Exam 3: Anxiety Disorders Flashcards
Exam 3: Chapter 5 Stress Chapter 6 Anxiety Disorders Chapter 10 Eating & Sleeping Disorders
Define: Anxiety
An emotional state characterized by physiological arousal, unpleasant feelings of tension, and a sense of apprehension or foreboding.
Define: Anxiety Disorder
A class of psychological disorders characterized by excessive or maladaptive anxiety reactions.
Define: Panic Disorder
A type of anxiety disorder characterized by repeated episodes of intense anxiety or panic.
Define: Phobia
An excessive, irrational fear.
Define: Specific Phobia
A phobia that is specific to a particular object or situation.
Define: Social Phobia
Excessive fear of social interactions or situations.
Define: Two-Factor Model
A theoretical model that accounts for the development of phobic reactions on the basis of classical and operant conditioning.
Define: Systematic Desensitization
A behavior therapy technique for overcoming phobias by means of exposure to progressively more fearful stimuli (in imagination of by viewing slides) while remaining deeply relaxed.
Define: Fear-Stimulus Hierarchy
An ordered series of increasingly fearful stimuli.
Define: Gradual Exposure
In behavior therapy, a method of overcoming fears through a stepwise process of exposure to increasingly fearful stimuli in imagination or in real-life situations.
Define: Flooding
A behavior therapy technique for overcoming fears by means of exposure to high levels of fear-inducing stimuli.
Define: Virtual Reality Therapy
A form of exposure therapy involving the presentation of phobic stimuli in a virtual reality environment.
Define: Cognitive Restructuring
A cognitive therapy method that involves replacing irrational thoughts with rational alternatives.
Define: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
A type of anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent obsessions, compulsions, or both.
Define: Obsession
A recurring thought, image, or urge that the individual cannot control.
Define: Compulsion
A repetitive or ritualistic behavior that the person feels compelled to perform.
Define: Generalized Anxiety Disorder
(GAD) A type of anxiety disorder characterized by general feelings of dread and foreboding and heightened states of bodily arousal.
Define: Acute Stress Disorder
(ASD) A traumatic stress reaction occurring during the month following exposure to a traumatic event.
Define: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) A prolonged maladaptive reaction to a traumatic event.
Define: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EDMR)
A controversial form of therapy for PTSD that involves eye tracking of a visual target while holding images of the traumatic experience in mind.
General Considerations:
- Used to be called “Neurosis:” Cullen coined the term—he was a physician and assumed that those with anxiety disorders had some sort of nervous system dysfunction
- Highly Conditionable
- Avoidant Defenses: if something causes you anxiety, you avoid it
- Difference between anxiety/fear
Anxiety
Stress Prolonged/Persistent Far-Reaching Psychological Conditioned Anticipated/Cognitive “Top Down Processing”—cortex THINKING (stop) BIS—Behavior Inhibition System
Fear
Momentary/Right Now Fight or Flight Response Reflex Physiological Unexpected/Can’t Control HPA Axis (Cannon) “Bottom Up Processing”—primitive brain ACTION
Genetic Connections within Anxiety Disorders
There aren’t specific genes for anxiety disorder, but there could be a genetic connection within anxiety disorders—see stimulation thresholds
Treatment doesn’t change your stimulation threshold—it teaches you coping mechanisms that help you deal with stressful/tense situation
GAD: Symptoms
Must have them for longer than 6 months
2:1 (female:male) ratio for development of anxiety disorder
2+ worries/triggers
Muscle tension, difficulty concentrating,
Frequency of the disorder increases with age
Free-Floating Anxiety: “fog”—goes everywhere/pervades everything
GAD: Causes
(NOT) Sociocultural: all groups/races are susceptible
Psychodynamic: (Freud) learning theory + classical conditioning
Biology (Autonomic Restrictors): a considerable sub-group doesn’t show any biological responses to their anxiety
GAD: Treatment
(medications become the avoidant defenses of anxiety disorders—medication is a Band-Aid, not a solution)
1940’s Barbiturates—lethal dose does not go up with tolerance (very dangerous, high risk of overdose)
1950’s Benzodiazepines—potentiate (magnifies) the effects of GABA (→ inhibits, calms, shuts things down), but are time-limited; causes memory problems, thinking issues, motor coordination, depression; effects “modest at best”
Antidepressants—“depression and anxiety are kissing cousins”
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
“Modest at Best” (the one exception to success rate with anxiety disorder treatments)
Specific Phobia: Diagnostic Criteria
(Must have all 5)
+Must have a specific fear of stimulus or situation
+Exposure causes anxiety reactions
+Engages in avoidant defenses
+Originally, you had to accept that your fear is illogical and irrational—now you just have to recognize that it is excessive
+Phobia must (severely) interfere with daily function (obligations and responsibilities)
-Symptoms for around 6 months
Specific Phobia: Causes
Biological Preparedness: we are hard-wired to develop some fears (creepy-crawlies) and not others (ice cream)
Mowrer Two Factor Theory: argues that classical and operant conditions result in the development of a phobia EX: spider + bite→fear/anxiety (conditioned stimulus + unconditioned stimulus→unconditioned response)
Vicarious Learning: we learn to fear things without a personal experience
Information Transmission: EX: hobo spider impulse buy
Developmental Patterns: certain phobias show up at certain ages
Specific Phobia: Treatment
- Drugs/Medication
- Extinction→Exposure Conditioned stimulus w/o the unconditioned stimulus
- Flooding
- Systematic Desensitization
- Modeling: works if you use an equal or lesser status peer
Social Anxiety Disorder
Fear of being exposed to public scrutiny or humiliation
- Same diagnostic criteria as specific phobia
- More females suffer from it
Panic Disorder: Diagnostic Criteria
Panic Attack
\+uncued, unexpected
\+cued (situationally bound)
\+situationally predisposed
*Stimulus Generalization
-R/O (rule out) Mitral Valve Prolapse
-Interoceptive Avoidance (exercise, theme parks)
Stats: more females than males (5:2)
Treatment (for both Panic Disorder & Agoraphobia)
Relaxation
Exposure to Internal CuesAgoriphobia
Male/Female Ratio 2:1
Secondary Gain: someone else has to do everything for an agoraphobic
Treatment (for both Panic Disorder & Agoraphobia)
Relaxation
Exposure to Internal Cues
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Clients who re-experience anxiety related to a past trauma
Big Concern—stimulus generalization
Early diagnosis is critical
