Anxiety, burnout, OCD, depression… A glossary of 20 psychology terms explained simply

Anxiety, burnout, trauma, OCD, depression… These words are now part of our everyday lives. We hear them in conversation, we read them on social media, and sometimes we use them to talk about what we’re going through. But do we really know what they mean?

Behind each of these terms lies a different psychological reality, one that can sometimes be hard to recognize when we’re experiencing it ourselves.

This glossary aims to help you better understand 20 common concepts in psychology through simple definitions and real-life examples that illustrate how they can manifest in everyday life.

(The situations presented in this article are fictional and inspired by experiences frequently encountered in therapy. The first names are also fictional and do not refer to any specific person.)

Anxiety

Definition: Anxiety is a state of physical and mental tension that arises when faced with a vague or imagined threat. When we experience anxiety, our body goes on high alert as if there were a danger, even when there isn’t really one.

Léna, 32, often wakes up at 4 a.m. with her heart racing, for no specific reason. For the past few months, she’s had trouble falling asleep the night before important meetings; she keeps replaying the same worst-case scenarios over and over, and she finds herself avoiding certain phone calls “just in case.” She says she feels “constantly on edge,” even on days when nothing serious is happening. The people around her keep telling her she’s “worrying over nothing,” which makes her feel even more guilty.

Depression

Definition: It’s a profound depletion of energy and motivation. A depletion that affects both the body and the mind and persists over time—that is, well beyond a simple bout of fatigue or fleeting sadness.

Karim, 41, can no longer bring himself to do the things he used to enjoy: running, seeing his friends, cooking, and even just watching a TV show. He wakes up feeling tired despite getting a full night’s sleep, he drags his feet about taking a shower, and he constantly puts off simple tasks. Nothing in particular has happened in his life recently. And that makes him doubt whether he has the “right” to feel this bad. So he ends his days with a feeling of emptiness that he can’t explain to his loved ones.

Stress

Definition: It’s a natural reaction of the body and mind to external pressure (such as work, exams, or unexpected events). Stress is helpful in small doses, but it can quickly become exhausting when it becomes chronic.

Élise, 27, juggles her job, her commute, and her family life. She notices that she clenches her jaw without realizing it, that her back is constantly tense, and that she snaps at her loved ones over trivial matters. On the weekends, instead of feeling relieved, she remains restless, unable to truly “unwind.” She feels like she’s been racing against time for months.

Burnout

Definition: Unlike stress, burnout is extreme exhaustion often linked to work, but it can also stem from parenting. This exhaustion affects energy levels, motivation, and a sense of effectiveness. A person experiencing burnout feels drained, cynical, or unable to do things that used to come easily to them.

Thomas, 38, a highly dedicated executive, no longer recognizes his own enthusiasm for his job. He arrives at the office with a knot in his stomach, goes through his tasks mechanically, and even catches himself thinking, “What’s the point?” several times a day. At home, he no longer has the energy to cook or reply to messages. His colleagues find him “less engaged,” while he himself feels completely drained.

OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)

Definition: OCD involves intrusive and distressing thoughts (obsessions) that drive a person to repeat certain actions or rituals (compulsions) to temporarily alleviate the anxiety—even when the person is aware that what they’re doing is excessive.

Léa, 29, checks several times to make sure her door is locked before leaving the house, even if it means turning back when she’s already running late. Deep down, she knows she locked it properly. But until she’s checked it “the right number of times,” her anxiety won’t subside. What’s more, she’s started avoiding touching certain doorknobs without washing her hands immediately afterward. She’s ashamed of this, so she doesn’t tell anyone about it.

Phobia

Definition: an intense and disproportionate fear of a specific object, animal, or situation, which drives the person to avoid it at all costs, even if they know the actual danger is minimal.

Nicolas, 34, always takes the stairs instead of the elevator, even if it means arriving out of breath and late. Just the thought of stepping inside makes his heart race and his hands get sweaty. He eventually turned down a job because the offices were on the 12th floor of a building without accessible stairs. He talks about it with a lot of humor, but acknowledges that it seriously limits his daily life.

