WEEK 2:HEALTH AND ANXIETY Flashcards
What is anxiety?
A vague feeling of dread or apprehension in response to external or internal stimuli that can result in behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and physical symptoms
Name the 4 main characteristics of anxiety
*Apprehension about a future threat
*Response mechanism to stress
*Not always bad
*Different from fear
Distingush between anxiety and fear
FEAR
1.Feeling afraid due to a clearly identifiable threat
2.Triggers flight, fight, fright usually to save life
3.Tends to be short lived
4.Physiological arousal via SNS
ANXIETY
1.Feeling afraid due to a possible future threat
2.Increases preparedness for future event
3.Enhances performance if mild to moderate
4.Physiological arousal via SNS
Describe the psychological nature of anxiety
1.Psychodynamic theories
*Defense mechanism
*Cognitive distortions
*Control mechanism
2.Learned behavioral response
Childhood
3.Biologic theories
*Possibility of inheritance
*Abnormalities in neuro-transmitters
.
State the risk factors for anxiety disorders
*Gender male : female of 1:3
*Sociocultural factors -Japanese, Negative life events
*Genetic vulnerability -Twin studies especially panic *disorder and generalized anxiety disorder
*Neuro-biological- Neurotransmitters, Fear circuitry *hyperactivity
*Personality
*Cognitive -Pre-occupation with threats in the environment and Loss of control
List adverse consequences of anxiety
*Physical illnesses (CAD, BP)
*Generalized anxiety disorder
*Social anxiety
*Phobias: excessive fear
*Panic attacks
*Behavioral disorders
*Obsessive compulsive disorder
*Post traumatic stress disorder
*Depression
*Anxiety becomes chronic > 6 months
*Inability to control worry which becomes excessive
*Worry is about general issues e.g. health, work, finances, relationships
*Inability to cope
*Interferes with normal daily activities of living
WHAT DISORDER IS THIS?
Generalized anxiety disorder
Outline symptoms associated with generalized anxiety disorder
1.Cognitive
Poor short-term memory, Poor concentration, forgetfulness
2.Behavioral
Comfort eating, Substance misuse
3.General
Fatigued easily, Insomnia, Irritability
4.Musculoskeletal
What is OCD?
Obsessive thoughts, such as an irrational fear of contamination, accompanied by compulsive acts, such as repetitive hand washing, that are undertaken to alleviate the anxiety generated by the thoughts
What does OCD stand for?
Obsessive compulsive disorder
What is phobia?
Excessive fear of a particular object or situation
Outline characteristics of Phobia
*Fear is DISPROPORTIONATE to actual or perceived threat
*Causes SEVERE DISTRESS and interferes with aspects of daily life or work
*Sufferer is AWARE that fear is excessive
*Sufferer uses AVOIDANCE as a coping mechanism
Name the two types of phobia
1.Specific phobia
2. Social phobia
What is specific phobia?
*Intense excess fear of specific objects or situations
*Cause extreme anxiety
*Avoidance is used as a coping mechanism
Define the following phobias
Alliumphobia
Arachnophobia
Agoraphobia
neophobia
Fear of:
Garlic
Spiders
Open spaces
New things
Name the phobias associated with the following fears.
Books
Dancing
Peanut butter sticking to roof of the mouth
Bibliophobia
Chorophobia
Arachybutyrophobia
What is social phobia?
*Extreme version of social anxiety…extreme shyness
*Persistent, intense fear of social situations
*Generalized or specific
*Genetic vulnerability postulated
*Onset during adolescence
State fears associated with social anxiety
Fear of
*Scrutiny
*Negative evaluation
*Humiliation
*Social embarrassment
What is likely to happen to people with social phobia?
*Avoidant personality disorder
*Health seeking behavior
*Adverse coping mechanisms
Define and describe panic attacks
*Sudden, intense episode of anxiety attack
*Characterized by feelings of impending doom and gloom
*Associated with severe apprehension and terror
*Intensity tends to peak within few minutes
List symptoms of panic attacks
*Dizziness
*Palpitations
*Lightheadedness
*Profuse sweating, Hyperventilation
*Gastrointestinal upset
Other symptoms may include:
*Depersonalization, Derealization
*Fear of going crazy, losing control, or dying
Reliving an intense physical or emotional threat or injury (for example, childhood abuse, combat, or an earthquake) in vivid dreams, flashbacks, or tormented memories.
Name this disorder
PTSD
Outline signs and symptoms of PTSD
*difficulty sleeping
*difficulty in concentrating
*angry outbursts
*emotional withdrawal
*heightened startle response.
State disorders and behaviors that one can adopt to due to anxiety disorders
1.Substance misuse
2.Poor health seeking behavior
*Avoidance of health care facilities
*Lack of adherence to treatment
*Excess use of health care facilities
3.Poor interpersonal relationships
*Relationship breakdown
*Unemployment
*Social exclusion