3D:
Internet acronym for 'things that are not online, aka 'real life'.'
72hrs / Baker act:
The law that allows psychiatrists at ER to hold you for up to 72 hours whether you agree or not. To hold you longer than that they need either your consent or a court order for involuntary commitment.

A&E:
Accident & Emergency, UK equivalent of ER
AA/12 steps:
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), founded in 1935, is an international program set up to help alcoholics and substance addicts to get and remain sober/clean. It offers a 12-step program based on the notion that substance abusers are powerless in the face of their addiction. AA membership is free. The only requirement to join is a desire to get and stay sober. You can search on the AA website to find a AA meeting near you.
ACA:
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
ACF:
Adult Care Facility
ACT:
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
ADA:
Americans with Disabilities Act
ADC:
Adult Day Care
ADL:
Activities of Daily Living (routine self-care like eating, sleeping, showering).
AKA:
internet acronym for 'also known as'
APA:
American Psychiatric Association
APS:
(Adult Protective Services, state organization that ensures safety and welbeing of seniors and vulnerable adults. Click to google your local office.(click to google your local office)
ASD:
Autism spectrum disorder
Ablutophobia:
Fear of bathing, washing, or cleaning
Acrophobia:
fear of heights
Ad hominem:
Informal fallacy, the evasion of the actual topic by directing an attack at your opponent.
Aglophilia:
Paraphilia, sexual arousal from experiencing pain.
Agoraphobia:
fear of open places
Algophobia:
Fear of pain
Androphobia:
fear of adult men
Anorexia:
An eating disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat.
Antisocial PD:
Also known as sociopathy; a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of disregard for, or violation of, the rights of others.
Aquaphobia:
fear of water.
Arachnophobia:
fear/dislike of spiders and other arachnids
Astraphobia:
fear of thunder and lightning
Astrophobia:
fear of stars and space.
Avoidant PD:
A personality disorder characterized by social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy and inferiority, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation, and avoidance of social interaction despite a strong desire to be close to others.

BBIAB:
internet acronym for 'I'll be back in a bit'
BBS:
internet acronym for 'i'll be back soon'
BC:
internet acronym for 'because'
BDSM:
Sexual preference for bondage, dominance, submission, sadism, or masochism.
BF:
internet acronym for 'boyfriend'
BFF:
internet acronym for 'best friend forever'
BH:
Boarding Home
BMI:
Body Mass Index, measure of body fat based on height and weight. BMI under 19 means underweight, 19-25 - normal, 26-30 - overweight, 30+ - obese.
BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder):
A personality disorder characterized by unstable relationships with other people, unstable sense of self, and unstable emotions. Seemingly normal, everyday events result in an extreme fear of abandonment, reckless behaviors, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts.
BRB:
internet acronym for 'i'll be right back'
BSW:
Bachelor of Social Work
BTW:
internet acronym for 'by the way'
Benzos:
Shorthand for Benzodiazepines - a class of prescription medications, commonly used to lessen anxiety. Somewhat addictive.
Binging:
Indulging in an activity to excess, especially one that you're trying to limit. Usual examples are drinking alcohol or overeating.
Bipolar Disorder:
Also known as manic-depressive illness; a mental disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.
Bisexual:
Someone who is sexually attracted to both men and women.
Body modification:
Any permanent changes deliberately done to your body for non-medical reasons: piercings, tattoos, implants, castration, etc.
Bulimia:
An eating disorder involving an obsessive desire to lose weight, in which bouts of extreme overeating are followed by feelings of guilt or shame and self-induced vomiting, purging, or fasting.

