Anxiety, Depression, Addiction Flashcards
4 functions the brain is used for?
Organise sensory input
Make sense of sensory and social input
Survival (avoid harm)
Maximise efficiency
What is anxiety?
Psychological and physiological responses to a potential threat - motivates us to avoid harm
What is trait anxiety?
an individual’s propensity to experience state anxiety under a given set of stressors
What is state anxiety?
The feeling of being anxious that most of us experience
How does trait anxiety come about?
A mixture of genetic and environmental factors (anxiety disorders have about 40% heritability)
What is the main thing that determines how you manage anxiety?
Your earliest attachment relationships
Effects of state anxiety
Avoidance of things that are perceived to be dangerous
You become more attentive of the things around you
Negative Automatic thoughts (i.e. worrying), which can lead to bad sleep
Why can avoidance be bad?
It doesn’t allow your brain to unlearn a perpetuated fear
What is anxiety disorder?
- Excessively intense anxiety which can impair your way of living
- Self-perpetuating network of positive feedback loops, arising from responses which are usually adaptive
What are the core symptoms of depression
Low mood, low energy, anhedonia
How do depressogenic stressors (loss, abuse, bullying) lead to depression
Depressogenic stressors can lead to prolonged stress, and your brain responds to that by manifesting depressive symptoms
How do depression and anxiety interact?
Depression can be characterised by low self-worth, which can mean you’re going to expect that that will happen, which will make you very anxious
What is the compulsion cycle?
State of distress – distress reducing behaviour–temporary relief- (negative reinforcement)– urge
What is a central part of the development of addictions?
Repeated negative reinforcement when in a state of distress/tension
What causes the unconscious component of addictions
The substances’ direct action on neural circuits for motivation and reward-seeking.
