Acting Out: Expressing unconscious emotional conflicts or feelings, often of hostility or love, through overt behavior.

NIH MeSH · D000184Psychiatry and Psychology

Acting Out

Definition

Expressing unconscious emotional conflicts or feelings, often of hostility or love, through overt behavior.

MeSH classification

F01.393.047

Need clinical context, treatments, or patient-language explanation?

Ask GoDavaii AI about Acting Out

Related concepts

Cathexis

Attachment, conscious or unconscious, of emotional feeling and significance to an idea, object or most commonly a person.

Common questions about Acting Out

What does Acting Out mean in medicine?

Expressing unconscious emotional conflicts or feelings, often of hostility or love, through overt behavior. This definition is taken from the National Library of Medicine's MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) 2026 release, which is the standard vocabulary used to index PubMed and most medical literature.

Is Acting Out known by any other names?

Acting Out is the canonical name in the MeSH vocabulary. There are no commonly used alternate names for this concept in the official NIH database.

Where does Acting Out sit in the medical classification?

Acting Out falls under the broader medical category "Psychiatry and Psychology" in the MeSH hierarchy (tree numbers: F01.393.047). Browsing the related concepts on this page takes you to neighbouring topics in the same branch of medicine.

Where can I get a plain-language explanation of Acting Out?

For a plain-language explanation of Acting Out - including symptoms, treatments and what it means for an Indian patient - ask GoDavaii's Health AI. It works in 22+ Indian languages, is free and needs no signup. Tap "Ask GoDavaii AI about Acting Out" above.

Source: NIH MeSH 2026 (D000184) — National Library of Medicine, public domain. View official MeSH record ↗