Chapter 4: Anxiety Disorders Flashcards
Describe the differences between anxiety, fear, and panic attack.
o Anxiety – mood state characterized by marked negative affect, bodily symptoms of tension in which a person apprehensively anticipates future danger or misfortune.
o Fear – emotion of an immediate alarm reaction to present danger or life-threatening emergencies.
o Panic Attack – abrupt experience of intense fear or discomfort accompanied by several physical symptoms, such as dizziness, or heart palpitations.
Explain the biological basis of panic attacks.
o May be genetic, but not necessarily. The limbic system is largely involved in anxiety. CRF activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. The behavior inhibition system (BIS) is activated by signals form the brain stem of unexpected events, may signal danger. Flight or fight.
Compare/contrast GAD, agoraphobia, specific phobia, and social phobia.
o GAD – intense, uncontrollable, unfocused, chronic, and continuous worry that is distressing and unproductive, accompanied by physical symptoms of tenseness, irritability, and restlessness.
o Agoraphobia –
o Specific phobia – unreasonable fear of a specific object or situation that markedly interferes with daily life functioning.
o Social Phobia – extreme, enduring, irrational fear and avoidance of social or performance situations.
Describe symptoms of PTSD and OCD and why they are considered maladaptive.
o Symptoms of PTSD: nightmares, re-experiencing trauma, avoidance, detachment, sleep disturbance, anger outbursts.
o Symptoms of OCD: obsessions, recurrent and persistent thoughts, compulsions, repetitive behaviors or mental acts,
o They are considered maladaptive because early experiences taught them that some thoughts are dangerous and unacceptable because the terrible things they are thinking might happen and they would be responsible.
Describe biological and psychological approaches to treatment that have been successful in treating anxiety disorders. Is one approach better than the other?
o Biological and psychological approaches to treatment have been successful in understanding what approach is best for the patient. It seems that often times medication along with counseling helps many patients. There are some cases where people don’t respond well to medical treatment or to psychological intervention. It depends on the patient and clinician to determine which approach is best for the patient, but it is often a combination of treatments.
