Ch. 23: Anxiety & Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Flashcards
What is General Anxiety Disorder?
Characterized by persistent and excessive anxiety and worry about occupational, social, and interpersonal situations or events that the individual finds difficult to control
What is “fear”?
Fear: an emotional response to a specific & proximal threat to an organism’s life or integrity
What is anxiety?
Anxiety: an emotion characterized by the apprehension or dread of a penitentially threatening or uncertain outcome
Most common of all mental illnesses around the globe?
Anxiety disorders!
What is obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
characterized by severe obsessions (repetitive, intrusive thoughts), compulsions (repetitive, ritualistic behaviours) or both
*Obsessions cause anxiety & compulsions are an attempt to reduce or eliminate it. (Key feature is this relationship)
What is Social Phobia?
marked or intense fear of social situations
- Highly sensitive to disapproval or criticism
- poor self-esteem & a distorted view of personal strengths & weaknesses
What is Panic Disorder?
Characterized by repeated episodes of panic (“panic attacks”) and fear of prompting another attack, which limits the individual’s ability to function socially, occupationally, and interpersonally.
Panic attacks: are abrupt surges of intense fear or discomfort that peak within minutes
Typically accompanied by fear of death (because their symptoms mimic a heart attack)
What is a phobia?
persistent, unrealistic fears
Agoraphobia
fear of open spaces
*often co-occurs with panic disorder
What is the first-line treatment for long term effects for most anxiety disorders?
SSRIs & NSSRIs**
MAOI antidepressants are only used when all other options are exhausted because of increased side effects
*Anxiolytics - may give short term relief for phobia anxiety
Treatment of choice for specific phobia - exposure therapy
What patient would be appropriate to administer a short acting Benzodiazepine?
Intensely distressed patients! (alprazolam, lorazapam, clonazepam)
Withdrawal symptoms can occur:
rebound anxiety
what is first-line psychotherapy for anxiety disorders
CBT
What is rating scale used to assess Obsessive-Compulsive symptoms?
Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS)
What is first line treatment of choice for OCD?
Long-term SSRIs
Effective behavioural intervention for patients with OCD who perform rituals is…?
Exposure with response prevention – person is exposed to situations or objects that are known to induce anxiety but is asked to refrain from performing the ritualistic behaviour
