Anxiety Disorders

Psychological Disorders Debrief

Abnormality:

1. abnormal in a person's culture
2. causes personal distress to the subject
3. prevents functional living in society (maladaptive behavior)
4. makes the person a danger to self or others
5. calls into question a person's legal responsibility for actions

Anxiety Disorders:

1. Phobias

• Specific phobias: disruptive and intense irrational fear caused by particular object or event
• Social Phobia: constant, irrational fear of specific or general situations that involve other people

2. Panic Disorder

• Panic Attacks: episodes of intense fear and four or more symptoms such as heart palpitations, nausea, chest pain, dizziness, sweating, trembling, choking sensation, difficulty breathing, terror, intense apprehension. Attacks tend to be brief but are recurrent and unexpected
• Depersonalization: state of feeling estranged from one's body
• Derealization: state of feeling as if the world or surroundings are not real

3. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: sufferer is compelled to repeat acts (compulsions) and/or is flooded with uncontrollable and persistent thoughts (obsessions), which cause distress and interfere with daily functioning.

• Obsessions: Uncontrollable, intrusive, and repetitive thoughts, images, and impulses that cause anxiety
• repetitive behavior or mental act that is performed to counteract the anxiety caused by the obsession.

4. Generalized Anxiety Disorder

• Uncontrollable, chronic, and pervasive low-level anxiety and worry. Symptoms include: difficulty concentrating and sleeping, irritability, muscle tension, pounding heart, sweating, restlessness, and upset stomach.

5. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Intense fear in reaction to a traumatic event. Suffers can experience re-experiencing the event through intrusive memories, nightmares, or flashbacks, avoidance of reminders of the event or other unrelated people and activity, or persistently increased arousal.