Lecture Notes on Anxiety Disorders - Science and Practice | PSY 110, Study notes of Psychology

Download Lecture Notes on Anxiety Disorders - Science and Practice | PSY 110 and more Study notes Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! 1 1 Psychology 110 Dr. Gordon Anxiety Disorders Module #46 2 A. Anxiety disorders • 1. Introduction to anxiety disorders • 2. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) • 3. Panic disorder • 4. Phobias • 5. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) 3 1. Anxiety: an introduction • Anxiety is defined as any state of tension, fear, apprehension, etc… an anxiety disorder is any disorder marked by feelings of excessive apprehension and anxiety. Feelings of anxiety are normal. However, when these feelings become so intense that one cannot function, an anxiety disorder may be indicated. We will cover four anxiety disorders. They include generalized anxiety disorder, panic, phobias, and obsessive compulsive disorders 4 2. Generalized anxiety disorder • Generalized anxiety disorder is a condition that displays a chronic, high level of anxiety not associated with any general or specific threat. GAD has been called a “free floating anxiety.” In layman’s terms, a person diagnosed with GAD is considered a “worry wart.” These persons are continually worrying about matters they do not have control. To the right, Charlie Brown is the classic case of GAD. Women (66 percent) are more likely diagnosed than men. 5 3. Panic Disorder • Myers defines a panic disorder as an “anxiety disorder marked by a minutes-long episode of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and accompanying chest pain, choking or other frightening sensations.” Panic can be misperceived as a cardiac arrest. A panic episode is so intense that one develops a fear of fear. 6 3. Panic Disorder • For the most part, the panic attack is unpredictable. Panic does not necessarily have a known trigger. Nevertheless, persons avoid situations they believe provide the context for an attack. Prevalence rates indicate that 3.5 percent of individuals in the United States will develop the condition in their lifetime. These rates appear to be consistent across other cultures. 7 3. Panic Disorder • Those diagnosed with panic disorder can develop another condition called agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is derived from the Greek interpretation, “fear of the marketplace.” Agoraphobia is marked by an intense fear of being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult (embarrassing) or help unavailable if panic like symptoms were to emerge. 8 Finding Forrester’s agoraphobia 9 4. Phobic Disorder • Phobic disorders are conditions marked by a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no immediate danger. A phobia is not a concern as long as the individual can find ways to avoid it. Some phobias are easy to avoid (e.g., snakes) while others are not (thunderstorms). Phobias are classified in three ways: 1) specific phobias, 2) social phobias, and 3) agoraphobia. 10 “Leave it to Beaver’s phobia” 11 4. Phobic disorders 2 • The table below is an abbreviated list of common and specific phobias. A specific phobia is tied to a single object, situation, or circumstance. Beaver’s specific phobia was “Acrophobia” or fear of high places. 12 4. Phobic disorders • The slide below illustrates an adolescent female who has developed a social phobia. A social phobia is defined as an intense fear of being evaluated or scrutinized by others. The social phobic will avoid speaking engagements, eating in front of others, or using a public bathroom. They avoid potentially embarrassing situations. 13 4. Phobic disorders • The table to the left illustrates prevalence rates for simple or specific, social, and agoraphobias. It would appear that snakes, bugs, mice, and bats are the most prevalent in the United States. Ironically, most of these species are gentle creatures! 14 4. Phobic disorders • The slide below illustrates what happens to phobic conditions as we age. Studies suggest that children possess the greatest number of irrational fears. 15 5. Obsessive-compulsive disorder • Obsessive-compulsive disorder is described as a persistent, uncontrollable intrusion of unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and urges to engage in senseless rituals called compulsions. The latter serves to reduce the anxiety created by unwanted thoughts. The slide to the left illustrates the popular OCD detective, Monk. 16 OCD in “Good as it Gets” 17 5. Obsessive-compulsive disorder • Obsessions center on undesirable thoughts such as harm to self and others, performing sexual acts in public, and/or personal failures. Myers presents the Howard Hughes case. Hughes experienced intense contamination obsessions. His compulsive rituals were so complex that he became reclusive in his old age. As noted by Myers, OCD does become less intense with age. 18 5. Obsessive-compulsive disorders • Compulsions are repetitive, stress reducing, and ritualized behaviors. Some of the most common are hand washing, house cleaning, checking, counting, etc… Compulsions are debilitating because they disrupt one’s daily functioning. 19 5. Obsessive-compulsive disorders • The slide below illustrates the most common obsessions and compulsions. Contamination obsessions and cleaning rituals are the most common OCD symptoms. 20 5. Obsessive-compulsive disorders • The cartoon above provides a humorous view of OCD. “Ahh… it just doesn’t get better than this,” suggests that compulsions can reduce the “sting” of unwanted obsessions. 21 5. Obessive-compulsive disorders • Compulsions reflect the need to sustain predictability and order in one’s life. Let’s move on to theoretical perspectives and anxiety disorders. 22 B. Theories of anxiety disorders • 1. Learning perspective • 2. Biological perspective 23 1. Learning perspective • Learning theory has always been a viable approach to explain anxiety disorders. The slide above illustrates John Watson and his assistant successfully conditioning “Little Albert” to fear a conditioned stimulus (white and furry animal). Anxiety disorders are acquired through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning. Albert maintained his zoophobia by avoiding the objects he learned to fear. 24 1. Learning perspective 25 Classical conditioning and acrophobia