Characteristics Flashcards
what is meant by a phobia
Anxiety disorder characterised by excessive fear and anxiety, triggered by an object place or situation
The extent of the fear is out of proportion to any real danger presented by the phobic stimulus and interferes with the person’s normal routine
Examples of common phobic stimuli include heights, enclosed spaces, and spiders
emotional characteristics of phobias
- Anxiety
- Anxiety is an unpleasant state of high arousal (feelings of worry/distress) we experience when we encounter or think about the phobic stimulus
- This can make it very difficult to experience any positive emotions - Unreasonable Emotional Response
- The fear/terror experienced is often disproportionate to the actual danger posed by the phobic stimulus
- For example, an individual’s fear of spiders will involve a very strong emotional response to a tiny, harmless spider
cognitive characteristics of phobias
- Irrational Beliefs
- These are beliefs that are not logical and do not make sense to other people
- Sufferers often hold irrational beliefs about the phobic stimuli and are very resistant to rational arguments
- For example, a person with a fear of flying is not helped by arguments that flying is actually the safest form of transport - Selective Attention
- Sufferers will often find it difficult to focus their attention away from the phobic stimulus and this can interfere with day to day life
- For example, someone with a phobia for spiders may find it difficult to concentrate on what they re doing if someone has mentioned there might be a spider nearby
behavioural characteristics of phobias
- Avoidance
- Sufferers often go out of their way to avoid the phobic stimulus to reduce anxiety and this can significantly interfere with their normal day to day life
- eg, someone with a social phobia might avoid certain social situations which might affect their job, relationships or social activities - Panicking
- Sufferers offen panic in response to the phobic stimuli
- This panic can be in the form of behaviours such as crying, screaming, running away or freezing
what is meant by depression
Mood disorders characterised by sad, depressed mood.
Other symptoms often include a loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities, low energy levels, negative self-concept and feelings of worthlessness.
To be diagnosed, the symptoms must cause, significant distress or impairment in general functioning for more than 2 weeks
emotional characteristics of depression
- Sad, Depressed Mood
- ‘Sadness’ is a common emotional term when people are describing their depression
- But, it is often combined with feelings of ‘emptiness’, ‘worthlessness’, ‘hopelessness’ and ‘low self-esteem’. - Anger
- Negative emotions can, at times, also be shown in the form of anger
- This anger can be directed as aggression towards oneself (e.g. self-harming) or towards others
cognitive characteristics of depression
- Negative Schema
- Depressed people often have negative thoughts and expectations about their lives, relationships and the world in general
- They believe things will generally turn out badly and this expectation can turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy, reinforcing those hegative beliefs - Poor Concentration
- Sufferers often find themselves unable to stick to a task or make decisions as they normally would
- This is then likely to interfere with a sufferer’s work and ability to communicate
behavioural characteristics of depression
- Disruption of Sleep and Eating
- Depression is associated with disruption in our normal eating and sleeping behaviours
- Insomnia (reduced sleep) and hypersomnia (increased need for sleep) are common and appetite can also increase or decrease with depression, which can lead to weight loss or gain - Activity Levels
- Depressed people will often experience disruption in their activity levels.
- Low energy levels can lead to withdrawal from work, social lives or even struggling to get out of bed
- Some depressed people experience the opposite and have high levels of energy resulting in agitation and restlessness
what is meant by OCD
Anxiety disorders characterised by either obsessions (persistent thoughts which greate feelings of anxiety - internal) and/or compulsions (repetitive behaviours which are carried out to try and reduce the anxiety created by the obsession - external)
The obsessions and/or compulsions cause distress, are time consuming (take more than one hour a day) and interfere with the person’s normal routine
emotional characteristics of OCD
- Anxiety
- Anxiety is an unpleasant state of high arousal we experience which can accompany both obsessions and compulsions
- Obsessive thoughts can be frightening and the stress they cause can be overwhelming and prevent a person from functioning normally - Reduction of Anxiety
- Feelings of anxiety are often reduced as a result of compulsive behaviours and this anxiety reduction might drive many repetitive compulsive behaviours
- eg, compulsive hand-washing might reduce the anxiety caused by an excessive fear of germs, encouraging more hand-washing
cognitive characteristics of OCD
- Obsessions
- Obsessions are persistent recurring internal thoughts that often drive anxious feelings
- Obsessions could be ideas (germs are everywhere) or doubts (worry that something important has been overlooked) - Irrational Beliefs
- These are beliefs that are not logical and do not make sense to other people
- At some point during the course of the disorder, the sufferer does recognise that the obsessions or compulsions are excessive and unreasonable
behavioural characteristics of OCD
- Compulsive Behaviours
- These are externally visible and repetitive as sufferers feel compelled to repeat the behaviour to reduce anxiety
- eg, repetitive hand-washing, counting or tidying/ordering - Avoidance
- Sufferers may go out of their way to avoid situations which usually trigger anxiety and this can significantly interfere with their normal day to day life
- The aim being to reduce anxiety through avoidance
- eg, sufferers who compulsively wash their hands may avoid coming into contact with germs
