Chapter Five: Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Related Disorders

fear

fear

state of immediate alarm

anxiety

vague sense of being in danger

anxiety disorders

when people have discomfort from fear and anxiety is too severe, too frequent, lasts too long, or is triggered too easily

generalized anxiety disorder

experience general and persistent feelings of worry and anxiety

specific phobias

persistent and irrational fear of a particular object, activity, or situation

agoraphobia

fear traveling to public places

social anxiety disorder

intense fear of social or performance situations in which they may become embarrassed

panic disorder

recurrent attacks of terror

sociocultural perspective

gad is most likely to develop in people who are faced with ongoing societal conditions that are dangerous

Freud

early developmental experiences may produce an unusually high level of anxiety in certain children

psychodynamic methods

free association and therapists interpretations of transference, resistance, and dreams

freudian psychodynamic therapists

help clients with gad become less afraid of their id impulses and more successful in controlling them

object relations therapists

help anxious patients identify and settle the childhood relationship problems that continue to produce anxiety in adulthood

humanistic perspective

gad arises when people stop looking at themselves honestly and acceptingly

Albert Ellis

many people are guided by irrational beliefs that lead them to act and react in inappropriate ways (basic irrational assumptions)

Aaron Beck

ppl with gad constantly hold silent assumptions that imply theyre in imminent danger

Adrian Wells metacognitive theory

ppl with gad implicitly hold positive and negative beliefs about worrying

positive beliefs about worrying

believe worrying is a useful way of appraising and coping with threats in life, so they worry constantly

negative beliefs about worrying

believe their repeated worrying is harmful and uncontrollable, so they meta-worry

intolerance of uncertainty theory

certain individuals cant tolerate the knowledge that negative events can occur, even if the possibility is small

Ellis rational-emotive therapy

therapists point out the irrational assumptions held by clients, and suggest more appropriate assumptions

breaking down worrying

therapists guide clients to recognize and change their dysfunctional worrying

sedative-hypnotic drugs

drugs that calm people at lower doses and help them to fall asleep at higher doses

phobias

persistent and unreasonable fears

agoraphobia

fear of being in public places or situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable

support-group approach

a small number of ppl with agoraphobia go out together for exposure sessions

home-based self-help programs

clinicians give clients and their families detailed instructions for carrying out exposure treatments themselves

exposure treatments

people are exposed to the objects / situations they dread

systematic desensitization

an exposure treatment that uses relaxation training and a fear hierarchy to help clients with phobias react calmly to their fear

relaxation training

teaching clients how to bring on a state of deep muscle relaxation at will

fear hierarchy

a list of feared objects / situations

in vivo desensitization

actual confrontation

covert desensitization

confrontation may be imagined

flooding

clients are exposed repeatedly and intensively to a feared object and made to see that it is actually harmless

modeling

the therapist confronts the feared object / situation while the fearful person observes

social anxiety disorder

a severe and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur

exposure therapy

expose themselves to their dreaded social situations, re-examine and challenge maladaptive beliefs

social skills training

modeling, role-playing, rehearsing, feedback, reinforcement

assertiveness training groups

members try out and rehearse new social behaviors with other group members

panic disorder

an anxiety disorder marked by recurrent and unpredictable panic attacks

panic attacks

periodic, short bouts of panic that occur suddenly, reach a peak within minutes, and gradually pass

locus coeruleus

a small area of the brain that seems to be active in the regulation of emotions

biological challenge tests

researchers produce hyperventilation / other biological sensations by administering drugs / instructing clinical research participants to breathe, exercise, or think in certain ways

high degree of anxiety sensitivity

a tendency to focus on ones bodily sensations, assess them illogically, and interpret them as harmful

obsessive-compulsive disorder

a disorder in which a person has recurrent obsessions, compulsions, or both

obsessions

persistent thoughts, ideas, impulses, or images that seem to invade a persons consciousness

compulsions

repetitive and rigid behaviors / mental acts that people feel they must perform in order to prevent or reduce anxiety

neutralizing

a persons attempt to eliminate unwanted thoughts by thinking or behaving in ways that put matters right internally, making up for the unacceptable thoughts

exposure and response prevention

clients are repeatedly exposed to objects or situations that produce anxiety and obsessive fears but they are told to resist performing their compulsive behaviors

hoarding disorder

people feel compelled to save items and become very distressed if they try to discard them

trichotillomania

hair pulling disorder

excoriation disorder

skin picking disorder

body dysmorphic disorder

people become preoccupied with the belief that they have a particular defect / flaw in their physical appearance