Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Related Disorders

Flashcards covering key vocabulary related to Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Related Disorders, including definitions, diagnostic criteria, epidemiological factors, treatment modalities, and nursing roles, based on lecture notes.

Anxiety

A normal response to stress and a common human experience, involving feelings of worry, fear, or nervousness when stressed or threatened. It can be motivational if temporary, but interferes with function if persistent or excessive.

Anxiety Disorders

The most diagnosed psychiatric disorders in the U.S., affecting approximately 30% of adults during their lifetime, characterized by anxiety that interferes with function, occurs at inappropriate times, or increases in frequency, intensity, and duration.

Anxiety Cycle

A sequence of stress, worry, fear, and physiological and behavioral responses that can perpetuate feelings of anxiety.

Stress Response

A physiological reaction, such as increased adrenaline, dry mouth, and sweating, that is proportionate to the stressor.

Panic (Level of Anxiety)

An extreme level of anxiety characterized by feelings of terror, exhaustion, and no longer responding to stimuli.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

A disorder precipitated by anxiety, diagnosed in children and adults, where one experiences persistent, intrusive obsessions and performs repetitive compulsions to lessen or prevent anxiety, which become time-consuming and interfere with daily tasks.

Obsessions (OCD)

Persistent and recurrent thoughts or urges that are unwanted, intrusive, and cause marked anxiety or distress, often experienced by individuals with OCD.

Compulsions (OCD)

Repetitive behaviors or mental acts performed by individuals with OCD to lessen or prevent anxiety brought on by their obsessions, or according to rigidly applied rules.

Anxiety and Anxiety Related Disorder (Epidemiology)

The most common mental illness in the U.S. among adults, suggesting a combination of heredity and learned response to stress, affecting over 25% of individuals aged 13-18, with persons assigned female at birth being twice as likely to develop them.

Transdiagnostic Nature of Anxiety

Anxiety's characteristic of being interwoven with or seen in relation to panic disorders, trauma and stressor-related disorders, depressive disorders, substance use, somatic manifestations, sleep-wake disorders, and eating disorders.

Comorbidity

The co-occurrence of two or more disorders or medical conditions, such as anxiety disorders with medical conditions (e.g., pulmonary embolism, cancer) or other mental health disorders (e.g., major depressive disorder, ADHD, substance use disorders).

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Difficult and potentially traumatic events or circumstances that play a part in the development of anxiety and OCD.

Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs)

Supportive and nurturing experiences in childhood that may offer protection against anxiety and OCD, though they do not cancel out ACEs.

Separation Anxiety

A specific anxiety disorder characterized by developmentally inappropriate and excessive fear or anxiety upon separation from those to whom one is attached.

Selective Mutism

A specific anxiety disorder characterized by a consistent failure to speak in specific social situations where speaking is expected, interfering with academic achievement or social communication.

Phobias

A specific anxiety disorder characterized by experiencing marked fear and anxiety upon exposure to a specific object or situation (e.g., animals, heights, blood).

Social Anxiety

A specific anxiety disorder characterized by marked fear and anxiety upon exposure to social situations, often accompanied by thoughts of being embarrassed, humiliated, rejected, or offending others.

Panic Attacks

Distinct and extreme periods of physiological and psychological hyperarousal, usually unexpected and occurring for no apparent reason, leading to avoidance due to worry of another attack.

Agoraphobia

A specific anxiety disorder characterized by marked fear and anxiety related to travel or specific locations (e.g., closed spaces, open spaces, leaving home alone), resulting in avoidance or requiring others to navigate the situation.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

A specific obsessive-compulsive related disorder characterized by persistent preoccupation with perceived defects or flaws in one’s appearance, leading to repetitive behaviors like mirror checking or excessive grooming.

Hoarding Disorder

A specific obsessive-compulsive related disorder characterized by a persistent difficulty or inability to discard or part with possessions, leading to an excess accumulation that clutters and overwhelms living areas.

