Anxiety and OCD Flashcards
What are the physical symptoms of anxiety?
sweating hot flushes cold chills lump in throat muscle tension/aches/pains difficulty breathing
What are the cognitive symptoms of anxiety?
mentally tense difficulty concentrating fear of losing control, going crazy or dying meta worry - worrying about everything health anxiety
What are the features of a generalised anxiety disorder?
anxiety not fixed on any one thing
anxiety there most of the time
What is the criteria for generalised anxiety disorders?
lasting for > 6months
causing signifcant distress or impairement in function
uncontrolable
What are the risk factors for generalised anxiety?
female x2
What is the typical age of onset of generalised anxiety?
20-40yrs
What treatment is recomended for generalised anxiety?
CBT
SSRIs
Benzodiazepines for short term
What is the presentaton of Panic disorder?
recurrent attcks of severe anxiety that are unpredictable
may occur with or without agoraphobia
At what age do panic disorders present?
late adolesnce to mid 30s
What is the pathophysiology behind panic disorders?
increased metabolism in the parahippocampal gyrus of the temporal lobe on PET scans
What is the treatment of Panic disorders?
CBT
SSRIs, SNRIs, Tricyclics
Benzodiazepines for short term
What is agoraphobia?
fear of leaving the house
fear of travelling alone
fear of being in busy/social situations
What is a specific phobia?
marked and persistant fear that is excessive and unreasonable that is triggered by a specific object or situation
the person knows the fear is unreasonable
What is the treatment of specific phobias?
CBT and graded exposure to the thing
SSRIs/SNRIs if necessary
What is a social phobia? What are the symptoms?
persistent fear of social/performance situations symptoms: blushing, shaking fear of peeing or pooing yourself fear of vomiting
What is the pathophysiology behind social phobias?
bilateral increased activation of the amygdala and decreased cerebral blood flow - normalises on treatment
What is the treatment of social phobias?
CBT
SSRI/SNRI
Benzodiazepine
What is the mode of action of benzodiazepines?
increase the frequency of the chloride ion channel opening - results in a inhibitory post synaptic potential
How long should benzodiazepines be used for - MAX?
2 weeks - otherwise cause problems
What is OCD made up of?
obessional thoughts
compulsions
Describe the obessional thoughts experienced in OCD?
egodystonic
recognised as the patients own thoughts
sterotyped in the mind
Describe the compulsive acts experienced in OCD?
repeated rituals or stereotyped behaviour
recognised as pointless by the patient
What is the diagnostic criteria for OCD?
obsessions must be individuals own thoughts
rituals are not pleasant
resistance must be present
obessional thoughts/images/impulses must be repetitive
What is the mean age of onset for OCD?
20