Phobias,Depression and OCD Flashcards
What is a Phobia
An irrational fear of an object or situation
What does Behavioural mean
Ways in which people act
What does Emotional mean
Ways in which people feel
What does it mean by cognitive
Refers to the process of thinking
What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias (3)
Avoidance: Physically adapting normal
behaviour to avoid phobic objects. (E.g.
crossing the street)
Panic: An uncontrollable physical
response, and it’s most likely to happen
at the sudden appearance of the phobic
object (e.g. screaming, hyperventilating,
running)
Failure to function: Difficulty taking part
in activities required to perform a
normal life (e.g. going to
work/education/social events)
What are the emotional characteritsics of phobias (2)
Anxiety: An uncomfortably high and
persistent state of arousal, making it
difficult to relax. Heightened anxiety
when the individual is likely to encounter
the phobia.
Fear: An intense emotional state linked
to the fight-or-flight response, a
sensation of extreme and unpleasant
alertness in the presence of the phobia
that only subsides when the phobic
object is removed.
What are the cognitive characteritsics of
phobias (2)
Irrational thoughts (fears): Negative
and irrational mental processes that
include an exaggerated belief in the
harm the phobic object could cause
them.
Reduced cognitive capacity: People
with a phobia cannot concentrate on
day-to-day activities such as work due
to the excessive attentional focus on
the phobic objects and constant
concerns about potentiall danger they
feel they are in.
What does depression mean
A mood disorder defined by a consistent and long lasting sense of sadness
What are the behavioural characteristics of depression (3)
Reduction in activity level: Includes
lethargy, lacking the energy needed to
perform everyday activities
(e.g. personal hygiene/washing).
Anhedonia is the lack of pleasure usually
felt doing enjoyable activities, leading to
a reduction in social behaviour.
A change in eating behaviour: Often
results in either significant weight gain
or weight loss.
An increase in aggression: This can be
towards other people, but these
aggressive acts often take the form of
self-harm.
What are the emotional characteristics of depression (2)
Sadness: A persistent, very low mood.
Guilt: Linked to helplessness and a feeling
that they have no value in comparison to
other people
What are the cognitive characteristics of depression (2)
Poor concentration: People with
depression cannot give their full
attention to tasks, and when they need
to make a decision, they can be
indecisive, unable to choose between
competing options.
Negative schemas: Automatic negative
biases when thinking about themselves,
the world and the future.
What is OCD
Defined by obsessions, which are constant intrusive thoughts that cause high anxiety levels. Compulsions that are the
behavioural response, an attempt to deal with the continuous invasive thought processes.
What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD (3)
Compulsions: behaviours performed
repeatedly to reduce anxiety; however,
any anxiety reduction is only temporary.
e.g. checking behaviours (testing that
the lights/gas is off, the door is locked).
Ritual cleaning behaviours (cleaning
kitchen or hands)
Avoidance: take or resist actions to
avoid being in the presence of objects/
situations that trigger obsessions.
Social impairment: not participating in
enjoyable social activities. This social
withdrawal is often due to difficulty
leaving the house without triggering
obsessions or the need to carry out
compulsions becomes time-consuming.
What are the emotional characteristics of OCD (2)
Anxiety: an uncomfortably high and
persistent state of arousal, making it
difficult to relax. Anxiety results from
the obsession, the constant worst-case-
scenario thinking that defines OCD.
Depression: A consistent and long-
lasting sense of sadness. The result of
being unable to control the anxiety-
causing thoughts and the OCD
symptoms taking over the sufferer’s
life, leading to issues like social
withdrawal.
What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD (3)
Obsessions: intrusive, irrational and
recurrent thoughts that tend to be unpleasant catastrophic thoughts about potential dangers.
Hypervigilance: A permanent state of
alertness where the sufferer is looking for
the source of their obsessive thoughts; for
example, someone with a contamination
obsession looks at each surface they need
to touch, thinking about the potential
threat of exposure to germs.
Selective attention (attentional
bias): This means the individual with OCD
is so focused on the objects connected to
the obsession they cannot focus on other
things in their environment or
concentrate on conversations.
