Worry Flashcards
What is fear?
A state of tension or alarm in response to a serious threat
What is anxiety?
A response to an unspecified threat
When does anxiety become a disorder?
When it is:
Continuous, disabling, frequent, long-lasting, and readily triggered
What % of people within the US suffer from an anxiety disorder?
15%
What was anxiety once called?
Neuroses
What did Freud believe neurosis was cause by?
The inability of the ego’s defence mechanisms to prevent or reduce anxiety causes by aroused unconscious conflicts
How is anxiety recognised?
It is recognised as the central symptom of an anxiety disorder
What are some basic characteristics of anxiety?
Faster breathing, tense muscles, rapid heart rate, nausea
The Sympathetic nervous system prepares us for what?
Flight or fight
The Parasympathetic nervous system prepares us for what?
Rest and digest
What is trait anxiety?
Our general level of anxiety
What is state anxiety?
The variation of our anxiety based on our situations
What is a Phobic disorder?
A persistent unreasonable fear of a specific object, activity or situation
What is agoraphobia?
Avoidance of public places
What are some symptoms of anxiety of chronic & persistent anxiety?
Muscular tension, autonomic hyperactivity, vigilance & scanning
What age group is mostly affected by anxiety of chronic & persistent anxiety?
Children
What are some explanations of why we develop different phobias?
Socio-cultural Psychoanalytical Humanism Behavioural Biological
What is GAS associated with?
The anxieties feedback system which involves GABA
What are some symptoms of panic disorders?
Palpitations, tingiling in hands and feed, short breath, sweating
Describe how a panic attack occurs
They are discrete bouts of panic that occur abruptly and reach a peak within 10 mins
What is the biological explanation of a panic attack?
Norepinephrine levels are high, and a drug that reduces it helps
When does an obsessive compulsive disorder general begin?
Adolescence of early adulthood
What % of people suffer with an obsessive compulsive disorder?
2%
What is a compulsion?
Feeling compelled to perform a behaviour
What are some common compulsions?
Cleaning, checking, order
What are obsessions?
Thoughts or wishes
What % of patients have obsessions and compulsions?
70%
What is an explanation of excessive compulsive disorders? (Serotonin)
Serotonin could get increased and cause the behaviour. As when given a drug that reduces serotonin, the behaviour reduces.
What is an explanation of an excessive compulsive disorder? (damage)
Damage to the orbital region. A compulsive patient who shot himself there experienced a dramatic decrease in symptoms
What is a stressor?
The situation or event that sets the demands, constraints, and opportunities
What is ‘appraisal of stressor’?
The perception o the degree of demand
What is the ‘appraisal of the ability to cope’?
The individuals perception of his/her ability and resources to handle the demand
Define stress
Stress is experienced when one appraises the stressor as exceeding ones coping abilities
Describe our physical reaction to stress
The RAS part of the brain that focuses attention when in a crisis focuses on potential danger so feedback loop may be created
What happens in our bodies when we see a threat?
Our adrenal glands release adrenaline, which diverts energy to muscles and away from longterm body maintenance
What happens when we have increased adrenaline?
It interferes with our clear judgement results, and we see everything as a threat rather than a challenge to be sorted
What happens if we continually release cortisol?
It can damage learning and memory and prevents new memories from being made
What drug can slow ageing and can prevent some chronic health conditions but then declines after 20-30?
DHEA
What kind of relationship for DHEA and Cortisol have ?
Inverse, as one increases the other decreases.
What is an adjustment disorder?
Marked distress that is in excess of what is expected
What kind of behaviour does an adjustment disorder involve?
Depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, social withdrawal
Describe the type of stressor that a post traumatic stress victim would have suffered
Where the stressor is an intensely traumatic event
When does the reaction for a post traumatic stress disorder occur?
Immediately or within 3 months (Acute) or more than 6 months (delayed)
What are some symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder?
Re-experiencing of events, difficulty concentrating, depression, irritability, alcohol/drugs
What makes you more vulnerable to a post traumatic stress disorder?
If you have a pre-existing emotional or behavioural difficulties
What is prolonged duress disorder?
Isn’t necessarily about traumatic events, but a series of events that are accumulated, which is the cause of the trauma
What is dissociative disorder?
It is the disturbance or alterations in the functions of identity, memory and consciousness.
What is dissociative amnesia?
Extensive, but selective, memory loss in the absence of an organic change, not forgetfulness
What is localised amnesia?
The individual fails to recall events that occurred during a particular period of time
What is selective amnesia?
The person is able to recall some, but not all, of the evens during a particular period of time
What is generalised amnesia?
A recall failure that encompasses the persons entire life (rare)
What is continuous amnesia?
The inability to recall events subsequent to a specific time, up to and including the present
What is systematised amnesia?
The loss of memory for categories of information e.g. particular memories of a person
What is a dissociative fugue?
An unexpected travel away from home or work, to assume a new identity with an inability to recall previous identity
What is dissociative identity disorder?
The assumption of alternative personalities, with each one having its own memories, values, behaviours etc
With dissociative identity disorder when are new personalities likely to occur?
- Childhood
What is dissociative identity disorder usually caused by?
Sexual abuse
Why does the body adopt dissociative identity disorder?
As a form of protecting itself, another self to handle the stressor
What is depersonalisation?
The change of self-perception, the sense of being temporarily lost or changed
