Anxiety and Fear-related Disorders Flashcards
What is a Phobia?
- A phobia is an irrational, recurrent persistent fear of an object or situation that markedly/significantly interferes with an individuals ability to function. The individual realises that the fear is excessive in relation to the threat posed
What are the Types of phobias?
1) Specific Phobia
2) Social Phobia
3) Agoraphobia
What is a Specific Phobia?
This is when there is marked fear/anxiety about a specific object/situation eg: animals, heights, needles, flying, etc.
Describe the different types of phobias
1) Specific Phobia: there is an object/ situation
2) Social Phobia: Public Speaking, social anxiety
3) Agoraphobia:
an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. Those affected will go to great lengths to avoid these situations
Give the Dignostic Criteria for Specific Phobias
Criteria A: there is marked fear/anxiety about a specific object/situation eg: animals, heights, needles, flying, etc.
Criteria B: the phobic object/situation almost always provokes immediate fear and anxiety. In children, the anxiety may be expressed by crying, tantrums, freezing, or clinginess
Criteria C: the phobic object/situation is actively avoided or endured with intense fear or anxiety
Criteria D: the fear or anxiety is out of proportion (excessive) to the actual danger posed by the specific object/ situation and to the social-cultural context
Criteria E: the fear, anxiety or avoidance is persistent, typically lasting for 6 months or more
Criteria F: the fear, anxiety or avoidance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of function eg: academic work, hygiene, etc.
Criteria G: the symptoms are not due to another medical condition eg: panic attacks, OCD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Acute Stress Disorder (ASD)
What is Agoraphobia?
an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. Those affected will go to great lengths to avoid these situations
State the Diagnostic Criteria for Agoraphobia
Criteria A: There is marked fear/anxiety about 2 or more of the following 5 situations:1 Public transportation, open spaces, enclosed spaces, standing in line or being in a crowd and being outside the home alone
Criteria B: the individual fears or avoids these situations due to thoughts that escape might be difficult, or help might not be available in the event of developing panic like symptoms or other incapacitating or embarrassing symptoms eg: incontinence
Criteria C: the agoraphobic situations almost always provoke fear or anxiety
Criteria D: the agoraphobic situations are actively avoided, require the presence of a companion, or are endured with intense fear or anxiety
Criteria E: the fear or anxiety is out of proportion to the actual danger posed by the agoraphobic situations, and to the social-cultural context
Criteria F: The fear, anxiety or avoidance is persistent, typically lasting for 6 months or more
Criteria G: The fear, anxiety or avoidance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning eg: academic, hygiene, family ties, etc.
Criteria H: The fear, anxiety or avoidance is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder eg: OCD, PTSD, Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and Separation Anxiety Disorder
What is Social Phobia?
- It is marked anxiety or fear focused on one or more social or performance situation. This may include: public speaking, social Interaction that requires inter - personal skills especially in front of people
Criteria for Generalised Anxiety disorder
What re the tools is used to measure fear related disorders?
General Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7)
Blood Injection Phobia Inventory (BIPI)
state the features of the GAD-7
1) 7-item questionnaire
2) 4-point rating scale on frequency of symptoms
3) 0- not a al, 1-several days, 2- more than half the days, 3- nearly everyday
state the features of the BIPI
1) 18-item questionnaire
2) 2-point rating scale: 0 → never, 1→sometimes, 2→ almost always, to 3→ always
3) * An example of an item to may be: “when I see blood on my arm or finger after Pricking myself with a needle:
a) I don’t think it can bare the situation,
b) i think I’m going to faint,
c) I think that something bad is going to happen to me
Explain the genetic explanation of phobias
The genetic explanation suggests that we are born prepared to fear certain objects. That there are particular stmuli in the environment that may pose a threat to our survival, that we are more genetically set up to avoid
Explain the behaviourist explanation of phobias
Classical Conditioning: It emphasises that learning occurs through association
- The unconditioned stimulus ordinarily produces An unconditioned response- The unconditioned stimulus when paired with the rental stimulus again produces an unconditioned response
When these pairings are done over a period of time, neutral stimulus changes and becomes a conditioned stimulus, which thereby produces a conditioned response
Give supporting evidence of the behaviourist explanation
Watson and rayner (1920)
9 month old little albert
was not previously aftraid of the white rat. loud noise was made whenever hr touched it,
This startling sound is the unconditioned stimulus as it produced an unconditioned response (fear). Every time little albert soothe rat, he started showing signs of fear, meaning that a fearful response had been created. They was done repeatedly, and a conditioned response was created