CAPTA:
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
CBT:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CHW:
Community Health Worker
CM:
Case Management or Manager
CMHC:
Community Mental Health Center
CNDA:
Confidentiality & Non-Disclosure Agreement
CNL:
Clinical Nurse Leader
COPPA:
Children Online Privacy Protection Act
CP:
Cerebral Palsy
CPRP:
Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner
CPS (Child Protective Services):
State organization that ensures safety and welbeing of minors; the place to call if a minor is being abused. Click to google your local office.
CPS (Crown Prosecution Service):
UK equivalent of DA
CPTSD:
Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a mental health condition resulting from repetitive, prolonged trauma (e.g. having been a victim of sex trafficking) rather than a single incident (e.g. rape). CPTSD isn't "more serious" than PTSD, and one rape isn't "less of a deal" than many rapes. However, the symptoms and the treatment of these disorders are slightly different.
CSW:
Certified Social Worker
Calories:
A measure the energy value of foods. When you use up more energy than you consume, your body starves. When you consume more energy than you use, it gets stored for later as fat. Appropriate daily calorie intake for adults is between 1200 and 3000 calories, depending on age, gender, and level of physical activity.
Child abuse:
Abuse of a minor (child or adolescent under the age of 18); can take any form - physical, sexual, psychological, religious, or neglect.
Claustrophobia:
fear of having no escape and being closed in
Coprophilia:
Paraphilia, sexual attraction to feces.
Corporal punishment:
AKA "physical discipline" - punishment intended to cause physical pain, such as spanking, paddling, canning, flogging, etc. It's categorized as: domestic (usually of children by parents), school (of students by teachers), and judicial (of convicted criminals by law enforcement officers as a part of a criminal sentence). Legal status depends on jurisdiction, click on the word to learn more.
Corrective rape:
Rape of an LGBTQ person with the goal of punishing the perceived abnormal behavior and reinforcing societal norms, i.e. raping gay/lesbian/trans folks to make them straight. The crime was first identified in South Africa, where it is sometimes supervised by members of the woman's family or local community.
Coulrophobia:
fear of clowns

DA:
District Attorney, US equivalent of CPS
DBT:
Dialectical behavior therapy
DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder):
Formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder; mental health condition.
DNR:
Do Not Resuscitate
DSM:
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a comprehensive classification of officially recognized psychiatric disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, for use by mental health professionals to ensure uniformity of diagnosis. Includes names, codes, and diagnostic criteria.
DV (Domestic Violence):
Physical violence between adults who live in the same household: spouses, adult children and parents, siblings, etc
DV Shelter:
A shelter for victims of domestic violence who are trying to escape from their abusive partners; majority of shelters are for women (with or without children) only, but there are a few for men as well. You get a bed and a locker, have to leave in the morning and be back by curfew. There are counsellors on staff who advise you on your options, and various programs that assist with employment, housing, childcare, lawyers, or other such.
DX:
internet shorthand for 'diagnosis', what the doctor writes in your chart as the name of your condition.
Dendrophilia:
Paraphilia, sexual attraction to trees.
Denial:
Refusal to accept/admit reality, e.g. saying that you aren't an alcoholic while you are, that your parents were OK while they were abusive, that you were not traumatized by rape while you clearly were, etc.
Dependent PD:
A personality disorder in which people depend on others to meet their emotional and physical needs, with only a minority achieving normal levels of independence.
Dermatillomania:
Impulse control disorder characterised by recurrent, irresistible urges to pick on skin.
Dowry death:
continuous harassment and torture resulting in murder or suicide, done to women in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Iran, by husbands and in-laws in an effort to extort an increased dowry.
Drama:
Dealing with a situation that has an easy solution in a way that prolongs/creates pain and suffering for everyone involved, and dragging as many people as possible into this self-created chaos. With drama it doesn't matter who started it, what matters is who continues to beat at it.

ECT:
Electroconvulsive Therapy
EDP:
Police shorthand for Emotionally Disturbed Person - someone who seems to act erratically but doesn't appear to be under the influence. Basically an assumption of acute mental illness, but the police aren't qualified to diagnose people, so they use the term EDP instead.
EMDR:
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, a form of psychotherapy, one of the approaches to treatment of PTSD.
ER:
Emergency Room, American equivalent of A&E
Elder abuse:
Abuse of a senior citizen, for example by a home attendant; can take any form - physical, verbal, sexual, or neglect.
Enabler:
Someone who isn't directly participating in inappropriate behavior, but is allowing it to continue. For example, a mother who knows that her boyfriend is molesting her children but does nothing about it, or a daughter who buys booze for her alcoholic dad.

