1. Anxiety Disorders

2. Anxiety
Anxiety is an unpleasant emotional state characterized by physical arousal and feelings of tension, apprehension, and worry
Puts us on physical alert, preparing us to defensively “fight” or “flee” potential dangers,
Also puts us on mental alert, making us focus our attention squarely on the threatening situation

3. Anxiety Disorders
In the anxiety disorders, the anxiety is maladaptive, disrupting everyday activities, moods, and thought processes
Three features distinguish normal anxiety from pathological anxiety. Pathological anxiety is:
Irrational—it is provoked by perceived threats that are exaggerated or nonexistent, and the anxiety response is out of proportion to the actual importance of the situation.
Uncontrollable—the alarm reaction cannot be shut off even when the person knows it’s unrealistic.
Disruptive—it interferes with relationships, job or academic performance, or everyday activities

6. Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder

7. Generalized Anxiety Disorder
An anxiety disorder characterized by disruptive levels of persistent, unexplained feelings of apprehension and tenseness

8. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
More or less constant worry about many issues
The worry seriously interferes with functioning
Physical symptoms
headaches
stomach aches
muscle tension
irritability

9. Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety
Must have at least three of the following:
Restlessness
Feeling on edge
Difficulty concentrating/mind going blank
Irritability
Muscle Tension
Sleep Disturbance

10. Model of Development of GAD
GAD has some genetic component
Related genetically to major depression
Childhood trauma also related to GAD
Genetic predisposition
or childhood trauma
GAD following life
change or major event
Hypervigilance
Discovering Psych Slides (Shulman)

12. Are Your Worries Excessive?
Add up your TOTAL Score
0-11 points = You are not the fretful type. Worry, which no doubt makes you uncomfortable, goads you to take necessary action in your life.
12-20 points = You’re a potentially unhealthy worrier.
21-30 points = Danger zone! Agonizing constantly about small matters isn’t good for you physically or emotionally.

13. Panic Disorder
An anxiety disorder characterized by sudden bouts of intense, unexplained panic
Panic attacks may happen several times a day

14. Panic Disorder
Panic attacks—sudden episode of helpless terror with high physiological arousal
Very frightening—sufferers live in fear of having them
Agoraphobia often develops as a result

15. Cognitive-behavioral Theory of Panic Disorder
Sufferers tend to misinterpret the physical signs of arousal as catastrophic and dangerous
This interpretation leads to further physical arousal, tending toward a vicious cycle
After their first panic attack, they become even more attuned to physical changes, increasing the likelihood of future panic attacks

16. Phobia

17. Phobia
An anxiety disorder characterized by disruptive, irrational fears of specific objects or situations
The fear must be both irrational and disruptive.
About 10 percent of the general population will experience a specific phobia at some point in their lives.

18. Phobias
Generally, the objects or situations that produce specific phobias tend to fall into four categories
Natural environment—heights, water, lightening
Situation—flying, tunnels, crowds, social gathering
Injury—needles, blood, dentist, doctor
Animals or insects—insects, snakes, bats, dogs

19. Phobias It is not phobic to simply be anxious about something
Afraid of it
Bothers slightly
Not at all afraid of it
Being
closed in,
in a
small
place
alone in
a house
at night
Percentage
of people
surveyed
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
Snakes
in high,
exposed
places
Mice
Flying
on an
airplane
Spiders
and
insects
Thunder
lightning
Dogs
Driving
a car
a crowd
Cats
Study of normal anxieties

20. Phobias

23. Some Unusual Phobias
Watch this video of a girl with a phobia for pickles.
Ailurophobia—fear of cats
Algobphobia—fear of pain
Anthropophobia—fear of men
Monophobia—fear of being alone
Pyrophobia—fear of fire

24. Social Phobias
Social phobias—fear of failing or being embarrassed in public
public speaking (stage fright)
fear of crowds, strangers
meeting new people
eating in public
Considered phobic if these fears interfere with normal behavior
Equally found in males and females

