Anxiety Disorders Flashcards
Anxiety disorders are…
• Extremes of normal anxiety• Evidence of autonomic nervous system dysregulation - excessive, inappropriate or deficient• Common - Lifetime prevalence 15 -20%
Types of anxiety disorder
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)• Panic Disorder• Agoraphobia• Social Anxiety Disorder (previously social phobia)• Specific Phobias• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)• Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)• Selective Mutism• Separation Anxiety Disorder
What is the DSM-5 criteria for anxiety disorder
The DSM-5 chapter on anxiety disorder no longer includes obsessive-compulsive disorder (which is included with the obsessive-compulsive and related disorders) or posttraumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder (which is included with the trauma- and stressor-related disorders). However, the sequential order of these chapters in DSM-5 reflects the close relationships among them.
What are the shared features of anxiety disorders?
• Primarily stress linked• Reality testing remains intact• Symptoms are experienced as distressing• Disorders tend to be enduring or recurrent
What is aetiology of anxiety disorders
• Genetic– SLC6A4; short version transports serotonin less effectively (see Smoller et al., 2009)• Lowered neurotransmitter levels– 5HT, NA, GABA• Hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation • Social factors– Early life adversity– Stressful events especially those involving threat– Lack of support network• Personality factors– Some personality traits predispose to certain anxiety disorders e.g. avoidant & perfectionistic
Parasympathetic Nervous SystemFeed and Breed
ANABOLIC PROCESSDecreased: cardiac rate and output, BP, respiration rate, glycogenolysis, peripheral diversion of blood, catecholamines and cortisol.Increased: gut function, kidney function, immune surveillance, fat stores, sex steroids
Sympathetic Nervous SystemFight or Flight
CATABOLIC PROCESSIncreased: cardiac rate and output, BP, respiration rate, glycogenolysis, peripheral diversion of blood, catecholamines and cortisol.Decreased: gut function, kidney function, immune surveillance, fat stores, sex steroids
“Fight or Flight”
• Physiological response to a stressor is mediated through the hypothalamus• Initial activation of the sympathetic nervous system• Subsequent activation of the pituitary adrenal axis• Terminated by negative feedback and the parasympathetic system NB ACTH is adrenocorticotropic hormone
Amygdala and Neurotransmitters
• Amygdala responds to emotional stimuli• Produce changes in the HPA axis and sympathetic ns.• GABA inhibits anxiety by modulating the amygdala and hypothalamus synapses e.g. benzodiazepines and alcohol act on same receptors.• Serotonin and beta-blockers also have an effect on anxiety
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Delayed or protracted response to trauma (often involving threat to life)• Onset usually within 6 months of event• Core symptom is “reliving the event”– Flashbacks, nightmares, waking dreams• Emotional numbness and detachment • Avoidance of activities, situations that remind person of trauma
Symptoms of PTSD
• Increased autonomic arousal (including exaggerated startle response, hypervigilance and sleep disturbance)• Avoidance & emotional numbing • Re-experiencing (flashbacks & nightmares)• Lifetime prevalence of 3-8%
DSM-IV-TR Diagnostic Criteria for PTSD
• The person has been exposed to a traumatic event• The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced• Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness• Persistent symptoms of increased arousal• Duration of the disturbance is more than 1 month• The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment
Traumatic events that may precipitate PTSD
• Rape (90% develop PTSD symptoms)• Torture (70-90%)• Prisoners of war (>50%)• Earthquake & flood (20-25%)• Road traffic accidents (15%) (Davey, 2014)
It’s not all bad news though…
• > 50% of people will experience at least one trauma in their lifetime – not all will develop PTSD• Following trauma, women are more likely to develop PTSD than men (ratio of 2.4:1)• Some will experience post- traumatic growth (Joseph, 2012 )
The aetiology of PTSD
• Vulnerability factors• Theory of shattered assumptions• Conditioning theory• Emotional processing theory• Mental defeat• Dual representation theory
Vulnerability factors
• What makes people vulnerable to developing PTSD?– Tendency to take personal responsibility for the trauma– Environmental factors such as unstable family life– A family history of PTSD– Existing high levels of anxiety or a pre-existing psychopathology
Theory of shattered assumptions
• Argues that trauma will shatter a person’s belief in the world as a safe place• Individual is left in a state of shock and conflict• However, paradoxically it is those who already view the world as an unsafe place that are most likely to develop PTSD (Resick, 2001)
Conditioning theory
• Trauma (UCS) becomes associated with situational cues associated with the place and time of the trauma (CS) (Keane et al., 1985)• PTSD is therefore a conditioned fear reaction to cues associated with the trauma• However, does not explain why some people who experience trauma do not develop PTSD