F2M:
Someone who was born with female genitalia but identifies as a man.
FAS:
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
FGM:
Female Genital Mutilation, ritual removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. UNICEF estimated in 2016 that 200 million women in 30 countries (27 African countries, Indonesia, Iraqi Kurdistan and Yemen) had undergone the procedures.
FOO:
Family of origin: mother, father, siblings, grandparents, etc. As opposed to spouse and children.
Food stamps:
A voucher issued by the US government to those on low income, exchangeable for food.
Foot binding:
The practice of breaking and then tightly binding the feet of young girls, so as to prevent their growth; feet longer than 4in long were considered crude. The practice was popular in China between 10th and 20th centuries; there still are a few elderly survivors left.

GAF:
a numeric scale used by mental health clinicians and physicians to rate subjectively the social, occupational, and psychological functioning of an individual, e.g., how well one is meeting various problems-in-living.
GF:
internet acronym for 'girlfriend'
GL:
internet acronym for 'good luck'
GN:
internet acronym for 'good night'
Gaslighting:
A form of psychological abuse in which information is twisted or spun, selectively omitted to favor the abuser, or false information is presented with the intent of making the victim doubt their own memory, perception, and sanity.
Gerontophobia:
fear/dislike of aging or the elderly
Glossophobia:
fear of speaking in public or of trying to speak
Grounding:
Variety of strategies to cope with flashbacks or dissociation, aimed to immediately connect you with the here and now, often by using the five senses (sound, touch, smell, taste, and sight).
Gynophobia:
fear of women

HOH:
Hard of hearing
HUD:
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Hallucinations:
Seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, or tasting things that aren't there, due to mental illness or intoxication. Common example is hearing voices, but it can involve any of the five senses.
Histrionic PD:
A personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive need for approval, attention-seeking, and inappropriately seductive behaviors. Histrionic people are lively, dramatic, vivacious, enthusiastic, and flirtatious.
Honor killing:
The homicide of a family member, due to the perpetrators' belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the family, usually by refusing to enter an arranged marriage, being in a relationship that is disapproved by their family, having sex outside marriage, becoming the victim of rape, dressing in ways which are deemed inappropriate, engaging in non-heterosexual relations or renouncing a faith.
Hoplophobia:
fear of firearms
Hypnophobia:
fear of sleep

ICD:
International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems
ICU:
Intensive Care Unit
IDC:
internet acronym for 'i don't care'
IDK:
internet acronym for 'i don't know'
IKR:
internet acronym for 'i know, right?'
IMHO:
internet acronym for 'in my humble opinion'
IPV (Intimate Partner Violence):
physical violence occuring between intimate partners, whether they live in the same household or not.
IRL:
internet acronym for 'in real life'
Incest:
Sexual relations between immediate relatives (parent/child, brother/sister, etc).

JK:
internet acronym for 'just kidding'

Kleptomania:
Impulse control disorder characterised by recurrent, irresistible urges to steal, usually items of small monetary value and of no particular use.

LA:
Local Assistance
LCAT:
Licensed Creative Arts Therapist
LCSW:
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
LD:
Learning Disability
LGBTQ:
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer
LMAO:
internet acronym for 'laughing my @$$ off'
LMHC:
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
LMK:
Let Me Know
LMSW:
Licensed Master Social Worker
LOL:
internet acronym for 'laughing out loud'
LTC:
Long-term Care

M2F:
Someone who was born with male genitalia but identifies as a woman.
MD:
Medical Doctor
MFT:
Marriage and Family Therapist
MGTOW:
Men Go Their Own Way, mens' rights movement
MH:
Mental Health
MK-Ultra:
Series of experiments on humans, at times illegal, undertaken by the CIA during the Cold War and intended to improve interrogation techniques; referenced in many conspiracy theories.
MPD:
Multiple Personality Disorder, the old term for DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder)
MRI:
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
MSSW:
Master of Science in Social Work
Misandry:
Dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against men.
Misogyny:
Dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women.
Munchausen's syndrome:
A mental disorder in which a person repeatedly feigns severe illness so as to obtain hospital treatment. Munchausen's by proxy is a mental disorder in which a person seeks attention by inducing or feigning illness in another person, typically a child.
Mysophobia:
fear of germs, contamination or dirt