25. Agoraphobia
Fear of situations the person views as difficult to escape from
Fear of leaving one’s home or room in the house

26. Phobia
Play “Three Anxiety Disorders” (4:08) Segment #37 from Psychology: The Human Experience.
The segment includes a discussion on Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

27. Development of Phobias
Classical conditioning may be involved in the development of a specific phobia that can be traced back to some sort of traumatic event.
People with phobias may have developed a conditioned response of fear to a conditioned stimulus
Problems with this theory:
often no memory of a traumatic experience
traumatic experience may not produce phobia

28. Other Learning Factors
Observational learning--watching another experiencing fearfulness--may result in developing fear.
Operant Conditioning - Fear of an object may be negatively reinforced when by avoiding the feared objects.

29. Development of Phobias
Preparedness theory—phobia serves to enhance survival.
Humans seem biologically prepared to acquire fears of certain animals and situations that were survival threats in human evolutionary history

30. Cognitive Therapy for Phobias
In this video, the therapist tries to get the person to rethink their phobia. (7 min)

31. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

32. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
An anxiety disorder characterized by reliving a severely upsetting event in unwanted recurring memories (flashbacks) and dreams

33. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Follows events that produce intense horror or helplessness (traumatic episodes)
Core symptoms include:
Frequent recollection of traumatic event, often intrusive and interfering with normal thoughts
Avoidance of situations that trigger recall of the event
Increased physical arousal associated with stress
There is a high correlation of suicide and drug abuse in PTSD – See news report on Military Suicides in Soldiers fighting in Iraq – 2 min.

34. Potential Causes of PTSD
- Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome – Studies of the Hippocampus in PTSD patients find that on average, their hippocampus is 25% smaller.
- Some think this is a warning sign that someone is susceptible to PTSD.
- Others say it is due to excessive stress hormones during trauma or an excessive sensitivity to these hormones after trauma.
- Coping strategies to avoid PTSD in traumatic situations – Holocaust Case Study – Read the 7 strategies described on pg. 11 of Myers Guide.

35. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

36. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
An anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted, repetitive thoughts and actions
Obsessions – repetitive thoughts
Compulsions – repetitive actions
The obsessions/compulsions begin to take control of the person’s life.

37. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsessions—irrational, disturbing thoughts that intrude into consciousness
Compulsions—repetitive actions performed to alleviate obsessions
Overt physical behaviors, such as repeatedly checking or washing your hands
Covert mental behaviors, such as counting or reciting certain phrases to yourself
Potential Biological Causes:
Heightened neural activity in caudate nucleus
A deficiency in the neurotransmitter serotonin
The caudate nucleus is located in the basal ganglia and is associated with initiation of learned, habitual motor activities
Using drugs that increase Serotonin reduces the activity of the caudate nucleus and leads to a reduction in the obsessions and compulsions - people who recover from OCD using behavioral and cognitive therapies also show a reduction in activity in the caudate nucleus

40. Trichotillomannia: The Disease of Hair Pulling
What it’s like to live with it – video
Trich – An explanation – video
Other Obsessions…
Obsessive Texting - video

42. Finding Your OCD Score
Circle the following item numbers if you marked TRUE for them: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 16, 17, 21
Circle the following item numbers if you marked FALSE for them: 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 22
Now add up your total score. Highest score possible is a 20 (items 3 & 15 are validity checks)
The mean (average) score is for males and for females.
Remember, even if you scored high on this scale it doesn’t mean you have OCD. Always ask yourself, “Do these tendencies I have disrupt my daily life and relationships?” If the answer is NO you don’t have a problem.

43. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Play “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder” (2:57) Segment #36 from Psychology: The Human Experience.

44. Causes of Anxiety Disorders

45. Biological Factors
Hereditary factors may result in a predisposition for developing anxiety disorders
Brain functions appear to be different in an anxiety disorder patient
Evolutionary factors may lead to anxiety disorders.