Chapter 5: Anxiety Disorders Flashcards
What is anxiety defined as?
A negative mood state/emotion characterized by bodily symptoms and apprehension about the future
anxiety disorders are among the most common mental disorders
What is avoidance learning?
Avoiding a situation completely due to adversive stimulus (e.g., anxiety)
What is escape learning?
Avoiding adversive stimulus by doing something else
What is fear defined as?
Immediate alarm reaction to dangerous/life threatening situations
What is panic defined as?
Episodic, intense fear/acute discomfort accompanied by physical symptoms
heavy breathing, heart palpitations, etc.
What is the difference between an expected/cued panic attack, and an unexpected (uncued) panic attack?
Expected = you know your triggers, unexpected = out of nowhere, no anxiety prior
What are some differences between fear and anxiety?
hint - two systems (nervous system)
Anxiety = somatic nervous system (tension), future oriented
Fear = sympathetic nervous system, immediate alarm reaction
What is the biopsychosocial model?
The interaction and influence of our biological, social/environmental, and psychological components
What are some biological contributions to mental disorder?
(4 components; 3 “brain”)
Genetics, brain circuitry (how connected everything is), brain chemistry (neurotransmitters, HPA axis), brain processing
What are some psychological contributions to disorder?
(5 components)
Childhood, personality traits, cognition (perception, beliefs, attitude), conditioning/modelling, coping skills
What are some social contributors to mental disorder?
Stressful life events (social, interpersonal, physical)
What is the triple vulnerability model?
Suggests that three vulnerabilities contribute to the etiology of emotional disorders - biological, psychological (general; personality traits) and specific psychological (percieved control over life)
What is generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)?
3 specifications
Disorder characterized by intense, free floating anxiety, chronic worrying, and inability to stop the anxious cycle
What are the 4 cognitive characteristics for GAD?
- intolerance of uncertainty 2. positive beliefs about worry 3. poor problem orientation 4. cognitive avoidance
What are some typical treatments for GAD?
Cognitive behavioural therapy, medication
What are some medications typically used for GAD?
Benzodiazepines (short term; xanax, ativan, valium), antidepressants (paroxetine, fluoxetine -SSRI-, venlafaxine/effexor -SNRI-)
What do SSRI’s do?
(selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)
Blocks reuptake of serotonin, increases amount of serotonin present in the synapse + magnifies the effects
What is social anxiety/social phobia?
Fear/anxiety of social situations, causing stress and impairing ability to function
What is the best treatment typically for social anxiety?
CBT focusing on exposure therapy/real life experiences during therapy
What is higher order conditioning?
When a conditioned stimulus becomes associated with a new, unconditioned stimulus
What was the little Albert study?
John B. Watson’s study
Study that proved fears could be conditioned/generalized despite intelligence (little boy, white rat)
What are the ABC’s of behaviour?
Antecedent (cue), Behaviour, Consequences
What is a reinforcer?
(behavioural)
Something that strengthens a response or increases probability that it will occur
What is shaping?
(behavioural; reinforcers)
Gradually molding desired behaviour by reinforcing closer responses to desired behaviour
Who was Mary Cover Jones?
First behavioural therapist, reverse engineered Watson’s approach
(no more fear of white rabbit)
What is observational learning?
Learning through other people’s behaviour (sometimes referred to as modelling)
What is Horney’s concept of ‘the Self”?
(4 components)
Actual self (person you actually are), real self (subjective view of actual self), despised real self (negative view of the self), and the ideal self (the ‘perfect’ form of self)
What is panic disorder?
Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks
(fear of having more panic attacks; required for diagnosis)
What is the average age of onset for panic disorder?
25-29 years old
inital attacks begin at/after puberty
What is agoraphobia?
Fear/avoidance of situations, places or people (where it’d be ‘unsafe’ to have a panic attack)
(agora is a bustling area in greek)
Considered as a marker of severe panic disorder with a lower recovery rate and less impactful treatments
What is interoceptive avoidance?
Avoidance of situations/activities that may produce phisiological beginnings of a panic attack
(heat, exercise, sex, debates, etc.)
What may be some causes for panic disorder/agoraphobia?
Genetics, “learned alarms”. as well as other bio/psycho/social factors
What might treatment look like for panic disorder?
exposure therapy (AKA Barlow’s panic control treatment), SSRI’s, Benzodiazepines (xanax, ativan, etc.)
What is a specific phobia disorder?
Persistent and irrational fear of object/situation that presents no realistic danger
interferes with ability to function
What are the three categories of diagnosis for phobias?
(i.e., the three different types of phobias)
situational/specific phobia, social phobia, agoraphobia
