Anxiety Disorders Flashcards
anxiety and fear is..
normal
evolutionary important
bothe are important motivators
what is fear
fight or flight
sympathetic activation
avoidance and escape
present-orientated
what is anxiety
tension unpredictable uncontrollable future-orientated mood state
what is the yerkes-dodson inverted U
anxiety and performace relation curve
we perform best with a moderate level of anxiety
too little or too mych = bad
what general symptoms make up an anxiety disorder
pervasive ad persistent anxiety and fear fear disproportionate to threat excessive avoidance and escapist tendencies clinical sig distress and impariment 6 months
what is a panic attack
abrupt, intense fear or discomfort
several physical symptoms = sympathetic response = fight or flight mode on
analogous to fear as an alarm response
name and explain the 2 DSM5 types of panic attacks
expected - expected and bound to specific situations (phobias)
unexpected (uncued) - out of the blue
gender difference in panic attacks?
no
explain the panic attack cycle
1 symptom (eg dizzy or slight shortness of breath)
2 ask yourself is this a panic attack -> yes it must be
3 more symptoms
4 full panic attack (back to 1)
how to break the panic attack cycle
this is not a panic attack
i will be fine
deep breathing (but avoid hyperventilization)
re-attribute physical symptoms
also grounding eg stamp feet or squeeze fists
mindfullness, progressive muscle relaxation
diathesis stress model of anxiety and panic
inherited vulnerabilities
stress and life circumstances determine type
bio contributions to anxiety and panic (specifics!)
GABA circuits - depleted
Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) and HPA axis
limbic (amygdala) and septal-hippocampal system (emtional valence of incoming info) - central to expression of enxiety and depression
noredrenergic and serotinergic implicated
GABA circuit
too little = anxious, tense, hyperarousal
valium, benzodiazepines = GABA agoinst
fight or flight (FF) systems as contributing to anxiety and panic
brainstem -> amygdala -> hypothalamus
activated by deficits in serotonin
immediate alarm and escape
Behavoiural Inhibition System (BIS) as contributing to anxiety and panic
Brainstem -> amygdala -> septal-hippocampal system
low serotonin, high norepinephrine
brain circuit in the limbic system that responds to threat signals by activating and causing anxiety
tendency to freeze and apprehensively evaluate the situation
overview of psych contributions to anxiety and fear
Freud - defense mechanisms
Behaviourists - classical and operant conditioning, modelling
Psychological - early uncontrolability/ unpredictability, assumtions/ interpretations of biology (not understanding our own bodies)
social contributions to anxiety and panic
stressful life events trigger bio/ psych vulnerabliities
family (how we react to stress tends to run in families) and interpersonal differences
integrated theory for anxiety and panic =
triple vulnerability theory
bio - uptight, highy strung
generalized psych - world is out of your control
specific psych experiences - trigger
problem of comorbidity of anxiety and panic
55% = concurrent diagnosis
major depression most common
so maybe not a stand alone disorder?
name the 7 DSM5 anxiety disorders
generalized anxiety disorder panic disorder agoraphobia specific phobia social phobia separation anxiety dis selective mutism
defining features of generalized anxiety disorder
the basic anxiety dis
excessive uncontrollable anxious apprehension and worry
more than 6 months
somatic symptoms (different to panic) = muslce tension, fatigue, irratibility
most likely of all to response yes to do you worry excessuvely about minor things
stats of general anxiety disorder
- how common of anxiety dis
- gender ration
- onset
- course
one of the most common anixety disorders females 2:1 insidious onset in ealy adulthood runs in families (often) chronic tend to seek primary physcian first
characteristics of people with generalized anxiety disorder
autonomic restrictors - just get the worry (lower bp, galvanic skin response etc)
emotional avoidance
chronic worriers
muscle tension
focusing attention is difficult and often just switch from crisis to crisis
treatment of GAD
some help from meds
-benzodiazepines = short term as addictive (basically feel drunk the whole time so big congitive effects - falling down the stairs etc)
-SSRIs are less good but less side effects so good 2nd choice
psych = CBT
-confront emotions
-acceptance of distressing thoughts not avoidance
-meditation / MBCT
panic disorder overview and features
in DSM5 no longer linked to agoraphobia
recurrent unexpected panic attacks - so false alarms
worry about next panic attack or what they mean
just a panic attack does not equal panic disorder
interoceptive and exteroceptive avoidance of situations
catastrophic misinterpretation of symptoms (clinical conditioning model)
so post panic attack = persist concern or worry about it or a significant maladaptive change in behvaiour
panic disorder
- gender
- onset
female 2:1 (even higher female in severe cases), maybe as men just cope by alcohol and drugs
acite onset
early/ mid 20s
panic attacks begin during puberty usually
decrease in elderly - prehaps less concern over health and vitality
in panic disorder explain nocturnal panic attacks
effect about 60%
during non-REM sleep
interoceptive vs exteroceptive
intero - heart rate, breathing etc
extero - crowed places for example
medications used to treat panic disorder
target serotniergic, noradrenergic and benzo GABA systems
SSRIs = preferred
relapse rates - high (50%) following discontinuation but all good if stay on meds
idea of pill as a crutch - reverse to placebo when meds stopped?
