Essentials of Abnormal Psychology, chapter 4

anxiety

Mood state characterized by marked negative affect and bodily symptoms of tension in which a person apprehensively anticipates future danger or misfortune. Anxiety may involve feelings, behaviors, and physiological responses.

Future-oriented, apprehension about future danger, somatic symptoms of tension, characterized by marked negative affect, although anxiety is a normal emotional state and is beneficial to a certain extent.

fear

Emotion of an immediate alarm reaction to present danger or life-threatening emergencies.

panic

Sudden, overwhelming fright or terror.

panic attack

Abrupt experience of intense fear or discomfort accompanied by several physical symptoms, such as dizziness or heart palpitations, and/or catastrophic thoughts, such as fear of dying.

behavioral inhibition system (BIS)

Brain circuit in the limbic system that responds to threat signals by inhibiting activity and causing anxiety.

fight/flight system (FFS)

Brain circuit in animals that when stimulated causes an immediate alarm-and-escape response resembling human panic.

generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

Anxiety disorder characterized by intense, uncontrollable, unfocused, chronic, and continuous worry that is distressing and unproductive, accompanied by physical symptoms of tenseness, irritability, and restlessness.

panic disorder (PD)

Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks accompanied by anxiety about future attacks.

agoraphobia

Anxiety about being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult in the event of panic-like symptoms or other unpleasant physical symptoms.

panic control treatment (PCT)

Cognitive-behavioral treatment for panic attacks, involving gradual exposure to feared somatic sensations and modification of perceptions and attitudes about them.

specific phobia

Unreasonable fear of a specific object or situation that markedly interferes with daily life functioning.

blood-injury-injection phobia

Unreasonable fear and avoidance of exposure to blood, injury, or the possibility of an injection. Victims experience fainting and a drop in blood pressure.

situational phobia

Anxiety involving enclosed places (for example, claustrophobia) or public transportation (for example, fear of flying).

natural environment phobia

Fear of situations or events in nature, especially heights, storms, and water.

animal phobia

Unreasonable, enduring fear of animals or insects that usually develops early in life.

separation anxiety disorder

Excessive, enduring fear about being apart from caregiving loved ones such as a spouse or parent.

social anxiety disorder (social phobia)

Extreme, enduring, irrational fear and avoidance of social or performance situations.

selective mutism

Developmental disorder characterized by a consistent failure to speak in specific social situations despite speaking in other situations.

trauma- and stressor-related disorders

A group of mental disorders distinguished by their origin in stressful events (e.g., traumatic experiences, major life stressor, childhood neglect).

posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Enduring, distressing emotional disorder that follows exposure to a severe helplessness- or fear-inducing threat. The victim re-experiences the trauma, avoids stimuli associated with it, and develops a numbing of responsiveness and increased vigilance and arousal.

acute stress disorder

Severe reaction immediately following a terrifying event, often including amnesia about the event, emotional numbing, and derealization. Many victims later develop posttraumatic stress disorder.

adjustment disorders

Prolonged negative emotional reaction following a major life stressor (e.g., divorce, moving, new job).

attachment disorders

Childhood mental disorders characterized by difficulty forming normal relationships, usually as a result of inadequate caregiving relationships.

reactive attachment disorder

In children, a pattern of inhibited, withdrawn behavior toward adult caregivers.

disinhibited social engagement disorder

In children, a pattern of abnormally extroverted behavior toward unfamiliar adults.

obsessive-compulsive and related disorders

A group of mental disorders characterized by compulsive behaviors, often functioning to relieve anxiety or distress.

obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Anxiety disorder involving unwanted, persistent, intrusive thoughts and impulses, as well as repetitive actions intended to suppress them.

obsessions

Recurrent, intrusive, and distressing thought or impulse (e.g., doubting, fears of contamination, unwanted sexual impulses) that may be neutralized by compulsive behaviors.

compulsions

Repetitive, ritualistic, time-consuming behavior or mental act a person feels driven to perform, often in response to obsessive thoughts.

body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)

Mental disorder featuring a disruptive preoccupation with some imagined defect in appearance ("imagined ugliness").

trichotillomania

Mental disorder characterized by recurrent pulling out of one's own hair from anywhere on the body, including the scalp, eyebrows, and limbs.

excoriation

Mental disorder characterized by recurrent picking of one's own skin.