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-5 Model for Pers onality Disorders.”
purging disorder Eating disorder characterized by re current 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 ve ry quickly. Sometimes the thoughts are
related, with one thought leading to anothe r; other times they are completely random.
A person experiencing an episode of racing thoughts has no cont rol over them and is
unable to focus on a single topic or to sleep.
rapid cycling Term referring to bipolar disorder char acterized 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 sw itch to an episode of the opposite polarity
(e.g., major depressive episode to manic epis ode). 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 schizophren ia 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.