Ch 14 Anxiety Book Key Points

Question 1

Anxiety is:

Answer 1

a vague feeling of dread or apprehension.

It is a response to external or internal stimuli that can have behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and physical symptoms.

Question 2

Anxiety has positive and negative side effects.

Answer 2

The positive effects produce growth and adaptive change.

The negative effects produce poor self-esteem, fear, inhibition, and anxiety disorders (in addition to other disorders).

Question 3

The four levels of anxiety are:

Answer 3

mild anxiety (helps people learn, grow, and change);

moderate anxiety (increases focus on the alarm and learning is still possible);

severe anxiety (greatly decreases cognitive function, increases preparation for physical responses, and increases space needs);

and panic (fight, flight, or freeze response, no learning is possible, and the person is attempting to free him or herself from the discomfort of this high stage of anxiety).

Question 4

Defense mechanisms are intrapsychic distortions that a person uses to feel:

Answer 4

more in control.

It is believed that these defense mechanisms are overused when a person develops an anxiety disorder.

Question 5

Current etiologic theories and studies of anxiety disorders have shown:

Answer 5

a familial incidence and have implicated the neurotransmitters GABA, norepinephrine, and serotonin.

Question 6

Treatment for anxiety disorders involves:

Answer 6

medication (anxiolytics, SSRI and tricyclic antidepressants, and clonidine and propranolol) and therapy.

Question 7

CBTs used to treat clients with anxiety disorders include:

Answer 7

positive reframing, decatastrophizing, thought-stopping, and distraction.

Question 8

In a panic attack, the person feels as if he or she is:

Answer 8

dying.

Symptoms can include palpitations, sweating, tremors, shortness of breath, a sense of suffocation, chest pain, nausea, abdominal distress, dizziness, paresthesias, and vasomotor lability.
The person has a fight, flight, or freeze response.

Question 9

Phobias are:

Answer 9

excessive anxiety about being in public or open places (agoraphobia), a specific object, or social situations.

Question 10

Self-awareness about one’s anxiety and responses to it greatly improves:

Answer 10

both personal and professional relationships.