Phobias Flashcards
stress
a state of psychological and physiological arousal produced by internal or external stressors that are perceived by individuals as a challenge or exceeding their ability to cope
anxiety
a state of physiological arousal associated with feelings of apprehension, worry or uneasiness that something is wrong or unpleasant is about to happen
anxiety disorder
a group of mental disorders that are characterised by chronic feelings of anxiety, distress, nervousness and apprehension about the future with a negative effect
(specific) phobia
characterised by an excessive or unreasonable fear of a particular object or situation
- out of proportion
- produce a desire to avoid the stimulus
- thoughts alone can lead to a phobic reaction
- diagnosable
specific phobias
- animals
- situational
- natural environments
- blood/injection/injury
- other phobias
panic attacks
a period of sudden onset of intense fear or terror, often associated with feelings of impending doom
anticipatory anxiety
a gradual rise in anxiety level as a person anticipates being exposed to a phobic stimulus in the future
GABA dysfunction
- precipitating
- without GABA, activation of the postsynaptic neuron might get out of control
- might cause anxiety and FFF responses
the role of the stress response
- precipitating
- the perceived stressor, whether dangerous or not, elicits the FFF response
- the response can become associated with the phobic stimulus through CC
long-term potentiation (bio factors of phobia)
-plays an important role in learning and memory of fear by strengthening synaptic connections in the neural pathway formed during the learning process
classical conditioning (psych factors of phobia)
precipitating
operant conditioning (psych factors of phobia)
- perpetuating
- after acquisition through CC, a person may avoid the phobic stimulus
- leads to negative reinforcement (–)
cognitive models (perpetuating)
emphasise how and why people with a phobia have an unreasonable and excessive fear of a phobic stimulus
cognitive bias
a tendency to think in a way that involves errors of judgement and faulty decision making
memory bias
the distorting of influences of present knowledge, beliefs and feelings as the recollection of previous experiences
selective memory
the tendency for memory recall of a phobic stimulus to be better for negative or threatening information than positive or neutral information
catastrophic thinking
overestimating, exaggerating or magnifying an object or situation and predicting the worst possible outcomes
specific environmental triggers
- precipitating
- specific objects or situations in the environment that triggers an extreme response
stigma around seeking treatment
- perpetuating
- sufferers of phobias are likely to suffer from stigma and avoid telling other of their fear
benzodiazepines
a group of drugs that work on the central nervous system, acting on GABA receptors in the brain to increase its inhibitory effects and make post-synaptic neurons resistant to excitation
-sedatives, mild tranquilisers and depressants
relaxation techniques
-over-breathing can lead to a lack of carbon dioxide, leading to dizziness, blurred vision, pins and needles
breathing techniques
an anxiety-management technique that involves teaching correct breathing habits
- promotes relaxation
- inhibits FFF
- restores carbon dioxide levels in the blood
exercise
- provides a sense of distraction from fear
- uses up stress hormones
- increases tolerance to some fear and anxiety symptoms
Cognitive behaviour therapy (phobia)
aims to change faulty thoughts and behaviours that perpetuate the phobia
cognitive (phobia, CBT)
identify fear and anxiety-related thoughts to recognise unhelpful ways of thinking
behavioural (phobia, CBT)
recognise unhelpful behaviours and promote positive behaviour therapies
systematic desensitisation
a kind of behaviour therapy that aims to replace an anxiety response with a relaxation response when an individual encounters a phobic stimulus
-applies classical conditioning in unlearning the connection between anxiety and phobic stimulus
systematic desensitisation process
- learning a relaxation technique
- developing a fear hierarchy
- systematic, graduated pairings
psychoeducation
the provision and explanation of information about a mental disorder to increase knowledge and understanding of their disorder and its treatment
psychoeducation process
- challenging unrealistic thoughts
- not encouraging avoidance behaviours
resilience qualities
- the ability to achieve positive results in adverse situations
- the ability to function competently in situations of acute or chronic stress
- the ability to recover from trauma
adequate diet
balanced diet reduces the risk of physical health problems as well as improve sleep, energy levels, mood and mental health
cognitive behavioural strategies (maintenance of mental health)
- drawn from CBT
- cognitive reconstructing
cognitive reconstructing
aims at replacing dysfunctional thoughts with more functional ones
social support
the assistance, care or empathy provided by other people
appraisal support
help from another person that improves someone’s understanding of their mental health problem
tangible assistance
the provision of material support such as services, financial assistance or goods
informational support
provided by other people regarding how to cope with a mental health problem, symptoms or contributing factors
emotional support
through expressions of empathy and by reassuring that a person is cared for
transtheoretical model of behaviour change
a stage-based model that describes how people intentionally change their behaviour to achieve a health-related goal
pre-contemplation stage
- people in this stage are not ready to change and have no intention of taking any initiative
- lack of motivation
contemplation stage
- people in this stage are thinking about the possibility of changing their behaviour but do not initiate change
- may consider beginning to make change
preparation stage
- generally involves mental preparation for the desired behaviour change by formulating an action plan for change
- high motivation
- commitment for change
action stage
- overt attempts to change or abandon the problem behaviour
- relapse is common (spiral model)
- progression is likely to occur when a person hits a high level of evidence in improvement
relapse
a full-blown return to the original problem behaviour
maintenance stage
- reached when people have successfully sustained the changed their behaviour over a relatively long period of time without relapse
- termination is reached when it is believed that the behaviour will never return
strengths of the transtheoretical model of behaviour change
- relevant for simple and complex behaviour
- emphasises that behaviour change is a process that happens over time
- takes account for individual differences
limitations of the transtheoretical model of behaviour change
- has not been through research on the variables which influence stage transitions
- lack of research to justify or validate the relevance of time frames in stages
- role of individual’s decision making may be overstated