Social Phobia

Definition: Social phobia is an intense fear of being judged, watched, or humiliated in social situations. This fear can be accompanied by physical symptoms (blushing, trembling, a voice that catches) and lead to avoiding such situations.

Manon, 24, has always dreaded team lunches and speaking up in meetings. She mentally rehearses every sentence before saying it, for fear of “saying something stupid,” and she blushes as soon as she feels eyes turning toward her. For a long time, she thought she was just “shy,” until she realized that the anticipation of these moments left her exhausted several days in advance. She now avoids certain work-related events, even though they’re important for her career.

Trauma

Definition: Trauma refers to the range of psychological consequences resulting from a violent or shocking event, which continue to affect the person long after the event has ended.

Ahmed, 45, witnessed a serious car accident two years ago. Since then, certain sudden noises (a car horn, screeching brakes) make him jump violently, his heart racing. Since then, he has even avoided driving on the highway and feels an unexplained tension as he approaches certain intersections. The people around him no longer really make the connection to the accident, but he knows that “something has stuck with him.”

Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS)

Definition: Post-traumatic stress, on the other hand, is a genuine disorder that can develop after a traumatic event. PTSD is characterized by intrusive memories, constant hypervigilance, and a pathological avoidance of anything that reminds the person of the event.

Camille, 30, relives certain images of an assault that occurred a year ago in flashes. These images are often triggered without warning by a smell or a place. She sleeps poorly, jumps at the slightest noise on the street, and systematically scans the exits whenever she enters a building. She has stopped going to the neighborhood where it happened, even for simple errands. She feels constantly “on alert,” without knowing how to explain it to those around her.

Schizophrenia

Definition: Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that can distort one’s perception of reality, manifesting, for example, as hallucinations (hearing voices), delusions, or a gradual withdrawal from social life.

The family of Julien, 26, has noticed a gradual change. According to them, Julien talks less and less, sometimes seems to be responding to voices that no one else can hear, and has developed delusions of persecution toward neighbors who are, in fact, harmless. He dropped out of school without a clear explanation and is increasingly isolating himself in his room. His mother says it took her a while to realize that this was “not just a phase.”

Bipolar Disorder

Definition: a mood disorder characterized by alternating periods of depression and periods of intense excitement or euphoria (manic episodes), with no obvious connection to external events.

Pauline, 36, went through weeks when she slept barely three hours a night. She tackled one project after another at breakneck speed and spent money freely when driven by an energy she described as “exceptional.” These periods were followed, a few weeks later, by a total breakdown during which she could no longer find the strength to leave her home. Those around her had long attributed this to her “mood swings” before a diagnosis put a name to it.

Autism

Definition: Autism is a different way of perceiving, processing information, and interacting with the world. It is present from childhood and may be accompanied by sensory, social, and communication challenges. This way of perceiving the world is so broad that autism varies from person to person.

Ever since she was very young, Inès—who is now 8 years old—has had trouble tolerating certain noises or the textures of certain clothes. She also much prefers to play alone rather than in a group. She has a deep fascination with dinosaurs, about which she can talk for hours using an impressive vocabulary. Her parents long thought she was simply “in her own world,” until an evaluation led to a diagnosis that finally allowed them to better understand her needs.

Bulimia

Definition: Bulimia is an eating disorder characterized by binge-eating episodes during which the person loses control over their eating. These episodes are followed by behaviors intended to “compensate.” These behaviors are often accompanied by intense guilt and kept strictly secret.

Since college, Chloé, 25, has been experiencing episodes where she eats compulsively, alone, in secret, without even being hungry. These episodes are consistently followed by a wave of intense shame and behaviors intended to undo what she has just done. She feels as though she is leading a double life: the visible one, where everything is fine, and the hidden one, which she has never told anyone about.