NAHC:
National Association for Home Care and Hospice
NAMI:
National Alliance on Mental Illness
NHIS:
National Health Interview Survey
NIDA:
National Institute on Drug Abuse
NIH:
National Institutes of Health
NIMH:
National Institute of Mental Health
NOS:
Not Otherwise Specified
NP:
internet acronym for 'no problem'
NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder):
A personality disorder characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a lack of understanding of others' feelings.
NSFW:
internet acronym for 'not safe for work', warning about images containing gore or nudity (so that you don't open them in your office while someone could see what's on your screen)
Narc:
Derogatory term for people who supposedly suffer from Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Necrophilia:
Paraphilia, sexual attraction to corpses.
Neglect:
A form of abuse, applies to children and vulnerable adults only (elderly, disabled, imprisoned, etc), and means failure to provide adequate care by the person responsible for doing it. For example, parents not taking their kids to a doctor often enough, nurses in hospice not changing diapers of paralyzed patients often enough, prison wardens not providing adequate food to prisoners, etc.
Non sequitur:
Latin for 'it does not follow,' in formal logic, is an invalid argument - an argument whose conclusion does not follow from its premises. For example, my dog is an animal, all dinosaurs are animals, therefore my dog is a dinosaur.
Nyctophobia, achluophobia, lygophobia, scotophobia:
fear of darkness

OD:
internet acronym for 'overdose'
OMG:
internet acronym for 'oh my god'
OP:
internet acronym for 'original post' or 'original poster'
Obsessive-compulsive PD:
A personality disorder characterized by a general pattern of concern with orderliness, perfectionism, excessive attention to details, mental and interpersonal control, and a need for control over one's environment, at the expense of flexibility, openness to experience, and efficiency.
Order of Protection / Restraining Order:
A court order issued by a judge, requiring two people to stay away from each other. If one of them violates the order and comes in contact with the other, they get in legal trouble.

PCP:
Primary Care Provider
PDOC:
internet acronym for 'prescribing doctor' - someone who prescribes psychiatric medications; usually it's a psychiatrist, but could be a psychiatric nurse or a general practitioner
PDP:
Prescription Drug Plan
PINS:
Person in Need of Supervision
PNP:
Psychiatric Nurse Practioner
PTSD:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Paranoid PD:
A personality disorder characterized by paranoia and a pervasive, long-standing suspiciousness and generalized mistrust of others.
Pedophilia:
Paraphilia, sexual preference for prepubescent children (under 12yo). Hebephilia is same for pubescent children (12yo-14yo), and ephebophilia is same for post-puberty minors (15yo-18yo). All three are psychiatric conditions rather than crimes, i.e. a pedophile is someone who finds children sexually attractive, regardless of whether they violate children or not. People who have sex with minors are called rapists or child molesters.
Phonophobia:
fear of loud sounds or voices
Pyromania:
Impulse control disorder characterised by recurrent, irresistible urges to start fires.

RA:
internet acronym for 'religious/ritual abuse', using a system of beliefs to inflict or justify harming someone through physical, sexual, emotional abuse, or neglect.
RIP:
internet acronym for 'rest in peace'
RN:
Registered Nurse
RO:
internet acronym for 'restraining order', see 'order of protection'.
ROFL:
internet acronym for 'rolling on the floor laughing'
RPP:
Relapse Prevention Plan
RTC:
Residential Treatment Center
Rape:
Non-consentual sexual intercourse, i.e. when you're forced to have sex against your will.
Rx:
Prescription

