Anxiety Disorders AP Psychology Anxiety A generalized feeling

Anxiety Disorders AP Psychology

Anxiety • A generalized feeling of apprehension and dread that includes many bodily upsets.

Panic Attacks • Can occur in the context of any A. D as well as other mental disorders. • Discrete period of intense fear or discomfort in the absence of real danger • Somatic or cognitive • Sweating, trembling, chest pain, sensations of shortness of breath, dizziness, fear of losing control. • Attacks peak at 10 minutes.

Diagnosis w/ any type of Anxiety Disorder… Maladaptive • a person must have the following 3 distinct characteristics: 1. Uncontrollable: can not shut off the “alarm system” 2. Disruptive 3. Anxiety is out of proportion to the actual danger or threat imposed by the situation.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder • An excessive or unrealistic worry about life circumstances that last for at least six months. • “free floating anxiety” • Typical worries focus on finances, employment, interpersonal problems, accidents, or illness.

Diagnostic criteria • 6 months • Difficult to control the worry • At least three or more are present: restlessness/on edge being easily fatigued difficulty concentrating irritability muscle tension sleep disturbance

GAD • Most common anxiety disorder • Few people seek treatment • Children can also be diagnose with this disorder • Many people with GAD also have other anxiety disorders.

Panic Disorder • Characterized by frequent and overwhelming attacks of anxiety that are not associated with specific objects or events. • 6 months • Disorder starts b/c something is physically or chemically wrong. • First: Physical occurrence • Soon: Panic spreads • Problem: physical to psychological

Treatment (next chapter) • Biomedical therapies, Behavioral therapies, and Psychotherapy

Phobic Disorders • A person becomes disabled and overwhelmed by fear in the presence of certain objects or events. • Phobia: “fear of “ Two basic types of Phobic Disorders Next slide

1. Specific Phobia • Phobic Disorder associated w/ a specific object or situation. • Ex. Dogs, snakes, elevators, and heights, water, etc. • Faced w/ the phobic stimulus the person becomes extremely anxious. • 6 months

1 a. Social Phobias • This is among the most common phobic disorders. • Irrational fear of normal social events. • Example: “Ted has trouble going to social events because he cannot use the bathroom anywhere except at his own house” (DSM-V, case manual, 2013)

What causes Specific Phobia? • • • Association/ Learning (chapter 6) Remember: UCS UCR CS CR Remember: Stimulus generalization, Stimulus discrimination, extinction, and spontaneous recovery. • “Little Albert” • Operant Conditioning and O. L. • Another theory: Preparedness Hypothesis

Specific Phobia • Treatment (next chapter): systematic desensitization. Biomedical therapies, psychotherapy, and Cognitive behavior therapy

2 nd type of Phobic disorder • Agoraphobia: anxiety about being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult (or embarrassing). • 6 months

Agoraphobia • Avoid: 1. Situations that they think might provoke a panic attack 2. Situations in which they would be unable to escape or get help if they did suffer a P. A. 3. Ex. Crowds, standing in line, elevators, public transp.

Agoraphobia • Many agoraphobics are women. • Most agoraphobics have a specific boundary. Varies from person to person

New disorder • Next disorder: – In the DSM-V, this disorder has received its own chapter, separate from anxiety disorders. – 10 th leading cause of mental disability in the developed countries.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder • Obsession refers to an endless preoccupation with some type of urge or thought. • Compulsion is a symbolic, ritualized behavior that a person must repeatedly act out. • !!!each time the person acts out the behavior, the anxiety he/she feels is decreased.

OCD • Characterized by both repetitive thoughts (obsession) and ritualized, repetitive behavior (compulsion). • Most people w/ OCD are “checkers” • Marked distress • Time consuming (one hour or more) • Inefficient performance of cognitive tasks • Avoidance of objects or situations: restrict general functioning.

Explaining OCD • Deficiency in the neurotransmitter serotonin • Medication that increases the availability of serotonin, helps many patients. • Dysfunction in specific brain areas: frontal lobes, caudate nucleus (movements) in OCD the C. N. is overactive. • Defense mechanism: faulty attempts to resolve guilt, anxiety, or insecurity.

Explaining OCD • Learned behavior • Treatment (more details in the next chapter) • Biomedical therapies • Psychotherapy • Behavioral therapy

Anxiety Disorders • The End