a period from which variations ...

Biofeedback: A method of treatment that uses a monitor to measure patients' physiologic in...

Bioterrorism: Terrorism using biologic agents that are harmful to humans. Biological disea...

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

Chest pain: Pain in the chest that can be a result of many things, including angina, heart...

Chronic: In medicine, lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one that lasts 3 months ...

Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Diarrhea: A common condition that involves unusually frequent and liquid bowel movements. ...

Dizziness: Painless head discomfort with many possible causes including disturbances of ...

ECG: Electrocardiogram.

Electrocardiogram: A recording of the electrical activity of the heart. Abbreviated ECG an...

Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medica...

Family history: The family structure and relationships within the family, including inform...

Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency ...

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Hyperventilation: Overbreathing. Hyperventilation causes dizziness, lightheadedness, a sen...

Inpatient: A patient whose care requires a stay in a hospital. As opposed to an outpatient...

Internal medicine: The medical specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and medical treatment ...

Intervention: The act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the intent of modify...

Meditation: A typically self-directed practice for relaxing the body and calming the mind....

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

Nutrition: 1) The science or practice of taking in and utilizing foods. 2) A nourishing ...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Panic: A sudden strong feeling of fear that prevents reasonable thought or action. The wor...

Pharmacy: A location where prescription medications are sold. A pharmacy is constantly sup...

Post-traumatic stress: An anxiety disorder that develops in some individuals who have had...

Post-traumatic stress disorder: A common anxiety disorder that develops after exposure to ...

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. Thi...

Primary care: A patient's main source for regular medical care, ideally providing continui...

Prognosis: The forecast of the probable outcome or course of a disease; the patient's chan...

PTSD: Post-traumatic stress disorder.

Rule out: Term used in medicine, meaning to eliminate or exclude something from considera...

Self-harm: see: non-suicidal self injury.

Sensation: In medicine and physiology, sensation refers to the registration of an incoming...

Shortness of breath: Difficulty in breathing. Medically referred to as dyspnea. Shortness ...

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Stress: In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional fact...

Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity via operative or manual meth...

Temple: The area just behind and to the side of the forehead and the eye, above the side o...