W7 Anxiety and Stress-related problems (2) Flashcards
Heritable influence GAD
: Runs in families but heritability is low. Suggests that there is a genetic or biological element
GAD DSM 5
Disproportionate fear or anxiety relating to different aspects of your life.
The anxiety should be relating to at least two areas of activity.
Feeling anxiety will be accompanied by symptoms of restlessness, agitation, muscle tension.
Feelings of anxiety and worry will be associated with behaviours such as avoidance, seeking reassurance, excessive preparing ect.
Symptoms cannot be explained by other mental health. (not related to fear of panic, intrusive thoughts)
GAD Biological theories
have found that GAD sufferers show hyper-responsivity in the amygdala and bigger amygdala, more specifically In female GAD sufferers.
Environemtal factors GAD
Negative life events (childhood trauma) risk factor to GAD, Attachment style (anxious attachment style): adolescents and adults with GAD they felt reject or overcontrolling or emotionally cold from their parents, feeling unsafe.
Modeling
if children see their parents reacting anxiously, they might then perceive things as a threat
Cognitive biases GAD
information: maintain anxiety, perceive miss information, don’t give enough attention to positive information they focus on negative information which reinforces their anxiety
Pharmaceutical intervention GAD
When waiting for therapy to tackle the deeper aspects of GAD because they can relieve physical symptoms.
Benzodizepines
anxiety relieving properties, acts on GABA (main receptor). Similar alcohol with GABA. Addictive, really bad side effects.
B-Blockers: blocking effects of adrenaline. Help with some relief, reduce heart rate, blood pressure, help with physiological symptoms
Stimulus control therapy GAD
They have dedicated time to worry, so they don’t have to worry all day. It’s to gain control over worry.
Needs persistence, not that easy to do
Self monitoring (therapy) GAD
List of everything that might trigger their worry, to reflect on their day to day. Monitor their day-to-day activity to find their triggers.
Relaxatino training GAD
to deal with chronic stress, breathing exercises, reduce physiological symptoms.
Visual therapy gad
creative work, art therapy, way to channel that anxiety and worry.
Cognitive restructuring GAD
challenges bias and creates thoughts more accurate. Channels their own thoughts, and how realistic they are.
Behavioural rehearsal GAD
how would they cope if something bad happened, therapist will work to develop good positive coping strategies.
Panic disorder
Characterized by repeated panic attacks. They are different to having panic attack on it’s own. Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder where you regularly have sudden attacks of panic or fear. Usually unexpected, with no specific trigger.
What are the symptoms of Panic disorders
nausea, chills or hot flashes, sweating, trembling or shaking, heart palpitations, hyperventilation, dizziness, numbness and tingling.
Panic Disorder DSM5
Panic attacks are spontaneous/unpredictable.
Panic attacks should recurrent.
Worry about future panic attacks.
Modify behaviours to avoid future attacks.
Rules out other diagnoses.
Biological factors Panic disorder
Theory that they fail to regulate their flight-fight response, they sympathetic division might be over acting. They feel like something is really wrong with their ( “I have a heart disease” ect..)
Hyperventilation
= oxygen is less delivered so the heart is working harder, so it feels like you are having a panic attack and that will make the symptoms worse and then they might think they are having a heart attack. The only way to stop the cycle is by making them breath normally
Social anxiety disorder
often includes panic attacks but differs from panic disorder in that it is specifically social situations that trigger the anxiety. Extreme of anxiety in social events but might be fine with friends and family they are comfortable.
Social anxiety disorders
Distinct fear of social interactions.
Social interactions are avoided or experienced with intense fear or anxiety.
Avoidance, fear/anxiety lasting more than 6 months and causes significant distress and difficulty in performing social or occupational activities.
Other disorders are ruled out.
Biological factors (genetic) social anxiety
Genetic factors: some genetic influence. It is difficult to say what that is. More likely to have social anxiety disorder if one of your parents has it. You might just inherit the vulnerability. Children have a personality type that has a tendency towards stress and nervousness towards new environment they might be more likely to anxiety disorder.
Cognitive model of social anxiety disorder
Before Social interaction, during social interaction adn after social interaction
Before a social interaction (cognitive theory) Social anxeity
detail thinking of possible outcomes of situations. Or negative belief about themselves, past failures in similar social situations. Could lead avoidance. It also triggers their physiological symptoms.D
During social interaction (cognitive theory) social anciety
mental blanks, under pressure, people are looking at them in a certain way, they will then start scrutiny themselves, they will ruminate.
After a social interaction (coginitive theory) social anxiety
They think about what they had done, what if, they analyse the event in a lot of details, this reinforce their negative bias, thoughts and they store about that, and the cycle starts again.
Cognitive bias: social anxiety
They tend focus on all the negative aspects of the social situation and struggle to process and accept anything positive. This is likely to maintain the individual’s dysfunctional beliefs about the social situation and about themselves
Anxiety and comorbidity
Many of the symptoms of anxiety are common to a number of different anxiety disorders, and therefore, it is common for an individual to suffer from more than one anxiety disorder.
Self focused attention
a theory of social anxiety disorder arguing that suffers show a strong tendency to shift their attention inwards onto themselves and their own anxiety responses during social performance, especially when they fear they will be negatively evaluated.
Agoraphobia
a fear or anxiety of any place where the sufferer does not feel safe or feels trapped and it’s accompanied by a strong urge to escape to a safe place.
Biologicla challenge tests
Research in which panic attacks are induced by administering carbon dioxide, enriched air or by encouraging hyperventilation.
Suffocation alarm theories
models of panic disorder in which a combination of increased CO2 intake may activate an oversensitive suffocation alarm system and give rise to the intense terror and anxiety experienced during a panic attack.