SA:
internet acronym for 'sexual abuse'
SAMHSA:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
SH:
internet acronym for 'self-harm'
SI:
internet acronym for 'self-injury'
SIB:
Self-Injurious Behavior
SIV:
Self-Inflicted Violence
SJW:
internet acronym for 'social justice warrior', derogatory term for someone who claims to fight against social injustices but is abusive and quick to vilify or bully anyone who disagrees with their political views.
SMH:
internet acronym for 'shaking my head'
SMI:
Serious Mental Illness
SRA (Satanic Ritual Abuse):
Abuse practiced by a person (or a group of people) involved in worshipping Satan. Some people call various things 'satanic', as in 'satanic USA government', 'satanic reptiloids', or even 'satanic movie'. This confuses terminology and makes it hard to communicate and understand each other.
STFU:
internet acronym for 'shut the f up'
SUI:
internet acronym for 'suicide,' deliberately ending one's own life
Safe Space:
Area where participant's comfort is ensured by restricting access to anything that the group finds upsetting. For example, you might be not allowed to mention certain topics, wear clothing of certain type or color, or even enter the space if your demographics don't match that of the group, e.g. a men in a womens's safe space, a Muslim in a Christian's safe space, etc.
Schizoid PD:
A personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency towards a solitary or sheltered lifestyle, secretiveness, emotional coldness, and apathy. Affected individuals may be unable to form intimate attachments to others and simultaneously demonstrate a rich, elaborate and exclusively internal fantasy world.
Schizotypal PD:
A personality disorder characterized by severe social anxiety, extreme discomfort with maintaining close relationships, paranoia, unconventional beliefs, peculiar speech mannerisms, and odd modes of dress.
Self-Care:
The term originated from the idea that as children we needed our parents to take good care of us, but now that we're adults we need to do it ourselves. Usually means the act of taking responsibility for handling your own triggers, for example by stepping out of a conversation that is objectively fine, but upsets you for your personal reasons. Sometimes is used in a broader sense, as any self-nurturing activity, for example taking a bubble bath while depressed.
Senior Abuse:
AKA 'elder abuse', abuse of a senior citizen, for example by a home attendant; can take any form - physical, verbal, sexual, or neglect.
Sexting:
Exchanging sexually explicit photos or text messages for mutual gratification.
Sexual Coercion:
The practice of persuading someone to have sex while they don't want to (as opposed to forcing them).
Sitophilia:
Paraphilia, sexual attraction to food.
Spectrophobia:
fear of mirrors
Statute of Limitations:
Length of time after the crime while you can still report it to authorities and they can prosecute it. Varies by crime and location.
Statutory Rape:
Sexual intercourse between an adult and a minor; legally minors cannot consent to sex, so an intercourse with them is automatically counted as a rape, regardless of anything else.
Supporter:
Member of someone's support network (see above). Often a spouse or a friend of an abuse survivor who's willing to be there for them.
System:
DID concept: combination of all alters sharing one physical body.

T:
internet acronym for 'therapist' or 'therapy'
TBH:
internet acronym for 'to be honest'
TBI:
Traumatic Brain Injury
TC:
internet acronym for 'take care'
TGC:
internet acronym for 'take good care'
TL;DR:
Too Long; Didn't Read
TMI:
internet acronym for 'too much information'
TTYL8R:
internet acronym for 'talk to you later'
TW:
internet acronym for 'trigger warning'
TY:
internet acronym for 'thank you'
TYSM:
internet acronym for 'thank you so much'
Thanatophobia:
fear of dying
Trans man:
Someone who was born with female genitalia but identifies as a man.
Trans woman:
Someone who was born with male genitalia but identifies as a woman.
Transgender:
Someone who self-identifies as a gender other than the one they were born as.
Trichotillomania:
Impulse control disorder characterised by recurrent, irresistible urges to pull out body hair.
Trypanophobia, belonephobia, enetophobia:
fear of needles or injections

VAWA:
Violence Against Women Act

WIP:
acronym for 'work in progress'
WTF:
internet acronym for 'what the f'
WTH:
internet acronym for 'what the heck'
Welfare:
Various US government programs for those on low income, offering assistance with food, housing, healthcare, or other needs.

XOXO:
internet acronym for 'hugs and kisses'
Xenophobia:
fear of strangers, foreigners, or aliens

YW:
internet acronym for 'you're welcome'

Zoophilia:
Paraphilia, sexual attraction to animals.

5150:
Police code for someone who's a danger to self or others.