Trichotillomania (Hair-pulling disorder)

A specific obsessive-compulsive related disorder characterized by a pattern of ritualized behavior of serially and intentionally pulling out one’s hair, often triggered by boredom or anxiety, and resulting in reduced tension or gratification.

Excoriation Disorder (Skin-picking disorder)

A specific obsessive-compulsive related disorder characterized by a pattern of recurrent picking at one’s skin, resulting in lesions, often on hands, face, arms, or multiple body sites, with extensive time spent picking.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) (DSM-5)

Diagnostic criteria include excessive anxiety and worry occurring more days than not for at least 6 months, difficulty controlling worry, and association with three or more specific symptoms like restlessness, fatigue, or sleep disturbance.

Obsessions (DSM-5 Criterion)

Recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or impulses experienced as intrusive and unwanted, causing marked anxiety or distress, where the individual attempts to ignore or suppress them.

Compulsions (DSM-5 Criterion)

Repetitive behaviors or mental acts performed in response to an obsession or according to rigid rules, aimed at preventing or reducing anxiety or a dreaded event, but are often not realistically connected or are clearly excessive.

Psychotherapy

A nonpharmacologic treatment, also known as talk therapy, focused on a client’s specific anxiety.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

A psychotherapy directed at how a client thinks, behaves, and reacts to the causes and feelings of anxiety.

Cognitive Therapy

Similar to CBT, focused on identifying the cause of anxiety and eliminating thoughts that are distorted or unhelpful regarding anxiety or stressors.

Exposure Therapy

A nonpharmacologic treatment where the client is gradually exposed to the underlying cause of anxiety they are avoiding to become more comfortable with the activity.

Anxiolytics

A class of pharmacologic medications, such as benzodiazepines, used to treat anxiety.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

A class of antidepressant medications used in the pharmacologic treatment of anxiety and OCD.

Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs)

A class of antidepressant medications used in the pharmacologic treatment of anxiety and OCD.

Implicit Bias

Unconscious discriminatory attitudes that can trigger negative reactions or fear and potentially create disparities in care, particularly for ethnic, racial, or minority groups.

Trauma-Informed Care

A client-centered approach where the nurse assumes everyone has struggles and demonstrates unconditional positive regard to provide sensitive care.

Therapeutic Relationship

A professional and client-centered relationship between a nurse and client, essential for effective care.

Transference

A phenomenon in a therapeutic relationship where a client redirects emotions from another important relationship onto the nurse.

Countertransference

A phenomenon in a therapeutic relationship where a nurse redirects emotions from another relationship onto the client.

Active Listening

A support strategy where the nurse demonstrates, verbally and non-verbally, engagement and genuine interest in the client.

Therapeutic Communication

A support strategy where the nurse communicates by stripping away complicated and unnecessary medical jargon.

Modeling (Support Strategy)

A support strategy where the nurse demonstrates desired calming behavior (e.g., slow, deep breathing) to a client experiencing panic.

Milieu Therapy Management

A support strategy where the nurse manages the client's environment to reduce anxiety, such as moving a client struggling with severe anxiety away from a triggering area.

Anticipatory Guidance

A support strategy where the nurse educates the client on possible adverse effects of treatment and offers practical strategies to minimize them.

Anti-stigma Messaging

A support strategy where the nurse earnestly and constructively corrects misinformed statements about a client's mental health condition.

Self-management (Anxiety)

A support strategy where the nurse educates the client to use techniques like mindfulness and deep breathing to reduce anxiety and increase relaxation.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7)

A commonly used screening tool to assess the severity of generalized anxiety.

Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS)

A commonly used screening tool to assess the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Prioritize Hypotheses (Nursing Process)

A step in the nursing process that involves first ensuring client safety, then targeting symptoms and stressors identified by the client as important (e.g., coping, physical symptoms, problem solving, recovery).

Seclusion and Restraints

Interventions in acute care that require a medical prescription detailing the reason, length of time, type, and criteria needed for removal.