Panic, Anxiety, and Obsessions Overview

A comprehensive set of flashcards focusing on key terms and definitions related to panic, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorders, as outlined in the lecture notes.

Anxiety

General feeling of apprehension about possible future threats or dangers.

Panic Disorder

Occurrence of recurrent, unexpected panic attacks characterized by intense fear and discomfort.

Specific Phobia

Fear or presence or anticipation of a specific stimulus, leading to an immediate fear response.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Excessive worry about various events and activities, associated with physical and cognitive symptoms.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Characterized by recurrent and persistent obsessions (thoughts) and compulsions (behaviors) that lead to significant distress.

Agoraphobia

Fear or anxiety about being in situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable in case of a panic attack.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Fear and avoidance of social interactions due to anxiety about negative evaluation or embarrassment.

Comorbidity

Co-occurrence of multiple disorders, such as a high comorbidity between anxiety disorders and depression.

Systematic Desensitization

A gradual exposure technique used to reduce fear and anxiety associated with phobias.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

A type of therapy that focuses on changing unhelpful cognitive distortions and behaviors.

Exposure and Response Prevention

The gold standard treatment for OCD that involves gradual exposure to feared stimuli and preventing the usual compulsive response.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

A disorder characterized by an excessive preoccupation with perceived flaws in physical appearance.

Trichotillomania

A disorder involving recurrent pulling out of one's hair, leading to noticeable hair loss.

Excoriation Disorder

A condition characterized by recurrent skin picking, resulting in skin lesions and distress.

Preparedness Theory

A behavioral-evolutionary perspective suggesting that humans are biologically predisposed to fear certain stimuli.

Two Factor Theory

A behavioral perspective that posits classical conditioning creates fear, while operant conditioning maintains it.

Thought-Action Fusion

The belief that thinking about a distressing possibility increases the likelihood of that event occurring.