Caring for Individuals with Anxiety Disorders – Key Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key neurobiological concepts, definitions, disorders, symptoms, and interventions related to anxiety and stress, designed to aid exam preparation.

Eustress

Beneficial stress that motivates and energizes individuals.

Distress

Harmful stress that can cause emotional and physical problems such as depression, confusion, hopelessness, and fatigue.

Stress Response

The body’s automatic “fight-or-flight” survival reaction to a threat.

Limbic System

The brain’s “emotional center”; scans for threat, triggers fight-or-flight, and restores homeostasis after stress.

Amygdala

Limbic structure that processes fear; highly involved in phobic and panic disorders.

Hippocampus

Limbic structure that stores memories, especially those related to fear responses.

Hypothalamus

Brain region that activates the stress response and initiates the HPA axis.

Cingulate Gyrus

Limbic component linked to emotional regulation; strongly associated with anxiety disorders and OCD.

Frontal Cortex

Area responsible for cognitive interpretation of threats and decision-making.

HPA Axis

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal pathway that releases CRH and cortisol during prolonged stress.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Autonomic branch that releases epinephrine to prepare the body for action during stress.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Autonomic branch that calms the body and lowers cortisol after a threat passes.

Serotonin

Neurotransmitter often decreased in anxiety disorders; target of SSRI medications.

Norepinephrine

Neurotransmitter that rises with threat and causes hyper-arousal; blocked by drugs like propranolol.

GABA

Major inhibitory neurotransmitter that slows neural activity and produces a calming effect.

Cortisol

Stress hormone that remains elevated during chronic stress, potentially harming the body.

Anxiety

Apprehension or uneasiness about a real or perceived threat with an unknown or unrecognized source.

Fear

Fight-or-flight reaction to a specific, identifiable danger.

Normal Anxiety

Healthy, productive anxiety that aids adaptive behavior and performance.

Acute Anxiety

Short-term anxiety triggered by loss or threat to security; expected response.

Pathological Anxiety

Maladaptive anxiety whose duration, intensity, and impact exceed what is tolerable and impair functioning.

Defense Mechanism

Unconscious Freud-based strategy used to manage conflict and affect; can be adaptive or maladaptive.

Sublimation

Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities (adaptive defense mechanism).

Repression

Unconsciously blocking unpleasant thoughts or feelings from awareness.

Displacement

Transferring emotions from the original source to a safer substitute target.

Reaction Formation

Transforming unacceptable feelings into their opposites (e.g., treating someone you dislike with excessive kindness).

Projection

Attributing one’s own unacceptable thoughts or impulses to another person.

Denial

Refusing to acknowledge a painful reality.

Learning Theory of Anxiety

View that anxiety is a learned response based on observed reactions to threat; can be unlearned via exposure.

Cognitive Theory of Anxiety

Proposes that distorted thinking and perception create anxiety; reframing thoughts can alter brain chemistry.

Mild Anxiety

Heightened awareness and problem-solving ability; seen in normal functioning.

Moderate Anxiety

Selective attention and reduced learning; still potentially constructive with support.

Severe Anxiety

Greatly reduced perceptual field; learning and problem solving are not possible.

Panic Level Anxiety

Most extreme anxiety; inability to process environment and possible loss of reality contact.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Anxiety disorder following trauma, featuring intrusion, avoidance, negative mood changes, and hyper-arousal.

Intrusive Re-experiencing

Flashbacks, nightmares, or unwanted memories of a trauma (core PTSD symptom).

Avoidance (PTSD)

Deliberate evasion of trauma-related thoughts, feelings, places, or people.

Negative Alterations in Cognition and Mood

Persistent distorted beliefs, detachment, or blame seen in PTSD.

Alterations in Arousal and Reactivity

Hypervigilance, irritability, startle response, and sleep problems in PTSD.

Acute Stress Disorder

Trauma-related symptoms similar to PTSD that resolve within one month of the event.

Compassion Fatigue

Secondary traumatic stress experienced by caregivers who are repeatedly exposed to others’ trauma.

Burnout

Emotional exhaustion and withdrawal due to chronic occupational stressors, distinct from compassion fatigue.

Separation Anxiety Disorder

Developmentally inappropriate excessive fear of being away from attachment figures.

Panic Attack

Abrupt surge of intense fear peaking within minutes, with somatic and cognitive symptoms.

Panic Disorder

Recurrent unexpected panic attacks accompanied by persistent worry or behavioral change for at least one month.

Grounding Technique (5-4-3-2-1)

Coping method that uses the senses to connect to the present and reduce panic.

Specific Phobia

Persistent, irrational fear of a particular object or situation leading to avoidance.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Fear of humiliation or rejection in social or performance situations.

Agoraphobia

Excessive fear of places where escape might be difficult; diagnosis requires two or more feared situations.

Systematic Desensitization

Gradual exposure therapy that pairs relaxation with increasingly feared stimuli.

Flooding (Implosion Therapy)

Behavior therapy that exposes a person to the feared stimulus at full intensity until anxiety diminishes.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Excessive, persistent, and uncontrollable worry occurring more days than not for at least six months.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Condition marked by distressing obsessions and repetitive compulsions that are time-consuming or disabling.

Obsession

Intrusive, unwanted thought, impulse, or image that causes anxiety.

Compulsion

Ritualistic behavior or mental act performed to reduce anxiety linked to an obsession.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Preoccupation with an imagined or slight defect in appearance causing significant distress or impairment.

Hoarding Disorder

Persistent difficulty discarding possessions, resulting in cluttered living areas and distress.

Trichotillomania

Recurrent hair-pulling leading to hair loss, with repeated attempts to stop.

Excoriation Disorder

Recurrent skin-picking causing lesions and significant distress or impairment.

Buspirone

Non-benzodiazepine anxiolytic commonly used for GAD; lacks dependence potential.

Propranolol

Beta-blocker that reduces physical symptoms of anxiety, useful for performance-related social anxiety.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

First-line pharmacologic treatment for most anxiety and obsessive-compulsive related disorders.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Psychotherapy that combines cognitive restructuring with behavioral techniques to reduce anxiety.

Relaxation Response

Physiological state of deep rest elicited through activities like yoga, meditation, and mindfulness to counter stress.