Anxiety, Panic and Phobias

Question 1

What symptoms can be present in anxiety?

Answer 1

worry, panic
heart racing, sweating, breathless
checking, seeking reassurance

Question 2

Name some physical symptoms of anxiety?

Answer 2

sweating, hot flushes, chills 
trembling, shaking 
muscle tension, aches, pains 
numbness or tingling 
dizziness, faint 
choking feeling 
lump in the throat 
palpitations 
difficulty breathing 
nausea

Question 3

What is globus hystericus?

Answer 3

feeling of choking - lump in throat

Question 4

What are some cognitive symptoms of anxiety?

Answer 4

fear of losing control 
mentally tense 
difficulty concentrating 
feeling that objects are unreal or that the self is distant 
hyper vigilance 
health anxiety

Question 5

What happens to performance with increasing arousal?

Answer 5

performance increases - curve of anxiety to performance becomes optimal before becoming detrimental

Question 6

What significance do anxiety and fear have in evolution?

Answer 6

coordinated neural systems that orchestrate behavioural responses to promote survival

Question 7

What is the emotional filter of the brain?

Answer 7

amygdala

Question 8

What happens first - sensory material via thalamus or cortically processed signal

Answer 8

thalamus information - act first, think later.

Question 9

What isi the function of the amygdala?

Answer 9

controls how much attention a stimulus gets from the brain - highways to the visual cortex so can recognise threats and activate immediately

Question 10

What happens to cortisol levels in acute stress?

Answer 10

increased

Question 11

What makes anxiety pathological?

Answer 11

extent - more extreme than normal

context - in situations that are not usually anxiety provoking

Question 12

what is generalised anxiety disorder?

Answer 12

anxiety that is generalised and persistent - i.e. not limited to a particular scenario

Question 13

what are the main symptoms of GAD?

Answer 13

nervousness, trembling, sweating, palpitations, dizziness and epigastric discomfort

Question 14

How long does GAD have to persist for to be classified?

Answer 14

most days for at least 6 months, uncontrollable and causing significant distress and functional impairment

Question 15

Is GAD more common in males or females?

Answer 15

females 2:1

Question 16

GAD tends to exist in patients on its own - T/F?

Answer 16

false - 90% comorbid with other psychiatric disorders

Question 17

What are Panic Attacks?

Answer 17

recurrent attacks of sever anxiety which are not restricted to a particular situation and are unpredictable

Question 18

Depression can sometimes produce panic attack-like symptoms - T/F?

Answer 18

true

Question 19

What other features are commonly seen in patients with Panic attacks?

Answer 19

depression, drug and alcohol misuse

Question 20

What area of the brain has increased metabolism in panic attacks?

Answer 20

parahippocampal gyrus

Question 21

What is agoraphobia?

Answer 21

a fairly well defined cluster of phobias involving leaving home, public places, crowds, buses or planes. Avoidance is often prominent

Question 22

Do patients with agoraphobia commonly have a reduced alcohol consumption?

Answer 22

no, increased to overcome fear

Question 23

What are specific phobias?

Answer 23

a marked and persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable, cued by the presence or anticipation of a specific object or situation

Question 24

What are some examples of specific phobias?

Answer 24

flying 
heights 
animals/insect 
injections 
blood

Question 25

Are people with specific phobias aware that their phobias are unreasonable?

Answer 25

Yes

Question 26

What is social phobia/Social anxiety disorder?

Answer 26

a persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or possible scrutiny by others

Question 27

What can result from social phobia?

Answer 27

poor school performance, school refusal, poor employment history

Question 28

what is the neurobiology of social phobia?

Answer 28

bilateral increased activation of the amygdala

Question 29

What is the course of anxiety disorders?

Answer 29

relapsing and remitting

Question 30

How can anxiety disorders be distinguished from one another?

Answer 30

timing and pattern of symptoms