anxiety disorders (week 5) Flashcards
what are biological factors of anxiety? (genetic influence, neuroanatomy, neurotransmitters)
-genetic influence: research has shown ~30-40% of anxiety can be attributed to genetic/hereditary factors
-if you have a family member w an anxiety disorder, you’re 4-6x more likely to dev an anxiety disorder
- neural fear circuit, where anxious stimuli are registered into body
- GABA is the most pervasive inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain (prevents itself from firing action potential)
what does it mean to say there is a non-specific risk factor in relation to genetic influence?
-non-specific risk factor - just bc a family member has an anxiety disorder, doesn’t mean you’ll get the same one – more likely to get broader temperament/dispositional trait
explain Mowrer’s two-factor theory of anxiety, and some limitations (2 examples that don’t support it)
-fears are acquired through classical conditioning, maintained through operant conditioning
-escaping is a negative reinforcer that prevents classically conditioned fears from being unlearned
-can’t explain the development of all phobias:
-vicarious learning - sometimes fears are acquired in the absence of learning (how others react to stimuli)
-biological preparedness - evidence that we’re biologically prepared to fear some types of stimuli
what is Beck’s Cognitive Model?
- thoughts, feelings, behaviors are all interrelated
-research has found that anxious people have biased perceptions abt:
-the world: dangerous
-the future: uncertain
-the self: helpless, vulnerable
what is an interpersonal theory of anxiety?
-early attachment: early parent-child intxns can lead to the development of general belief systems abt relationships for how relationships operate in general
-anxious-ambivalent style is predictive of anxiety problems in adulthood
what is a panic attack? what are its criteria?
discrete periods of intense fear/discomfort that are accompanied by AL 4 of the following 13 symptoms:
1.Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate
2. sweating
3. Trembling/shaking
4. sensations of shortness of breath/smothering
5. feeling of choking
6. Chest pain/discomfort
7. Nausea or abdominal distress
8. feeling dizzy, unsteady, light headed, faint
9. Derealization (feeling of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself)
10. fear of losing ctrl / going crazy
11. Fear of dying
12. paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations)
13. Chills or hot flashes
what are the criteria for panic disorder?
-2(+) unexpected panic attacks
-attacks must dev suddenly, an abrupt surge (not triggered by an event)
-persistent concerns abt addl attacks, or worry abt consequence of attacks, or panic attack results in a significant alteration in behavior
what differentiates panic disorder from other disorders which also include panic attacks?
-attacks in panic disorder are uncued + followed by an apprehension/worry about future attacks
what is a symptom induction test? what are strengths and weaknesses?
-behavioral assessment; ask client to enter situation they would typically avoid bc of fear of panic attack; try to induce panic attack to observe symptoms
-eg: shake head side to side, heavy breathing, spin in a chair
-useful, high ecological validity
-client may not want to do it
what are 2 explanations within cognitive theory for anxiety?
-catastrophic misinterpretation: people w panic issues tend to misinterpret bodily sensations by attributing them to smth wrong/indicative of smth wrong (eg stroke symptoms)
-alarm theory: involves classical conditioning; fight or flight response can be activated due to true alarms, sometimes emotional cues (eg perception of threat) can trigger false alarms (panic attacks)
what is agoraphobia?
anxiety abt being in places that can be difficult to escape / which help isn’t readily available should panic-like symptoms occur, resulting in avoidance of these types of situations or marked distress in these situations
-eg using public transport, being in open spaces, enclosed spaces, standing in line/in a crowd, being outside of the home alone
what is a specific phobia and what are the diagnostic criteria?
-intense fears of a spec situation / object, enough to interfere w everyday activities
- must be marked + persistent fear of an object/situation; exposure to it must invariably produce anxiety rxn that’s excessive / unreasonable; symptoms interfere w everyday fnxining
what is social anxiety characterized by?
a marked or intense fear/anxiety of social situations in which the indiv may be scrutinized by others
-eg having a conversation, meeting unfamiliar people, eating/drinking, giving a speech
-a fear of negative evaluation
how does social anxiety differentiate from agoraphobia?
both may experience anxiety in public places, reason is different
what is generalized anxiety disorder characterized by? what is the diagnostic criteria?
- fear is more pervasive across number of diff situations
-A. excessive anxiety + worry (apprehension expectation) occurring more days than not for AL 6mos, abt a number of events/activities (eg work, school performance)
B. finds it difficult to ctrl the worry
C. the anxiety+worry are assoc w AL 3 of the following 6 symptoms (w AL some symptoms present more days than not for the past 6mos):
Restlessness; feeling “keyed up” / “on edge’
Being easily fatigued
Difficulty concentrating / “mind going blank”
Irritability
Muscle tension
Sleep disturbance (difficulty falling/staying asleep, restless unsatisfying sleep
D. [ ] of anxiety / worry isn’t confined to another anxiety / Axis I disorder
what are obsessions? what are common obsessions?
thoughts, images, or impulses that are recurrent + uncontrollable, cause marked distress
-common obsessions incl thoughts related to contamination, uncertainty, sexuality, violence
what are compulsions? what are 2 types and examples of each?
-repetitive behaviors / cog acts performed in response to an obsession (or according to rigidly applied rules)
-behavioral compulsions: engaging in a behavior eg handwashing, checking, rigidly maintaining order + organization
-cognitive compulsions: counting numbers, praying, repeating wds + phrases
what is thought-action fusion?
2 types of irrational thinking; belief that:
1. Having a particular thought ↑ the probability that the thought will come true
2. thoughts are of moral equivalence to action
→ not a diagnostic criteria, but a construct highly assoc in those w OCD
what is PTSD characterized by? (4 symptoms)
-cluster of symptoms that occur after the person is exposed to a traumatic stressor:
-recurrent re-experiencing of the traumatic event (flashbacks)
-avoidance of trauma-related stimuli
-alterations in mood + cognitions
-persistent symptoms of ↑ arousal
what is cognitive restructuring? what are common errors it targets?
- belief that anxiety is due to distorted, maladaptive, or unhelpful thinking patterns; help them find errors they’re making + challenge them
-overestimations of the likelihood + severity of various risks (eg my plane is going to crash)
-underestimation of one’s ability to cope w stressors (eg if I say smth stupid I will die)
what is method of systematic desensitization?
-dev a fear hierarchy (a list of anxiety provoking experiences, listed from least to most anxiety provoking)
-rated using subjective units of distress
-gradually work up the hierarchy as they learn to cope w ↑ challenging stimuli
describe the reasoning behind problem solving as a technique for treating anxiety, and its 4 steps
-people can get ‘stuck’ in dealing w stressful situations if experiencing excessive anxiety; could use support in dev’g effective problem solving strategies
- Define a specific problem
(Eg: I need to study for an examine → narrow down to what they need to do
Bad example: “I’m failing everything”) - Generate a wide range of possible solns
- Choose a soln + implement it
- Eval the outcome
describe guided imagery as a relaxation techinque
-dev an image that encourages relaxation + calmness
-involve all senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste
-affirmations: statements that affirm your ability to relax (eg “I’m relaxed”, “peace is within me”)
describe progressive muscle relaxation
-involves tensing + relaxing diff muscle groups + noting the diff sensations assoc w each
-indiv learns to deliberately relax the tension in their muscles
