Chapter 4: Anxiety Flashcards
agoraphobia
an anxiety disorder in which a person is afraid to be in public situations from which escape might be difficult or help unavailable if panic-like or embarrassing symptoms were to occur
anxiety
the central nervous system’s physiological and emotional response to a vague sense of threat or danger
anxiety sensitivity
a tendency to focus on one’s bodily sensations, assess them illogically, and interpret them as harmful
basic irrational assumptions
the inaccurate and inappropriate beliefs held by people with various psychological problems, according to Albert Ellis
behavioral inhibition
from the earliest days of life, such children show a withdrawn, isolated, and cautious pattern; they are wary of new objects, people, and environments, and always seem on guard against potential threats. Research indicates that this inhibited temperament often endures throughout a person’s life and places some individuals at heightened risk for the development of anxiety-related disorders
benzodiazepines
the most common group of antianxiety drugs, which includes Valium and Xanax
biological challenge test
a procedure used to produce panic in participants or clients by having them exercise vigorously or perform some other potentially panic-inducing task in the presence of a researcher or therapist
body dysmorphic disorder
a disorder in which individuals become preoccupied with the belief that they have certain defects or flaws in their physical appearance; such defects or flaws are imagined or greatly exaggerated
brain circuit
a network of particular brain structures that work together, triggering each other into action to produce a distinct kind of behavioral, cognitive, or emotional reaction
classical conditioning
a process of learning by temporal association in which two events that repeatedly occur close together in time become fused in a person’s mind and produce the same response
client-centered therapy
The humanistic therapy developed by Carl Rogers in which clinicians try to help clients by
conveying acceptance, accurate empathy, and genuineness.
compulsion
a repetitive and rigid behavior or mental act that a person feels driven to perform in order to prevent or reduce anxiety
cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit
a brain circuit that includes such brain structures as the orbitofrontal cortex (just above each eye), cingulate cortex, striatum (including the caudate nucleus and putamen, two other structures at the back of the striatum), and thalamus. The circuit is hyperactive in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder
developmental psychopathology
perspective that uses a developmental framework to understand how variables and principles from the various models may collectively account for human functioning
excoriation disorder
a disorder in which people repeatedly pick at their skin, resulting in significant sores or wounds (also called skin-picking disorder)
exposure and response prevention
a cognitive-behavioral technique used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder that exposes clients to anxiety-arousing thoughts or situations and then prevents them from performing their compulsive
acts (also called exposure and ritual prevention)
exposure treatment
a behavior-focused intervention in which fearful people are repeatedly exposed to the objects or situations they dread
family pedigree studies
a research design in which investigators determine how many and which relatives of a person with a disorder have the same disorder
fear
The central nervous system’s physiological and emotional response to a serious threat to one’s wellbeing
fear circuit
The brain circuit that produces and manages fear reactions. Generalized anxiety disorder is related to dysfunction in this circuit, which includes such brain structures as the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and amygdala.
flooding
an exposure treatment for phobias in which clients are exposed repeatedly and intensively to a feared object and made to see that it is actually harmless
gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
a neurotransmitter whose low activity in the brain’s fear circuit has been linked to anxiety
generalized anxiety disorder
disorder marked by persistent and excessive feelings of anxiety and worry about numerous events and activities
hoarding disorder
a disorder in which individuals feel compelled to save items and become very distressed if they try to discard them, resulting in an excessive accumulation of items
locus coeruleus
a small area of the brain that seems to be active in the regulation of emotions; many of its neurons use norepinephrine
metacognitive theory
a theory suggesting that people with generalized anxiety disorder implicitly hold both positive and negative beliefs about worrying
mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioral therapy
a type of therapy that teaches clients to be mindful of (just notice) and accept their dysfunctional thoughts or worries
modeling
a process of learning in which an individual acquires responses by observing and imitating others
neutralizing
a person’s attempt to eliminate unwanted thoughts by thinking or behaving in ways that put matters right internally, making up for the unacceptable thoughts
norepinephrine
neurotransmitter whose abnormal activity is linked to depression and panic disorder
obsession
persistent thought, idea, impulse, or image that is experienced repeatedly, feels intrusive, and causes anxiety
obsessive-compulsive disorder
a disorder in which a person has recurrent obsessions, compulsions, or both
obsessive-compulsive-related disorders
disorders in which obsessive-like concerns drive people to repeatedly and excessively perform certain abnormal patterns of behavior
overprotective parenting
panic attacks
periodic, short bouts of panic that occur suddenly, reach a peak within minutes, and gradually pass
panic circuit
the brain circuit that helps produce panic reactions, consisting of structures such as the amygdala, hippocampus, ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, central gray matter, and locus coeruleus
panic disorder
an anxiety disorder marked by recurrent and unpredictable panic attacks
