Anxiety Disorders Flashcards
Anxiety
Fear
Panic
Individual feels threatened by potential occurrence of future negative event
Fight-or-flight response to real/perceived threat currently happening
False alarm triggered in absence of a threat
Most common fears/phobias
Animals
Mutilation (blood, accidents)
Environmental threats (height, weather)
What is the main symptom of separation anxiety disorder (SAD)
Distress when separated from attachment figure
- Tends to cause full-blown panic
Difference between SAD and GAD
SAD: Specific worry about attachment
GAD: General worry to world around them
Is homotypic or heterotypic comorbidity more common in anxiety?
Heterotypic (w/ depressive disorders)
True or false?
Anxiety disorders are equally common in boys and girls
True
Behavioural inhibition
Anxious temperament typical in anxiety / SAD
Children display withdrawal or fear behavs in novel situations
Which part of the brain is affected in anxiety disorders?
Temporal lobe (amygdala)
Psychosocial risk factors of SAD
Children learn to fear by observing parents
Classical conditioning of fear experiences
Treatments for SAD
Cognitive-behaviour therapy
- Exposure to anxiety-provoking situations to help reframe anxious thoughts and change behav
Pharmacological treatments
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) medications
What were anxiety disorders classified as in the past?
Who theorized there was a difference between objective fears and neurotic anxiety?
Neurosis
- Mixed w/ dissociative and somatoform disorders
Freud
What are the behavioural factors that could cause anxiety?
Two-factor theory (conditioning)
Vicarious learning: Developing fear by observing reactions of other people
Barlow’s triple vulnerability etiological model of anxiety that increase risk
Generalized biological
(Genetic predisposition to being nervous)
Nonspecific psychological
(Diminished sense of control, low self-esteem)
Specific psychological
(Experiencing danger, false alarm, vicarious exposure)
Panic disorder
Recurrent and unexpected panic attacks (sudden rush of fear/discomfort and at least 4 of 13 symptoms)
Must have persistent concerns about consequences/ meaning of attack
Result in significant change in behav to prevent panic-like sensations
Agoraphobia
Anxiety about being in places/situations where an individual might find it difficult to escape or wouldn’t have help ready
Behavioural avoidance test (BAT)
(Agoraphobia and panic disorder)
Patients asked to enter situations they would typically avoid, then rate degree of anxiety
Nocturnal panic
Individuals with panic disorder
Attacks that occur while sleeping
Catastrophic misinterpretation
Anxiety sensitivity
Alarm theory
(Panic disorder)
Patient tends to misinterpret symptom as sign as something is wrong
Somatic symptoms related to anxiety will have negative consequences that extend beyond panic episode
System activated by emotional cues, causing false alarm, triggering panic attacks in neutral situations
Specific phobia
Persistent fear and avoidance of object or situation
5 subtypes of specific phobia
Animal phobia
Natural environment
Blood-injection-injury
Situational
Other type
Equipotentiality premise
(Criticism of associative model of fear)
Assumes all neutral stimuli have an equal potential for becoming phobias
Nonassociative model
Biological preparedness
(Specific phobia)
Process of evolution made us naturally respond fearfully to group of stimuli
- No learning required
Process of natural selection equipped humans w/ predisposition to fear objects/situations that are a threat to our species
Disgust sensitivity
(Specific phobia)
Degree to which people are susceptible to being disgusted by certain stimuli
Onset and comorbidity of social anxiety disorder
Late childhood, adolescence
High comorbidity w/ depression and substance use
Cognitive factors of social anxiety
Self-focused attention (highly self-critical)
Public self-consciousness (tendency to see actions through perspective of outside observer)
Dishonest self-disclosure (Less authentic to tell others what they want to hear)
Social anxiety is a _____ disorder
Interpersonal disorder
- Disruption in ability to relate with other ppl
Environmental factor of social anxiety
Being victimized during childhood
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
Excessive and uncontrollable worry
Role of cognition in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
Verbal worry dampens/decreases somatic arousal causing anxiousness
Intolerance of uncertainty: Discomfort w/ ambiguity and uncertainty
Obsessions vs Compulsions vs Neutralizations
(OCD)
Obsessions: Uncontrollable thoughts, impulses or ideas that the individual finds disturbing and anxiety-provoking
Compulsions: Repetitive behavs or mental acts that are intended to reduce anxiety
Neutralizations: Behavioural/mental acts used to prevent feared consequences and distress caused by an obsession
Thought action fusion (TAF) refers to 2 types of irrational thinking
(OCD)
Belief that having a specific thought increases probability that it will come true
Belief that having a specific thought is equivalent to acting it out
Neurobiological model of OCD
Neuropsychological theory:
More brain volume in basal ganglia (control motor behavs)
Less volume in frontal cortex (reasoning, inhibition, planning, decision making)
- Both take part to cause compulsions and obsessions
Neurochemical theory:
Abnormalities in serotonin system
Cognitive-behavioural model of OCD
Catastrophic misinterpretations
- Belief that thoughts can influence probability that others will be harmed
- High lvl of personal responsibility
Rebound effect: Trying to suppress obsessional thoughts might increase their frequency
Compulsions in OCD are believed to persist bcuz they tend to:
Lower severity of anxiety
Lower frequency of obsessions
“Prevent” obsessions from coming true
Exposure techniques to treat anxiety
Systematic desensitization
- Gradually work way up fear hierarchy, pairing each image with relaxation response (habituation)
In vivo exposure
- Exposure using real life
Worry imagery exposure (GAD)
- Systematic exposure to feared images related to individual’s worries
Flooding/Intense exposure
- Exposure at highest lvl of fear hierarchy
Introceptive exposure (Panic disorder)
- Exposure to internal cues
Ritual prevention (OCD)
- Abstinence from rituals that typically reinforce obsessions in long run
Problem solving
Relaxation
Mindfulness-based strategies
(Anxiety)
Assumes that by generating and implementing effective solutions to problems, patients will experience less anxiety
Aims to reduce anxious arousal directly by mental (guided imagery exercise) or physical relaxation (progressive muscle relaxation)
Combines practice of sitting and moving w/ meditation principles
