Welcome back to Words to the Wise . Bryan Lynn is in the studio with me . Last month , Zerrouq from Morocco sent us a suggestion for a topic . He said he would like to learn terms connected to emotional and mental health . So today , we will explore the vocabulary of the human psyche . Kufre wants to know the difference between toward and towards . Easy answer --- nothing ! The words are interchangeable and an issue of personal choice . I always use toward , and that is the more common usage , I think , among US and Canadian speakers of English . Towards is heard more in countries that speak British English . Now you do not have to feel any stress about which word to use . I see you used the word stress there , Bryan ! That is one of the terms Zerrouq asked us about . Stress is a state of mental tension . It is the opposite of calm or peaceful . Mental stress might happen when a person is being judged or measured – like with school or work . Or if you're on trial ! Talk about being judged ! Yes , if you have to go to court you would probably be stressed about it . Sometimes people use the phrase “stressed out .” That means they feel more stress than they can deal with . They are overstressed . If you are a parent of a teenager you might hear this expression pretty often : “Mom , you're stressing me out .” That is especially common after you tell the teen to clean her room…or study for his test…or just get out of bed ! But stress can lead to -- or be a sign of -- more serious mental disorders , like depression . Yes , that is true . Merriam Webster defines depression as “low in spirits .” Other dictionaries describe it as a feeling of sadness . Depression can be a short-term reaction to something bad that happens . But it can also be long term condition . That is a good word for us to talk about . Your mood is an emotional state . If you are enjoying a walk in a pretty park on a warm , sunny day , you are probably in a good mood . If you are watching a sad movie , it might bring your mood down . If you are stuck in traffic , you might get in a really bad mood . Yes , bad traffic can cause anxiety , especially if you are trying to get somewhere at a certain time . Anxiety is a state of worry and unease . The adjectival form is anxious . For example , "I am anxious I will be late for the wedding ." Do you get anxious when you are flying on a plane ? Oh yes , flying can cause stress for a lot of people , including me . Some suffer from a fear of flying . The medical term for that is aviophobia . A couple common conditions are acrophobia , which is a fear of heights ; and claustrophobia , a fear of small spaces . And a few years back there was a horror movie called Arachnophobia . That was about an invasion of deadly spiders . That is my phobia ! I am terrified of spiders ! I actually had a panic attack watching that movie . I've never had one before . What is it like ? What does it mean ? Well , panic is sudden , uncontrollable fear or anxiety . It can cause wild , sort of , unthinking behavior . A panic attack is a period of extreme anxiety . It might even become hard for a person to breathe . Which is what happened when I watched Arachnophobia . People who have phobias or other disorders often seek mental health therapy . Therapy is a term that can be used for any kind of continuous medical treatment . People might go to physical therapy after a knee operation , for example . But when people just say therapy alone , they often mean mental health or psychotherapy . Another word for such therapy is counseling . Counseling or therapy can come in all kinds of settings . You can meet with a group of people that share a common problem , or you can have private visits with a doctor called a psychiatrist . You might also have a longer-term stay at a medical center . Yeah , like when movie stars check themselves into rehab . Rehab stands for rehabilitation . To rehabilitate means to restore to a healthy condition . Although , a dependence on alcohol is often called alcoholism . I think I might be addicted to caffeine . I cannot do much of anything before I have my morning coffee . This addiction does not seem to cause me real problems , though . But , I do get a bad mood if I don't have coffee ! Yes , Caty , I definitely do not want to work with you on a day you missed your morning coffee . Please comment on our webpage and let us know what you thought of this show . And , tell us what you'd like us to talk about in a future Words to the Wise .