Psychopathology Ch 5

Anxiety

future-oriented apprehension, tension, sense of dread

Fear

immediate response to threat/danger

Fight/flight response

physical/psychological response to threat

controlled by autonomic NS + adrenal-cortical system

Cortisol

stress hormone released by adrenal gland

Panic Attack

brief but intense period of extreme anxiety + discomfort, reaches peak within minutes

Symptoms of panic attack

physical - heart races, sweating, trembling, chest pain, SOB

cognitive - fear of dying, losing control

Panic disorder

debilitating anxiety disorder

core symptom = recurrent + debilitating panic attacks

people with panic disorder

increase avoidance

pay very close attention to body sensations

misinterpret info, catastrophic thinking

Anxiety Sesnsitivity

belief that anxiety + its symptoms harm the body

Interoceptive Awareness

heightened awareness of body cues can signal panic attack

Conditioning

body cues @ the start of an attack become conditioned stimulus, signaling an attack

Continued Avoidance Response

avoidance of X reinforced due to a decrease in panic attacks

Panic Disorder + Agorophobia

lead of avoidance of anxiety provoking situation

fear of being unable to get help during attack

Treatments for Panic Disorder

CBT, breathing, challenging catastrophic thoughts

Separation Anxiety Disorder

syndrome of childhood/adolescene

abnormal fear over becoming separated from caregiver causes extreme distress

Behavioral Inhibition

temperament characterized by

shy fearful toddlers

quiet, cautious school children

parents can influence anxious behavior via modeling

Treatments for Separation Anxiety Disorder

self-talk, relaxation, challenging cognitons

Selective Mutism

child capable of speech remains quiet in anxiety provoking situations

genetic, temperamental, environmental, developmental factors

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

anxiety about daily life/everyday scenarios

continuous list of concerns

sensitivity to an increase in negative emotions

often chronic, comorbidity with depression

emotion regulation

balance between understanding + identifying thoughts + feeling while being able to manage emotional impact on behavior/function

worry

creates an illusion of control predictability over negative emotional experiences, reinforces chronic worry + sustained distress

Biological Factors of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

increase NS activity, increase amygdala reactivity

decrease in GABA = increase neurons firing in many brain areas

Treatments of GAD

CBT - confronting worries, challenging catastrophic thinking

SSRIs, SNRIs,

Social Anxiety Disorder

intense fear of public humiliation/rejection

leads to avoidance of social situaitons

Symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder

range from mild - severe

low treatment rates

emerge in childhood, continue into adulthood

affect various domains of life

Theories of Social Anxiety Disorder

genetics - can run in families

cognitive - people have high performance standards and focus on negative interactions/harsh self-evaluation

Treatments for Social Anxiety Disorder

SSRIs, CBT to dispute cognitions, imagery rescripting

mindfulness - acceptance, observation > judgement

Phobias

unreasonable/irrational fear of specific object/situations

lead to chronic/enduring fear

Animal Type Phobias

focused on specific animal/insect

Natural Environment

focused on event/situation in nature

ex. thunderstorm

Situational Type

claustrophobia, travel, entities

Blood-injection-injury

fear triggered by seeing blood

Agorophobia

fear of being unable to escape/get help when anxious

severe cases cause homeboundness 

strong association with panic disorder/attacks

intereoceptive conditioning

body sensations become associated with an emotional/psychological response

exteroceptive conditoning

external stimuli is paired with emotional/psychological response

negative reinforcement

object avoidance is associated with decrease anxiety, increases avoidance behavior

prepared classical conditioning

common conditioned fear of an object

ex. the dark, snakes

Treating Phobias

exposure therapy - pair phobia triggering object with nothing bad happening

systematic desensitization, flooding

applied tension technique (BII)

virtual reality, benzodiazapines

Obsession-Compulsion Disorder

characterized by obsessions + complusions

Obsession

intrusive, persistent thought/image/idea/urge

associated with aggression, sexuality, religion

Compulsion

repetitive behavioral/mental acts that person feels they must do to decrease anxiety from obsessions

OCPD

perfectionism, orderliness, need to stay in emotional control

Hoarding Disorder

difficulty getting rid of items, acculumation of clutter = congested living area

Trichlotillomania

hair pulling disorder, results in noticeable bald patches

Excoriation

recurrently picking skin/scabs

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

excessive concern about physical appearance, results in significant distress

preoccupied with ‘defective’ body part

influenced by social media use 

Theories of OCD

evolutionarily - symptoms protected ancestors from infectious diseases/starvation

cognitive - rigid/moralistic thinking, need to control

compulsions develop via operant negative reinforcement

Treatments for OCD

SSRIs, CBT - exposure + response prevention

show that thoughts are not true/harmful

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

anxiety disorder characterized by repeated mental images reliving traumatic experience, detatchment, hypervigilance, chronic arousal

Flashback

uncontrollable, intense, repeated episodes that force individual to relive experience

Dissociation

different facets of sense of self become disconnected

Acute Stress Disorder

occurs within month of stressor exposure, less than 4 weeks long, dissociative symptoms

Adjustment Disorder

emotional/behavioral symptoms occur in response to stressor

Reactive Attachment Disorder

neglected child has difficulty forming attachments

Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder

development of overly familiar behavior with stranger

Traumas leading to PTSD

natural disasters

human made disasters

traumatic events

assault

Prolonged Grief Disorder

intense/persistent, interferes with daily life

Secondary trauma

from hearing traumatic narrative

Theories of PTSD

proximity to trauma, amount of social support avaliable

pre-existing conditions can increase risk

women/black people are more prone

Treatments for PTSD

trauma-focused CBT

EMDR

stress innoculation therpay