psychopathology sum / Anxiety Flashcards
how had ‘disorder’ previously been defined?
- infrequency
- deviance
- disability
- danger
- distress
how is a mental health disorder actually defined?
A combination of all these
- associated with increased distress or disability, increased risk of suffering/ loss of freedom, manifestation of a behavioural/ psychological/ biological disfunction
Treatment of Mental Disorders…
- biomedical
- psychological
- psychodynamic (psychological)
- behavioural (psychological)
- cognitive
- humanistic (psychological)
- electic
what is Anxiety?
apprehension about an anticipated issue wheras fear/ panic is an ‘instinct’ response to immediate danger
related emotions/ shared components to anxiety
3 components:
cognitive/ subjective
physiological - sympathetic nervous system
behavioural
Yerkes-Dodson Law
anxiety/ fear can be adaptive - the optimal about of each ,ay lead to optimal performance
what is an anxiety disorder?
when anxiety is so active/ evasive that it causes distress in lives - (makes it harder to do ‘simple’ tasks).
- most common psychiatric disorder (28% of US - lifetime will reach threshold of anxiety disorder)
generalised anxiety disorder
(future orientated)
- characterised by apprehensive expectation
- anxiety is generalised and persistent
- “free floating” anxiety - not situational
- feels distressed due to constant worry
panic disorder
- unexpected/ unpredicted panic attack - absence of trigger
main features: discrete period of intense fear/ builds rapidly
- concern about future attacks lead to avoidance
(relatively free of anxiety between attacks)
agrophobia
People with panic disorder – roughly 70% - also have agoraphobia - can exist outside panic disorder though
at least 2 is needed…
anxiety about…
- public transport
- being out of home alone
- open/closed spaces
- crowds
these fears situations produce anxiety and are usually avoided
Social Anxiety Disorder
- anxiety evoked by specific situations
- fear is out of proportion to the situation
- avoidance behaviour
Obsessive -compulsive related disorders & common features
- OCD
- body dysmorphia - BDD
- Hoarding - HD
common features: repetitive thoughts and behaviours which causes distress, feel uncontrollable and time intensive
obsessions:
intrusive and recurring thoughts, images, impulses that are persistent, uncontrollable, irrational.
most common: sexual/ agressive impulses, body problems, religion, order
compulsions:
repetitive, excessive behaviours/ mental acts a person is driven to perform to reduce anxiety caused by obsessive thoughts or prevent expected consequences
“rituals” - 78% = ‘silly’
PTSD
(DSM-5)
- exposures to actual/ threatened death, sexual violence or serious injury
- presence of 1 or more intrusive symptoms
- persistent avoidance of associated stimuli
- negative alterations in cognition & mood
- marked alterations in arousal & reactivity
- 1month since event to be diagnosed
