Chapter 4: Anxiety and Obsessive Disorders Flashcards
anxiety
a future-oriented mood state
fear
a present-oriented mood state
Panic Attack
abrupt experience of intense fear
physical symptoms: heart palpitations, chest pain, dizziness, sweating, chills or heat sensations, etc.
cognitive symptoms: fear of losing control, dying, or going crazy
often happens when there’s no where to escape (airplane, bridge, etc.)
What are the two types of panic attacks?
1) expected: know when the panic attack will happen (know what stressors cause one)
2) unexpected: happen suddenly with no reason
What is comorbidity?
having more than one diagnosis at once
major depression is the most common secondary diagnosis in anxiety disorders
about half of patients have two or more secondary diagnosis
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
a disorder of WORRY (keyword there)
excessive uncontrollable anxious apprehension and worry about multiple areas of life (e.g. work, relationships, health)
persists for six month or more
symptoms: muscle tension, restlessness, fatigue, irritability, concentration difficulties, sleep disturbances
Neurotransmitter GABA is low (treatment is benzodiazepine–same for insomnia)
worry more as you get older
onset is insidious, beginning in early adulthood
Treatment: (generally weak) exposure therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
obsessions: intrusive and nonsensical thoughts, images, or urges
compulsions: thoughts or actions to neutralize anxious thoughts
vicious cycle of obsessions and compulsions
rituals are common
equal gender distribution
similar across cultures
chronic
onset in kids
causes: learning that some thoughts are dangerous/unacceptable. THOUGH-ACTION FUSIONS–even thinking something is as bad as doing the thing
Treatment: CBT most effective. exposure to anxious cues and prevention. SSRIs (beneficial to 60% of patients, common relapse). CBT with meds is no better than CBT alone.
Hoarding Disorder
excessively collecting or keeping items regardless of their value and difficulty discarding items, usually due to a fear that one will need them later
causes clinically significant distress or impairment
5% prevalence
Trichotillomania
the urge to pull off one’s own hair from anywhere on the body
behavioral habit reversal treatment is most effective treatment (e.g. gloves)
Exorciation
repetitive and compulsive picking of the skin, leading to tissue damage
1%-5% prevalence
behavioral habit reversal treatment (e.g. gloves)
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
a preoccupation with some imagined defect in appearance
these defects, if they do exist, are very small to others
leads to distress and impairments
often leads to compulsive behavior (e.g. repeated mirror checking)
Treatment: CBT, exposure to anxiety. In the same boat as OCD. (SSRIs) Plastic surgery may worsen condition, unlikely to help.
Panic disorder
experience of unexpected panic attacks i.e. a false alarm
develop anxiety, worry, or fear about another attack
many develop agoraphobia
Treatment: cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Benzodiazepines are okay to take every once in a while. If you’re taking them everyday it’s a problem.
Specific Phobias
extreme irrational fear of a specific object or situation
persons will go to great lengths to avoid phobic objects
most recognize that the fear and avoidance are unreasonable
blood pressure and heart rate increase
interferes with functioning
Treatment: super easy to treat. best thing to do is exposure to the thing. The key is to wait out the fear response. Stay with the phobia to get over it.
Blood-injection- injury Phobia
Fear of blood draws, getting injections, seeing blood, watching others get blood drawn
Differ from other phobias because heart rate and blood pressure decrease instead of increase.
This phobia runs in families more than any other phobia.
Social Anxiety Disorder
extreme fear or discomfort in social or performance situations
fear of embarrassment
avoid social interactions
performance-only subtype: Anxiety only in specific situations
Treatment: CBT and CBT group therapy
male and females get this, 50:50
