Chapter 5: Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Flashcards
Anxiety
An emotional state characterized by physiological arousal, unpleasant feelings of tension, and a sense of apprehension or foreboding.
Anxiety disorder
A class of psychological disorders characterized by excessive or maladaptive anxiety reactions.
Features of anxiety disorders
Physical features:
- Jumpiness, trembling/shaking, sense of tightness in chest and/or stomach, light-headedness, etc.
Behavioral features:
- Avoiding situations, agitation, depending on others for constant help/support.
Cognitive features:
- Worry, apprehension about the future, preoccupation of physical sensations (such as the features noted above), fixated on distressful thoughts, difficulty with concentration.
Casual factors of panic disorder
The prevailing view of panic disorder reflects:
- A combination of cognitive and biological factors
- Misattributions
- Physiological reactions
The changes in bodily sensations that trigger a panic attack may result from many factors, such as unrecognized hyperventilation (rapid breathing), exertion, changes in temperature, or reactions to certain drugs or medications.
In many cases, an individual may attribute an unexpected physical sensation to a catastrophic event, leading to further misinterpretations and an increased/prolonged episode of anxiety
GABA
The neurotransmitter GABA helps curb excess activity in the central nervous system, turning down bodily states of arousal. Low levels of GABA activity may play a role in some cases of anxiety disorders.
Cognitive factors of anxiety
Anxiety sensitivity (AS), or fear of fear itself, may contribute to proneness to anxiety disorders
Anxiety sensitivity may magnify the reaction to cues of unexpected bodily arousal.
- Perceive racing heart as a sign of a heart attack
- These thoughts intensify their anxiety reactions
Research has suggested that if infants are constantly exposed to fearful facial expressions by their parents/caregivers, they are more likely to develop similar behaviors.
Biological perspectives
Genetic factors can predispose individuals to develop anxiety disorders.
Links between variations of a particular gene and different patterns of brain activity.
- Individuals with a particular form of the gene showed greater neuronal activity in response to fearful stimuli in the amygdala.
- The amygdala is a “primitive” component of the brain (it tends to produce irrational thoughts and responses).
Drug therapy
Antidepressant drugs are used to treat social anxiety and other related disorders, despite the assumption that they are only used for depressive/mood disorders.
Common themes behind obsessions and compulsions (thoughts vs. behaviors).
Obsessive Thought Patterns
- Thinking that one’s hands remain dirty despite repeated washing
- Difficulty shaking the thought that a loved one has been hurt or killed
- Repeatedly thinking that one has left the door to the house unlocked
- Worrying constantly that the gas jets in the house were not turned off
- Repeatedly thinking that one has done terrible things to loved ones
Compulsive Behavior Patterns
- Rechecking one’s work time and time again
- Rechecking the doors or gas jets before leaving home
- Constantly washing one’s hands to keep them clean and germ free
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Preoccupation with an imagined or exaggerated physical defect in appearance causing individuals to feel they are ugly or even disfigured.
- Obsession with their perceived defect and compulsive behaviors aimed at fixing the perceived defect.
- Exposure therapy with response prevention used in treating body dysmorphic disorder.
Hoarding Disorder
Accumulation of and need to retain unnecessary and seemingly useless possessions, causing personal distress or making it difficult to maintain a safe, habitable living space.
Differences between OCD and hoarding disorder
- Obsessive thinking in hoarding is not associated with intrusive, unwanted thoughts.
- Those who hoard do not experience an urge to perform rituals to control disturbing thoughts.
- People with hoarding disorder typically experience pleasure from collecting possessions and thinking about them (unlike the anxiety associated with obsessional thinking in OCD).
