Week 5: Anxiety

Question 1

Give at least 2 reasons why an axioms person may not look or feel anxious

Answer 1

1. Anxious person may not appear or feel anxious when anxiety is channeled via a pathway giving symptoms we don’t usually recognize as anxiety
   - nausea, going blank, poor concentration, dizzy, limp, jelly legs, catatonic
2. When defense mechanism are effectively shutting down the awareness and expression of anxiety
   - unconscious methods of responding to unpleasant experience of strong anxiety
   - to avoid being overwhelmed and continue functioning

Question 2

Define what a DSM specifier is.

Answer 2

-identifies homogeneous subgroups within a disorder
-not a diagnoses themselves
-made after a diagnosis is made to provide additional information
-in regards to anxiety, specifiers are:
with anxiety
with anxious distress
with mixed anxiety and depressed mood
with Panic attacks

Question 3

Differentiate Panic Attack Specifier and Panic D/o

Answer 3

• Panic Attack: a discreet period of intense fear or discomfort in which four or more of the following symptoms develop abruptly and reach a peak within 10 mins
• palpitations, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, feeling of choking, chest pain, fear of losing control, fear of dying, paresthesias, chills, hot flashes, nausea, feeling dizzy
• Panic Disorder: recurrent unexpected panic attacks

Question 4

Give the core diagnostic criteria for selected diagnoses in the DSM groups: Anxiety Disorder

Answer 4

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder: excessive worry/anxiety that is difficult to control
• Social Anxiety Disorder: excessive fear of social or performing situations
• Specific phobia: isolated and excessive fear of specific objects or situations
• Panic Disorder: recurrent, unexpected panic attacks
• Agoraphobia: fear that escape might be difficult or help might not be available, anxiety about 2 or more of: using public transport, being in open places, being in closed places, being outside of home alone

Question 5

What are the 3 anxiety pathways

Answer 5

1. skeletal muscle path
   - tension, increased bp, hr, rr, dry mouth, sighing, fidgeting
2. smooth muscle path
   - GI nausea, diarrhea, vomitting, bladder urgency
3. cognitive perceptual path
   - dizziness, numbness, losing track,

Question 6

Give the core diagnostic criteria for selected diagnoses in the DSM groups: Obsessive Compulsive and related disorders, trauma and stressor related disorders

Answer 6

• presence of obsessions or compulsions or both, consume at least 1 hour/day
• obsessions=recurrent thoughts, urges, or images
• compulsions=repetitive behaviors or mental acts
• Body dysmorphic: preoccupation with perceived physical flaws and defects
• Hoarding
• Trichotillomania: pulling one’s hair
• excoriation: skin picking

Question 7

Give the core diagnostic criteria for selected diagnoses in the DSM groups: trauma and stressor related disorders

Answer 7

• traumatic stress disorders: after traumatic experience, individual has symptoms of: intrusive re-experiecing, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition and mood, alternations in arousal and reactivity
• PTSD: persist more than 30 days after trauma
• acute stress disorder: 2-30 days after trauma
• adjustment disorder: dev of emotional or behavior symptoms in response to identifiable stressor, e.g. diverse, job change

Question 8

Distinguish between healthy and unhealthy anxiety.

Answer 8

Healthy anxiety motivates action. Unhealthy inhibits.