Week 8: Anxiety Disorders Flashcards
What is anxiety?
A normal and adaptive response that triggers our fight or flight response
How is having an anxiety disorder different to healthy anxiety?
The anxiety is more intense and interfears with every day functioning
- can cause panic attacks
- intrusive thoughts
- unrealistic threat
Roughly how many people in Western society struggle with anxiety at some point in their lives?
30-40%
What is the anxiety focus in specific phobia?
A specific trigger makes us anxious
What is the anxiety focus in social phobia?
Social or performance situations
What is the anxiety focus in panic disorder?
Repeated and uncontrolable panic attacks
What is the anxiety focus in generalised anxiety disorder?
Continuing aprehension about future events leading to chronic worry
What is the anxiety focus in OCD?
Recurrent obsessions or compulsions that are time consuming and cause distress
What is the anxiety focus in PTSD?
Persistent anxiety related symptoms after witnessing a traumatic event
What are some emotional commonalities between healthy anxiety and anxiety disorders?
Anxiety
Fear
Apprehension
What are some behavioural commonalities between healthy anxiety and anxiety disorders?
Avoidence Safety seeking Insomnia Over eating Interpresonal issues
What are some cognitive commonalities between healthy anxiety and anxiety disorders?
Catastrophising
Fortune telling
Selective attention
Preservation
What is meant by the cognitive action of ‘fortune telling’?
Thinking you know how an event is going to turn out so discounting other possabilities
Can lead to a self fufilling prophecy
What is meant by the cognitive action of ‘preservation’?
Being unable to switch out of a state of high vigilence
What social factors can contribute to anxiety?
Life experience
Trauma
Modelling
Peer group
What biological factors can contribute to anxiety?
Gender
Reactivity to stress
Preservation
What psychological factors can contribute to anxiety?
Cognitive processes
Beliefs
Self-view
Self-efficacy
What personality factors can contribute to anxiety?
Neuroticism
Low extraversion and conscientiousness
Perfectionism
Attachment anxiety
What are the two common treatment routes?
Behavioural - desensitisation
Cognitive - reattribution
What is a panic disorder?
Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks
Followed by either a relentless fear of facing another attack, changes in behaviour in an attempt to avoid a further attack
What is the definition of a panic attack?
Sudden, rapid increase in anxiety
Accompanied by at least 4 of the 13 somatic or cognitive symptoms that escalate within 10 minutes
What are the physical symptoms of a panic attack?
Palpitations, breathlessness, dizziness, depersonalisation, sweating, choking and trembling
What are the cognitive symptoms of a panic attack?
Fear of dying, suffocating and going crazy
What is the definition of an obsession?
Intrusive and recurring thoughts, impulses and images that can be disturbing and uncontrollable.
What is the definition of a compulsion
Repetitive, ritualised behaviour aimed at preventing the feared outcome
What biological factors influence the development of OCD?
Genes, heritable personality traits such as neuroticism and anxiety
What psychological factors influence the development of OCD?
General beliefs characterised by ‘better safe than sorry’ and an inflated sense of responsibility
What social factors influence the development of OCD?
Critical incident such as the flu or their own health
What is an issue with testing the effectiveness of CBT in anxiety?
Samples and procedures in control trials rarely resemble real life clients due to comorbidity, motivation to change and the method of intervention
What is acceptance and commitment therapy?
Still under the umbrella of CBT but based more on recovery as opposed to the disease model
Aimed to alter the way people relate to thoughts
Enhancing engagement in meaningful life areas