Anorexia Nervosa

Definition: Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by an intense fear of gaining weight and strict control over food intake, which can have severe physical and psychological consequences.

The family and friends of Sidonie, 19, have noticed a gradual change in her relationship with food: increasingly controlled meals, recurring excuses like “I’ll eat later” or “I’ve already eaten,” and visible discomfort whenever a meal deviated from her routine. She herself says she feels “stronger” when she’s in control of what she eats, without realizing just how much this control has taken over her life. It took her family a while to realize that this wasn’t “just a phase of dieting.”

Unconscious

Definition: The unconscious is the part of our mental functioning that escapes our conscious awareness. For example, thoughts, desires, or memories that influence our behavior without us being clearly aware of them.

Vincent, 33, took years to understand why he consistently chose partners who were unavailable or distant. In therapy, he eventually made the connection to his father’s emotional absence during his childhood. His father was never “really there” and was always very distant whenever he tried to get close. This was something he had never consciously connected before his therapy. “I was repeating a pattern without even realizing it,” he says today.

Defense Mechanisms

Definition: These are automatic, unconscious psychological strategies that the mind employs to protect itself from an emotion or thought that is too difficult to bear directly.

After a painful breakup, Julie, 29, began systematically downplaying her feelings by telling those around her, “It’s no big deal,” and “I’m doing just fine,” only to break down in tears alone at home without understanding why. She realized in therapy that she needed to maintain a semblance of control so as not to be overwhelmed by what she was actually feeling.

Repression

Simple definition: repression is a mechanism by which certain memories or desires that are too painful are “stored” deep within the unconscious. The person is no longer aware of them, yet these painful memories continue to influence their behavior.

Ever since a car accident ten years ago, David, 42, has systematically avoided driving back down the road where it happened, without ever consciously making the connection to the event. It was only by discussing it in therapy that he realized this detour—which had become a routine habit—actually masked an anxiety that remained intact.

Compulsion

Definition: A compulsion is a repeated, almost irresistible behavior that a person feels compelled to perform to alleviate anxiety, even when they know it isn’t “logical.” A compulsion is the specific action or ritual, whereas OCD is the overall disorder (obsession + compulsion). It is possible to have isolated compulsions without having OCD.

Sophie, 31, cannot go to bed without checking three times to make sure the oven is turned off, even though she knows she hasn’t used it all day. If she “forgets” to check, a vague sense of anxiety prevents her from falling asleep. She describes this urge as “stronger than she is,” even though she is fully aware of how absurd it is. If she were suffering from true OCD, this ritual would be accompanied by a much more intrusive obsessive thought (such as the intrusive fear of starting a fire), would involve several everyday objects, and would eventually consume a significant portion of her time and energy each day.

Personality

Definition: Personality is the set of stable, enduring traits that characterize a person—their way of thinking, feeling, and behaving. These characteristics contribute to making them unique and relatively consistent over time.

Marc, 50, has always been described by those close to him as a perfectionist who sets high standards for himself in all areas of his life: at work, with his family, and even in his hobbies. This trait, present since adolescence, was long a strength in his career before becoming a source of exhaustion that he eventually sought to understand through therapy.

Psychotherapy

Definition: Psychotherapy is a form of support through conversation, led by a trained professional, that aims to help individuals better understand their psychological difficulties, emotions, and behaviors in order to improve their well-being.

After several months of going in circles with her anxiety without being able to identify the cause, Aline, 37, finally decided to seek therapy, somewhat reluctantly. She says she was surprised by the relief she felt right from the first sessions, simply by putting into words what she had been experiencing for a long time without talking about it. “I thought I was going to have to lie down on a couch, but it was actually just a real conversation,” she says with a smile.

Recognizing yourself in one or more of these situations doesn’t mean you’re “broken” or that you necessarily need to be diagnosed with something—it simply means you’re human, and that these experiences are far more common than you might think. Putting what you’re going through into words is often the first step toward feeling less alone in dealing with it—and, above all, toward slowly starting to feel better…