Anxiety Flashcards
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is the fear disproportionate to a given situation. It is worry about future events
What are anxiety disorders?
A group of mental disorders characterized by significant feelings of anxiety and fear.
What is fear?
Fear is a reaction to current events
What is phobia?
Phobia is an extreme and irrational fear of an object or situation. It is dispropotinal to the actual danger. People with phobia tend to avoid the specific object or situation
What are the characteristics of anxiety disorders?
The characteristics of anxiety disorders are patterns of frequent, constant worry or alarm about a threat in the surrounding even though the threat is insufficient or non existent. They may not be able to or find it overwhelming to control their worry.
What are the symptoms of anxiety?
- Restlessness
- Muscle tension
- Inability to concentrate
- Difficulty to fall or study alseep
- Tired or irriated
- Panic attacks
- Presistent ‘on the edge’ feeling
What are the types of phobias?
- Generalized anxiety
- Social phobia
- Agoraphobia
- Specific phobias
What is generalized anxiety?
- Characterized as the constant over the top worry about several things such as concerns about money, health, family or work. They tend to worry more than it would seem sensible about the issue. May worry about the worst possible outcome without a reasonable explanation
What is social phobia?
- Social anxiety disorder is an intense fear of being judged or rejected in a social setting.
- People with it may worry abut appearing stupid, awkward or boring or being viewed badly for blushing or stumbling on words.
- They often avoid social situations but when it cannot be, they experience anxiety and distress.
What are the symptoms of social phobia?
- Nausea
- Increases heart rate
- Sweating
- Full blown attacks
What is agoraphobia?
Fear of public spaces. Fear of places outside their ‘safe’ enclosed place. They will avoid triggering places which distrupts their everyday life, making them unable to meet family and friends and run errands.
What are specific phobias?
Intense and irrational fear of particular items. They avoid inteference with them. To be diagnosed, must have the fear right away when encountering the trigger.
Koumpounophobia
Cynophobia - fear of dogs
Hemophobia - fear of blood and needles
What are the measures of anxiety disorders?
- BIPI
- GAD-7
What is BIPI?
Blood Injection Phobia Inventory
* Self report consisting of 18 items involving blood and injections. Each have several different options to choose from; these can be cognitive, psychological or behavioural responses.
* Has to rate each symptom on a 0-3 scale
What is GAD-7?
Generalised Anxiety disorder-7
* A screening test in the form of a questionnaire used by doctors for the further refferal to psychiatrists, not for diagnosing.
* Consists of 7 items addressing the severity of anxiety.
* Ask patients to rate each symptom on a 0-3 scale based on how often they occur