a b c d e f g h i k l m n o p r s t u v w z
waxy flexibility: An aspect of
catatonic immobility in which the patient’s limbs can be moved into a
variety of positions and maintained that way for unusually long periods
of time.
white matter: The neural tissue, particularly
of the brain and spinal cord, consisting of tracts or bundles of myelinated
(sheathed) nerve fibres.
withdrawal: Negative physiological and psychological reactions evidenced
when a person suddenly stops taking an addictive drug; cramps, restlessness,
and even death are examples. See substance abuse.
woolly mammoth: A metaphor for the way in which the repressed conflicts
of psychoanalytic theory are encapsulated in the unconscious, making them
inaccessible to examination and alteration; thus maintained, the conflicts
cause disorders in adulthood.
working through: In psychoanalysis,
the arduous, time-consuming process through which the patient confronts
repressed conflicts again and again and faces up to the validity of the
psychoanalyst’s interpretations until problems are satisfactorily solved.
