lecture 4 Flashcards
fear and anxiety
- Fear
- A negative emotional state in response to real or perceived
imminent threat to the self.
-Present focused - Anxiety
- A negative emotional state that stems from anticipation of future
threat to the self. - Future focused
components of anxiety
Physiological
* Heightened level of arousal and physiological activation
* Examples: ↑ heart rate, shortness of breath, dry mouth
Cognitive
* Subjective perception of anxious arousal and associated
cognitive processes
* Examples: worry and ruminations
Behavioural (Clinicians often add this component)
* ‘safety’ behaviours
* avoidance
specific phobia
Fear and avoidance of objects or situations that do not
present any real danger
social anxiety disorder
Fear and avoidance of social situations due to possible
negative evaluation from others
panic disorder
Recurrent panic attacks involving a sudden onset of
physiological symptoms, such as dizziness, rapid heart rate,
and trembling, accompanied by terror and feelings of impending doom
Agoraphobia
Fear of being in public places
GAD
persistent, uncontrollable worry, often about minor things
separation anxiety
The anxious arousal and worry about losing contact with and
proximity to other people, typically significant others
selective mutism
Failure to speak in one situation (usually school) when able to
speak in other situations (usually home).
The most common specific phobia subtypes in order were
(1) animal phobias (including insects, snakes, and birds);
(2) heights;
(3) being in closed spaces;
(4) flying;
(5) being in or on water;
(6) going to the dentist;
(7) seeing blood or getting an injection;
(8) storms, thunder, or lightning.
Etiology of Specific Phobias and
Social Anxiety Disorder, theories
- behavioural
1. Avoidance conditioning
2. Modelling
3. Prepared Learning - cognitive
*Cognitive-behavioural models link SAD with certain
cognitive characteristics: - Attentional bias to focus on negative social information
- Perfectionistic standards for accepted social performances
- High degree of public self-consciousness
- biological
- Autonomic Nervous System (stability-lability)
* Having a more labile ANS (jumpy individuals) - Genetic factors
* No specific susceptibility genes have been found thus
far.
- psychoanalytic
These theories about how someone develops phobias
or social anxiety considers that phobias are a defence
against the anxiety produced by repressed id impulses.
* Anxiety is displaced from the feared id impulse and
moved to an object or situation that has some symbolic
connection to it.
Panic attack
A panic attack is not a mental disorder. But they can
occur in the context of any anxiety disorder as well as
other mental disorders and some medical conditions
* When a panic attack occurs, it should be noted as a
specifier (e.g., separation anxiety with panic attacks). For
Panic disorder, the presence of panic attack is constrained
within the criteria for the panic disorder
two kinds of panic attacks
- Unexpected – no obvious cue or trigger (out of the blue)
- Expected – an attack in response to a situational trigger (an
obvious cue or trigger, such as previous situations where panic
attacks have typically occurred)
Agoraphobia
- a cluster of fears centering on public places and being unable to
escape or find help should one become incapacitated - diagnosis requires anxiety in at least 2 of 5 situations:
1. public transportation
2. open spaces
3. enclosed spaces
4. lines/crowds
5. being out of the house alone
biological theories of panic disorder
Physical conditions with panic-like symptoms:
* Mitral valve prolapse syndrome
* Inner ear disease causes dizziness (Ménière’s disease)
Genetic factors:
* Panic disorder runs in families and has greater concordance
in identical-twin pairs than in fraternal twins
Noradrenergic activity theory
The role of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in panic:
The role of Cholecystokinin (CCK) in Panic attacks
