Week 3 - Stress and Psychological & Cognitive Health Outcomes Flashcards
What emotions are associated with the “flight” component in the fight/flight response? What is the difference between these two emotions?
(1) Fear –> alarm reaction to present danger
(2) Anxiety –> future oriented mood state focused on potential danger
What is it called when a person has fear without any apparent reason?
Panic.
What two criteria are met when someone is diagnosed with an anxiety disorder?
(1) the fear and anxiety has been happening for a long time and is excessive
(2) other physical illness are ruled out
Describe two psychological factors that can play a role in whether one develops an anxiety disorder or not.
(1) Parenting styles –> can lead one to either feel like they have control over their circumstances or not. With a psychological feeling of lack of control, one may be more likely to develop an anxiety disorder.
(2) Personality traits –> having an “anxiety sensitivity” personality trait may have a higher tendency to become distressed when they feel anxiety
Describe the triple vulnerability theory to developing an anxiety disorder.
Suggests that one may be more likely to develop an anxiety disorder if they have a generalized biological vulnerability to anxiety + a generalized psychological vulnerability to anxiety + a specific psychological vulnerability to anxiety
What are the four cognitive processes that are associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)?
(1) intolerance to uncertainty
(2) positive beliefs about worry
(3) poor problem orientation
(4) cognitive avoidance
What are two examples of treatments for GAD?
(1) CBT
(2) Medications
What phobia are those with panic disorder likely to develop?
Agoraphobia.
Why do some people develop panic disorder after experiencing a panic attack while others don’t?
People who don’t develop panic disorder tend to attribute their panic attack to events in the moment, while those who do develop panic disorder have a psychological vulnerability to interpret normal physical sensations as dangerous or harmful.
What effective treatment is used as a psychological intervention for those with panic disorder?
Panic Control Treatment (PCT) –> involves being exposed to “mini” panic attacks, which teaches a person to modify their beliefs about fearful situations
What are the 5 subtypes of specific phobias?
(1) Animal Phobia
(2) Natural Environment Phobia
(3) Blood injury phobia
(4) situational phobia
(5) Other
What are 4 causes of developing a specific phobia? What is absolutely necessary for developing a specific phobia.
(1) true alarm
(2) vicarious experience
(3) informational transmission
(4) false alarm
Feeling anxiety over the possibility of another traumatic event or false alarm is required
What are the three things that PTSD is characterized by?
(1) Persistently re-experiencing the traumatic event
(2) avoiding stimuli related to the traumatic event
(3) persistent increased arousal
What are four arousal symptoms that are included in PTSD?
(1) hypervigilance
(2) angry outbursts
(3) exaggerated startle responses
(4) insomnia
Which part of the brain is the most affected by PTSD? What are the consequences of this?
the limbic system, which plays a huge role in emotion regulation
consequences include a hyper-responsive amygdala and hypo-responsive hippocampus and ACC. Also, the ACC and hippocampus tend to be smaller in those with PTSD.