Phobias Flashcards
Agoraphobia
- fear of being alone in open or public places where escape might be difficult. May not leave home
Social Phobia
- Fear of situations where one might be seen and embarrassed or criticized; speaking to authority figures, public speaking, or performing
- Social anxiety disorder, 15 million Adults
- May avoid life or work situations he/she dreads
- May have trouble making and keeping friends
Specific phobia
· fear of a single object, activity, or situation
· Persistent, irrational, and intense fear of a certain situation or object that doesn’t pose a danger, or a fear that’s out of proportion to the threat.
OCD
· Usually starting in adolescence or early adulthood,
· OCD is a chronic problem.
· Affects men and women equally.
· Either obsessions or compulsions
· Preoccupation with persistent intrusive thoughts, impulses, or images (obsession)
· Repetitive behaviors or mental acts that a person feels driven to perform in order to reduce stress or prevent a dreaded event or situation (compulsion)
Common Themes
Common Themes:
- Contamination
- A need for order
- Ritualistic or frequent hand washing
- Somatic complaints (complaining about something that isn’t really there)
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
· Excessive anxiety or worry more than not over 6 months
Having 3 or more of following:
· Pervasive, uncontrollable worrying
· Worry about minor things
· Restlessness, easily fatigued
· Irritability, difficulty concentration
· Muscle tension, sleep disturbance
· Headaches, tachycardia, SOB, insomnia, agitation, muscle aches
Anxiety or worry or physical symptoms cause significant impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of important functioning
Severe GAD may have difficulty performing simple daily activities.
PTSD
· The person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event involved actual, threatened death to self or others, responding in fear, helplessness, or horror. Someone who continually relives a traumatic event involving real or threatened harm to herself or others is suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder
· Recurrent recollections of event
· Distressing dreams or images
· Reliving the event through flashbacks, illusions, hallucinations, insomnia
· Victims of natural disasters (earth quakes, hurricanes) experience less guilt. Victims of human disasters experience more humiliation & guilt
PTSD persistant avoidance
· Thoughts, feelings, conversations
· People, places, activities that might trigger memories of the event
· Inability to recall aspect of trauma
· Decreased interest in usual activities
· Feelings of detachment, estrangement from others
· Restriction in feelings (love, enthusiasm, joy, numbing)
Persistent Symptoms
Two or more:
· Difficulty falling/staying asleep
· Irritability/outburst of anger
· Difficulty concentrating
· Duration more than 1 month
Attempts to self medicate: to reduce anxiety or induce sleep can be common
· Attempts to self-medicate: to reduce anxiety or induce sleep
PTSD Interventions
- Victims need to find meaning in the event
Helplessness and anxiety result from lost feelings of safety
- Promote discussion
Helps ct see themselves less as a victim and the world more understandable
- Suggest ct not responsible for event
Reduces powerlessness
Can also assess elements of guilt
- Assess immediate reactions and coping
Numbing & denial are common
Behaviors range can help identify impact & meaning of trauma
- Assess baseline functioning before the event (drun/etoh use since the event, attempts to self medicate)
- Explore shattered assumptions. Victims need to find meaning in the event. Helplessness and anxiety from lost feeling of safety
- Identify support groups
Can decrease feelings of loneliness and alienation
Share experiences, feel understood, start to heal
- Encourage journal writing
Writing about trauma can lessen intensity of trauma
