Anxiety Disorders “The Dark side of Fear”. Definitions Fear: A short-term emotional and...
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Anxiety DisordersAnxiety Disorders
““The Dark side of Fear”The Dark side of Fear”
Definitions
• Fear: A short-term emotional and physiological reaction to a threatening event
• Anxiety: A longer-term sense of apprehension
Anxiety Disorders
• Anxiety so intense and long-lasting that it disrupts the person’s daily functioning.
Table 12.3 Phobias
Description: An intense, irrational fear of an object or situation.
Key to Phobias
Irrational fear triggered by unconscious mind
DSM-IV Phobia Subtypes
• Specific Phobia: particular stimuli and situations• Social Phobia: negatively evaluated by others or
being embarrassing or humiliated• Agoraphobia: fear of being separated from a safe
place/person (fear of fear)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Description“Free floating anxiety with no trigger”
• Symptoms– 1. Excessive worry (health, money, family, work)
– 2. Insomnia, impatience
– 3. Sweating
– 4. Muscle Tension
– 5. Fatigue
Panic Disorder
• Description: experience of recurrent terrifying panic attacks
• shortness of breath and irregular heartbeat
• dizziness and feelings of unreality
– can occur while sleeping– associated with agoraphobia (“comorbidity”)– concerns about “going crazy”
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Description: persistent, upsetting, and unwarranted thoughts (obsessions) that motivate repetitive behaviors (compulsions)– obsession causes anxiety, compulsion reduces it– equally common in men and women– often associated with depression
Obsessions
– dirt, germs or toxins– something terrible is happening (fire, death or
illness)– symmetry, order or exactness
Compulsions
– Checking rituals: checking locks, car brakes, appliances, homework, etc.
– Cleaning rituals: hand-washing, bathing, brushing teeth, etc.
– Other: getting in/out of chair, opening/closing doors, etc.
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10
15
30
Percent
0Contamination Harm Exactness
5
20
25
35
40
Checking Cleaning/ washing
Repeating
Obsessions Compulsions
OCD Spectrum
• Somatic Preoccupation – anorexia
– bulimia
– body dysmorphic
• Impluse– shopping
– kleptomania
– gambling
– paraphilias
Germophobe “Howie Mandel”
– doesn’t shake hands– but hugs and kisses “Live with Regis and Kelly”
– antibacterial gel from audience member
Biology of Anxiety Disorders
• Biological Factors– locus coeruleus, norepinephrine, PANIC– orbital frontal/cingulate, OCD– neurotransmitter GABA in generalized anxiety
Locus Coeruleus
Anxiety Disorders and Learning
• Compulsive behavior are learned responses which removes temporarily remove distress (trigger could be a thought)
• Some phobias acquired through learning– biologically prepared to learn certain phobias– snake fears learned via observation
Other Causes
• Psychological Factors– Environmental stressors– Ways of thinking
Somatoform Disorders
Can mental disorder cause blindness?
Somatoform Disorders
• body disorder even though there is no physical cause
• Conversion Disorder:– appear when person is under severe distress.
– disorder enables person to avoid unpleasant situations.
– organically impossible or improbable symptoms
– little concern for this “serious” problem
Other Somatoform Disorders
• Hypochondriasis: strong, unjustified fear of serious physical problem
• Somatization Disorder: dramatic but vague, reports about a multitude of physical problems
• Pain Disorder: severe, often constant pain with no physical cause.
Anxiety Disorder Treatments
• Behavior Therapy– 1. systematic desensitization/exposure therapy– 2. response blocking/prevention (OCD)– 3. flooding/implosion
• Drugs– yes to antidepressants, no to tranquillizers (valium)
• Cognitive– thinking, rumination, worry
• Exercise/Progressive Muscle Relaxation/Yoga
Next
Exposure Therapy
• hierarchy of fearful stimuli • learn relaxation methods• gradual exposure to imagined stimuli in relaxed
state
• substitute real stimuli
JosephWolpe
Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy
Virtually Better
Virtual Heights Virtual Storm
Virtually Better
Virtual Audience Virtual Vietnam
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