SNRIs (serotonin, neuropinephrine reuptake inhibitors)
psych and combined treamtments for panic dis
cognitive behaviour therapies = highly effective = PCT or panic control treatment goal is to break the link between cue and panic / catastrophic event = gradual exposure and modification of perceptions and attitudes
combined treatments do well in the short term
best long term = CBT alone
drugs can interefere with CBT = so sequential treatment may be best ie if one approach doesn’t work try another
also must balance rapid repsonse of meds compared to psych can be worth it
may already be taking drugs = best to add in CBT, stepped approach
what is agoraphobia
fear or avoidance of situations / events assocaited with panic
situation / event evokes disproportionate anxiety almost always
active avoidance
6 months
clinical sig
info transmission - don’t have to have a panic attack in that place to think you might
can be relatively independent of panic attacks
agora = marketplace
alcohol and drug abuse can occur but some od manage to work
how likely is it to faint during a panic attack
pretty impossible as fight or flight is on so bp = high, heart rate = high etc
agoraphobia
- gender
- onset
female 2:1
acite onset
25-29 yo
30-50% = preceeding panic attacks
overview of specific phobias
disproportionate fear of specific object or situation
marked interference with functioning
avoidance of feared object
used to be know fear and avoidance is unreasonable but no longer required in DSM5
6 month duration
specific phobias
- gender
- onset and course
female 2:1
onset 15-20 yo
chronic course
blood-injury injection phobia
vasovagal response (bp and heart rate drop = faint) to blood, injury or injection
causes of specific phobias
bio and evolutionary vulnerability - eg is advantageous to learn snakes are dangerous
direct conditioning
observational learning
info transmission
runs most highly in families compared to other anxiety dis = can inherit a strong vasovagal repsonse for exmaple
treatment of specific phobias
CBT = highly effective - challnege thoughts
exposure treatment:
-systematic desensitization = learn to relax, bottom of hierarchy (least feared situation), bring down to relaxed state, continue to move up the hierarchhy training to stay relaxed in each situation. can be done in one day like snake video or over the course of several weeks
-flooding = all at once emersion, no gradual exposure, risky as what if something does actually go wrong = set back
agoraphobia vs Panic dis
agoraphobia = panic/ fear tied to situations, cognition about not being able to escape / get help if panic attack occurs
panic dis = attacks and concerns about attacks, unexpected attacks and recurrent attacks
agoraphobia requires 2 of the following 5…
list the 5 situations
using public transport (inc planes, bus, train, boat) being in open spaces being in enclosed spaces standing in line or being in a crowd being outside of home alone
4 subtypes of specific phobias
blood-injury-injection
situatoin
natural environment
animal
PTSD DSM5 overview (now trauma and stressor related disorders)
exposure to actual or threatend serious danger
re-experiencing = intrusive thoughts, nightmares. flashbacks are different = re-living, is a form of dissociation
avoidance / numbing - not ocnnected to family and friends anymore
cognitive decline and or negative mood
arousal symptoms for more than 1 month
PTSD stats
33-50% combat, sexual assualt of captivity exposure
3.5% general pop
high levels social, occupational and physical disability
what is re-experiencing
flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive thoughts
what is avoidance / numbing associated with PTSD
avoid activities / situations, psychogenic amnesia, apathy, detatchment
what is arousal associated with PTSD
hypervigilance, increased startle response, trouble falling asleep