1. Anxiety Disorders True or False? 1. People who experience a panic attack often think they are having a heart attack. 2. The same drugs used to treat schizophrenia are also used to control panic attacks. 3. Some people are so fearful of leaving their homes that they are unable to venture outside even to mail a letter. 4. We may be genetically predisposed to acquire fears of objects that posed a danger to ancestral humans. 5. Therapists have used virtual reality to help people overcome phobias. 6. Obsessional thinking helps relieve anxiety. 7. Exposure to combat is the most common trauma linked to posttraumatic stress disorder.

2. Introduction Classes of Anxiety Disorders:  Panic Disorder  Phobic Disorders  Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder  Generalized Anxiety Disorder  Acute Stress Disorder  Post-traumatic Stress Disorder  Anxiety: an emotional state characterized by physiological arousal, unpleasant feelings of tension, and a sense of apprehension or foreboding.  Anxiety Disorder: a class of psychological disorders characterized by excessive or maladaptive anxiety reactions.

3. Generalized Anxiety Disorder  Characterized by general feelings of dread and foreboding and heightened states of bodily arousal that are not triggered by any specific object, situation, or activity.  “Worrying about Worrying”  Emotional distress caused by worrying about everyday, minor things, and about unlikely future events interferes significantly with the person’s daily life.  Treatment: drug therapy** and cognitive- behavioral therapy

4. Panic Disorders  Characterized by the occurrence of repeated, unexpected panic attacks.  Panic attack: intense anxiety reactions accompanied by physical symptoms such as a pounding heart, rapid respiration, heavy perspiration, numbness, chills, weakness or dizziness.  Patient may experience feelings of strangeness or unreality about their surroundings, fear of losing control, fear of sudden death, or detachment from himself.  Treatment: drug therapy (usually anti- depressants as they normalize neurotransmitter activity) and cognitive-behavioral therapy

5. Phobic Disorders  An intense and irrational fear of a particular object or situation.  Specific phobia: phobia of a specific thing or situation (acrophobia, nyctophobia)  Social phobia: fear that one will embarrass oneself in public  Agoraphobia: fear of places and situations from which it might be difficult or embarrassing to escape in the event of a panic attack.  Treatment: typically involves providing the person opportunities to experience the feared object under conditions in which he or she feels safe and in control. Specific Phobia Examples:  Acerophobia: fear of itching or the insects that cause itching  Acrophobia: fear of heights  Aerophobia: fear of flying  Atelophobia: fear of imperfection  Catagelophobia: fear of being ridiculed  Claustrophobia: fear of closed spaces  Entomophobia: fear of insects  Felinophobia: fear of cats  Heliophobia: fear of the sun  Hemophobia: fear of blood  Hydrophobia: fear of water  Logizomechanophobia: fear of computers  Nosocomephobia: fear of hospitals  Nyctophobia: fear of darkness  Verminophobia: fear of germs  Zoophobia: fear of animals

6. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder  A type of anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent obsessions, compulsions, or both.  Obsession: a recurring thought or image that the individual cannot control  Compulsion: a repetitive or ritualistic behavior that the person feels compelled to perform  Treatment: behavior therapy, specifically exposure with response prevention

7. Adjustment Disorders  Acute Stress Disorder (ASD): a traumatic stress reaction occurring during the month following exposure to a traumatic event. Walking around “in a fog” for days or weeks after a hurricane. Walking around “in a fog” for days or weeks after a hurricane. Forgetting important features of an accident and feeling numb or detached from your environment. Forgetting important features of an accident and feeling numb or detached from your environment.  Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): a prolonged maladaptive reaction to a traumatic experience. Can persist for months, years, or even decades and may not be immediately apparent.  Treatment: cognitive-behavioral therapy (repeated exposure to cues and emotions associated with the trauma in a safe setting)