Intro To Psychiatry and anxiety Flashcards
How common is mental illness?
1/3 people have a mental health disorder in their life
1/3 GP consultations have a mental health component
Most people fully recover
3/4 people feel stigmatised
What are panic attacks?
Periods of intense anxiety
Sudden fear, Heart racing, shaking, dry mouth, palpitations
Lasts around 10-15 mins
What are obsessional thoughts?
Your own thoughts
Senseless and you know it
You can try to resist
Such as ruminating on germs
Ego-dystonic thoughts, may sound delusional, insight maintained, unbidden and resisted, resistance leads to anxiety
What are some anxiety symptoms?
Palpitations, sweating, dry mouth, splanchnic vasoconstriction (butterflies), tremor, paraesthesia (pins and needles), depersonalisation, syncope
These are pretty universal as we all have this fight or flight response due to release of adrenaline
Can be a positive feedback loop
What are compulsions?
Motor responses to obsessional thoughts
Often ritualistic, stereotyped, precise
Eg. Hand washing, counting, arranging and symmetry, checking door locks
Start again if interrupted or doubt
How do we classify anxiety?
Can be classified as:
Generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, simple phobia, social phobia
Obsessive compulsive disorder, PTSD (these are no longer classifications of anxiety)
Although these are useful in communicating with other doctors, this isn’t the most useful a and probably accurate way of classifying anxiety
What is some epidemiology of anxiety?
Most common cause of mental disorder
Lifetime prevalence of between 14 and 33%
More common in females (2:1)
Median onset age 11
How might anxiety be treated?
CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy)
Medication (eg. Clomipramine)
