Chapter 6: Anxiety Disorders

Question 1

anxiety

Answer 1

a sense of agitation or nervousness, which is often focused on an upcoming possible danger

Question 2

anxiety disorder

Answer 2

a category of psychological disorders in which the primary symptoms involve fear, extreme anxiety, intense arousal, and/or extreme attempts to avoid stimuli that lead to fear and anxiety

Question 3

fight-or-flight response

Answer 3

the automatic neurological and bodily response to a perceive threat; also called the stress response

Question 4

panic

Answer 4

an extreme sense (or fear) of imminent doom, together with an extreme stress response

Question 5

phobia

Answer 5

an exaggerated fear of an object or a situation, together with an extreme avoidance of the object or situation

Question 6

generalized anxiety disorder

Answer 6

an anxiety disorder characterized by uncontrollable worry and anxiety about a number of events or activities, which are not solely the result of another disorder

Question 7

hyperviligance

Answer 7

a heightened search for threats

Question 8

biofeedback

Answer 8

a technique in which a person is trained to bring normally involuntary or unconscious bodily activity, such as heart rate or muscle tension, under voluntary control

Question 9

habituation

Answer 9

the process by which the emotional response to a stimulus that elicits fear or anxiety is reduced by exposing the patient to the stimulus repeatedly

Question 10

exposure

Answer 10

a behavioral technique that involved repeated contact with a feared or arousing stimulus in a controlled setting, bringing about habituation

Question 11

in vivo exposure

Answer 11

a behavioral therapy method that consists of direct exposure to a feared or avoided situation or stimulus

Question 12

psychoeducation

Answer 12

the process of education patients about research findings and therapy procedures relevant to their situation

Question 13

panic attack

Answer 13

a specific period of intense fear or discomfort accompanied by physical symptoms, such as pounding heart, shortness of breath, shakiness, and sweating, or cognitive symptoms, such as a fear of loosing control

Question 14

panic disorder

Answer 14

an anxiety disorder characterized by frequent, unexpected panic attacks, along with fear of further attacks and possible restrictions of behavior in order to prevent such attacks

Question 15

agoraphobia

Answer 15

an anxiety disorder characterized by persistent avoidance of situations that might trigger panic symptoms or from which help would be difficult to obtain

Question 16

concordance rate

Answer 16

the probability that both twins will have a characteristic or disorder, given that one of them has it

Question 17

introspective exposure

Answer 17

a behavioral therapy method in which patients intentionally elicit the bodily sensations associated with panic so that they can habituate to those sensations and not respond with fear

Question 18

social anxiety disorder

Answer 18

an anxiety disorder characterized by intense fear of public humiliation or embarrassment; also called social phobia

Question 19

specific phobia

Answer 19

an anxiety disorder characterized by excessive or unreasonable anxiety about or fear related to a specific situation or object

Question 20

separation anxiety disorder

Answer 20

a disorder that typically arises in childhood and is characterized by excessive anxiety about separation from home or from someone to whom the person is strongly attached