Lesson 2: Anxiety Disorders Flashcards
What is fear?
The psychological and emotional response to a real, immediate danger
Which part of the nervous system does fear stimulate?
Sympathetic NS
Is fear a good thing?
Yes, it keeps us alive!
Is anxiety a good thing?
Sometimes!
What is anxiety?
More general physiological and emotional response to a vague sense of threat or danger
Anxiety involves anticipation of future/present/past events
future
Anxiety…how does the person worry and about how many things?
It’s taking over your life and has no logical grounding
What are three common themes that those with anxiety worry about?
Negative content
Less controllable
Less realistic
DSM-5 criteria for anxiety disorders:
Negative emotional responses
Preoccupation and/or a persistent, maladaptive avoidance of anxiety-provoking thoughts or situations
Four types of anxiety disorders:
GAD
Specific phobias
SAD
Panic disorder
True or false: OCD and PTSD are housed with the anxiety disorders
false, they each have their own section
There is low/high comorbidity between anxiety disorders, depression, and substance abuse
high
More than __% of people with anxiety disorders will experience some other disorder in their lifetime
90
Three requirements of GAD diagnosis:
Excessive worry about many events & activities that leads to significant distress and impairment
3 of 6 physical symptoms
at least 6 month duration
What are the physical symptoms associated with GAD?
Edginess/restlessness
Easily fatigued
Poor concentration
Irritability
Muscle tension
Sleep disturbance
Which anxiety disorder is associated with free-floating anxiety?
GAD
True or false: 3-4% of the U.S. population will experience GAD in a year and 6-9% in their lifetime
True
What is the women to men ratio for GAD?
2:1
GAD commonly develops in ________ and tends to be ____
childhood/adolescence, chronic
Only __% of individuals with GAD are in treatment
25
Why do so few individuals with GAD seek treatment?
They assume it’s normal
Easily downplayed
What is the core feature of GAD?
Free-floating anxiety
GAD is more likely to develop in people who are facing _____ _________ societal conditions
truly dangerous
GAD is primarily caused by _____ ________ _______
basic irrational assumptions
Why do people with GAD worry?
It’s an attempt to predict and prevent negative events.
Do those with GAD enjoy their worry?
It does give them distress, but they like the control it gives them as well.
What is metacognitive theory?
People with GAD implicitly hold both positive and negative attitudes toward worry
What is avoidance theory of GAD?
People with GAD have higher bodily arousal and worrying serves to reduce this arousal
What is the psychodynamic viewpoint of GAD?
GAD is caused by neurotic or moral anxiety related to id impulses
May be more likely to repress upsetting experiences and/or to have been overprotected / punished as kids
What is the humanistic viewpoint of GAD?
Self judgments related to conditions of worth lead to constant worry
True or false: GAD has a modest heritability
True (15%)
Those with GAD often have ___ inactivity
GABA
What does GABA do?
Inhibits neurons from firing
If GABA is too low, such as those with GAD, the neurons fire too much/not enough.
too much
What treatment options are there for GAD?
Cognitive Therapies
Anxiolytics & Antidepressants
Relaxation Training
Biofeedback
Due to its chronic nature, Dr. Rytwinski does/doesn’t recommend anxiety meds for those with GAD.
doesn’t
Dr. Rytwinski’s recommended treatment for GAD:
Antidepressent + CBT
Symptoms of specific phobias
Fear in presence or anticipation of a specific stimulus
Fear is out of proportion to actual danger
Avoidance of feared stimuli or endured with intense fear/anxiety
At least 6 months of significant distress or impairment
What are the five subtypes of specific phobia?
Animal type
Natural environment type
Blood-injection-injury type
Situational Type
Other Type
Stimulus generalization is another word for ______ ________
Classical Conditioning
Avoiding a stimulus is a classical/operant response.
operant
Relief from anxiety is a ______ _________ in operant conditioning.
negative reinforcement
True or false: What classical creates, operant maintains
True
What is flooding?
Cold turkey method –> just throw them right into their fear
What is systematic desensitization?
Create a hierarchy of fears, teach relaxation exercises, work up the hierarchy from least to most feared
What percentage of individuals are diagnosed with specific phobia each year?
7-12%
What percentage of individuals are diagnosed with specific phobia in their lifetime?
14%
What is the woman-man ratio of specific phobia?
2:1
What is preparedness theory?
The idea that we have a predisposition to certain fears already, such as bears, etc. However, this cannot explain all phobias.
Can phobias be “handed down?”
Yes, through modeling. Children copy their parents.
True or false: Phobias don’t require practice. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
False
Can modeling be used as a treatment to specific phobia?
Absolutely!
What are the symptoms of social anxiety disorder (SAD)?
Fear and avoidance of social situations
Exposure leads to immediate fear response
Avoid phobic situation or endure with distress
at least 6 months of symptoms
Significant distress or impairment
SAD is a fear of ________
negative social evaluation
___% will experience SAD in a year
7.4
__% will experience SAD in their lifetime
13
What is the woman-man ratio of those experiencing SAD?
3:2
When is the typical onset for SAD?
Early childhood; Adolescence
SAD tends to be acute/chronic
chronic
True or false: There are cultural difference in those experience sad due to individualistic culture versus collective culture
True
What is the Cognitive Theory of SAD?
Excessive high standards (self-schema)
Negative automatic assumptions
Attention to negative cues
What is the Psychodynamic Theory of SAD?
Have view of others as critical, self as flawed, unlovable, etc.
What are two developmental influences for SAD?
Anxious, overprotective and critical parents
Temperament – behaviorally inhibited
True or False: There is no cognitive work in treating SAD
FALSE; we gotta change that negative thinking, man!
What kind of medication can be used for SAD?
Antidepressant
What types of therapy are used to heal SAD?
Exposure therapy
CBT
___________s can lessen the outward signs of anxiety, such as quickened heart rate.
beta-blockers
Do we use medication for specific phobias?
No, not really. Therapy is the way to go!
