Anxiety Disorders and Practice Flashcards

A complete set of practice flashcards defining key terminology, clinical features, and management protocols for Anxiety Disorders based on the lecture notes.

Pathological anxiety

Anxiety that arises in situations where the potential threat is minimal and starts to impair normal daily functioning.

Psychological arousal

Symptoms of anxiety including fearful anticipation, irritability, sensitivity to noise, restlessness, poor concentration, and worrying thoughts.

Autonomic overactivity

Physical symptoms affecting the gastrointestinal, respiratory, cardiovascular, and genitourinary systems due to anxiety.

Hyperventilation

Rapid and shallow breathing leading to a drop in blood carbon dioxide, causing paradoxically breathlessness, dizziness, and tingling.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

A disorder characterized by anxiety that is generalized and persistent but not restricted to any particular environmental circumstances.

Free-floating anxiety

The key concept in GAD where the patient is constantly on edge and their worries are widespread across multiple everyday forebodings.

Vicious cycle of anxiety

A model where a minimal trigger causes physical symptoms which are catastrophically interpreted, leading to escalation and worsening anxiety.

Thyrotoxicosis

An organic differential for anxiety presenting with irritability, tremor, and tachycardia, excluded via thyroid function tests (TFTs).

Phaeochromocytoma

A medical condition causing episodic symptoms that can mimic anxiety disorders.

Applied Relaxation

A non-pharmacological management technique where patients are taught to actively apply learned relaxation skills to anxiety-provoking situations.

Breathing retraining

A manual technique involving breathing in and out slowly and holding each breath for $2-3\,\text{seconds}$ to control hyperventilation.

Cognitive restructuring

The process of identifying and modifying catastrophic interpretations and replacing worrying thoughts with self-assuring statements.

Fluoxetine (Anxiety Dosing)

An SSRI started at a low dose of $10\,\text{mg/day}$ to avoid initially exacerbating anxiety symptoms; it takes $4-6\,\text{weeks}$ to act.

Benzodiazepines (Short-term bridge)

Medications used for a maximum of $2-4\,\text{weeks}$ to provide rapid relief and dampen initial SSRI-induced anxiety exacerbation.

Panic Attack

A sudden, severe episode of anxiety peaking very quickly, featuring intense physical symptoms and a fear of dying, losing control, or going mad.

Panic Disorder

Recurrent attacks of severe anxiety which are not restricted to any particular situation and are therefore unpredictable.

Amygdala

The brain's fear center which is found to be hyperactive in patients with panic disorder.

Locus coeruleus

A brain structure playing a major role in initiating panic attacks via noradrenergic pathways.

Agoraphobia

The fear of open spaces, crowds, and situations where immediate, easy escape to a safe place is difficult.

Companion effect

A classic feature of agoraphobia where patients experience significantly less anxiety when accompanied by a trusted friend or family member.

Graded exposure

Develops a hierarchy of feared situations and exposes the patient to them in a graded, repeated, and prolonged manner until anxiety reduces.

Inducing physical symptoms

A CBT technique for panic where a therapist deliberately triggers feared physical sensations, such as through hyperventilation, to demonstrate they are harmless.

Social Phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder)

A condition defined by a fear of scrutiny by other people and a core cognition of fear of negative evaluation.

Propranolol

A beta-blocker used strictly for short-term control of physical symptoms (tremor and palpitations) in specific performance anxiety.

Video feedback

A specific CBT technique for social phobia to correct distorted, negative images of how patients think they appear to others.

Specific phobia

A persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation that is not inherently dangerous, where anxiety is restricted to specific triggers.

Blood-Injection-Injury Phobia

A phobia category characterized by a unique biphasic response (tachycardia followed by bradycardia) that often leads to fainting.

Applied tension

A technique for blood-injury phobia where the patient deliberately tenses muscles to keep blood pressure up and prevent syncope during exposure.

Substance-Induced Anxiety Disorder

A presentation mimicking a panic attack caused by CNS stimulants, such as excessive caffeine or energy drink consumption.

Lorazepam

A benzodiazepine medication used for rapid tranquilization (dose $0.5-2\,\text{mg}$ orally or $1-4\,\text{mg}$ IM) in highly disturbed or agitated patients.

Brief Intervention

A five-step strategy (feedback, motivation, action plan, alternative coping, follow-up) used to address comorbid alcohol use in anxiety patients.