Anxiety Disorders Flashcards
Anxiety
Universal, functional & normal emotional state everyone experiences
Disorders are diagnosed when the anxiety has a significant impact on a persons day to day functioning
On a continuum, both normal emotion & diagnosable disorder
Anxiety vs Fear
Anxiety; -ve mood state, bodily symptoms of physical tension & apprehension about future
Can be good in small amounts
Fear; immediate alarm reaction to danger
Can protect us
Evidence that anxiety & fear differ in psychological & physiological processes
Panic attack
Fear occurring at inappropriate time
Surge of intense fear of discomfort that reaches a peak within minutes
Physical symptoms
Precipitants (causes) of anxiety disorders
External & internal triggers PTSD; life-threatening Adjustment disorder; stressful life change Phobia; feared situation/object GAD; the world, chronic apprehension PD; intense autonomic symptoms OCD; intrusive thoughts, imagined harm
Co-morbidity
Very high rates of co-occurring anxiety disorders
All share same features of anxiety, fear & panic
Share same biological & psychological vulnerabilities
Differ in terms of trigger & in some cases pattern of attacks
Shared vulnerabilities
Biological; heritable contribution to negative affect
Specific psychological; e.g. physical sensations are potentially dangerous
Generalised psychological; sense that events are uncontrollable/unpredictable
Genetic contribution
heritability of tendency to panic or be tense/uptight/anxious, complex trait, combination with stress= vulnerability
Neurochemical contribution
Reduced GABA activity produces anxiety in animal models
Drugs with increase GABA function are anxiolytic
Noradrenaline in Locus Coereleus may be important in panic disorder
Antidepressants with affect noradrenaline are helpful
OCD may involve serotonin imbalance
SSRI antidepressants may help patients
Behavioural Inhibition System
Anti-anxiety drugs
Conflict generation; signals of punishment, signals of non-reward, novel stimuli & inmate fear stimuli
Conflict resolution; behavioural inhibition, increased arousal & increased attention
Threat system
Fight or flight
Psychological factors
Anxiety: sense of control or uncontrollability, role of early childhood & parental style
Panic; conditioning, external & internal cues
Lifetime prevelance of anxiety & OCD related disorders
Any anxiety disorder; 28.8% Panic disorder; 4.7% Agoraphobia w/o panic; 1.4% Specific phobia; 12.5% Social phobia; 12.1% GAD; 5.7% PTSD; 6.8% OCD; 1.6% Separation anxiety disorder; 5.2%
Generalised Anxiety Disorder symptoms
Physical; over-awareness of autonomic activity, gastrointestinal, respiratory, cardiovascular, genito-urinary, CNS changes, muscle tension
Psychological; fearful anticipation, irritability, lack of concentration, sensitivity to noise, restlessness, insomnia & loss of libido
Diagnosis of GAD
Excessive anxiety & worry occurring more days than not for atleast 6 months
Atleast 3 other symptoms
Clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning
Disturbance not due to direct physiological effects of substance/condition or other disorder
Integrative model of GAD
Generalised psychological/biological vulnerability -> stress -> anxious apprehension -> worry process -> GAD
Worry process; avoidance of imagery -> restricted autonomic response OR intense cognitive processing -> inadequate problem-solving skills
GAD CBT treatment
Reinterpret ambiguous stimuli
Likelihood of negative event
Exposure