Anxiety

Question 1

What are the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder?

APA, 2013

Answer 1

Excessive anxiety and worry for at least 6 months
Difficulty controlling the worry
Associated with 3 or more of the following:
  Restlessness
  Fatigue
  Difficulty concentrating
  Irritability
  Muscle tension
  Sleep disturbances

Question 2

What are the differential DX of generalized anxiety disorder? (APA, 2013)

Answer 2

Any other anxiety related disorder
Substance use
Depression

Question 3

How does Freud (1926) conceptualize anxiety?

Answer 3

It’s a signal of impending danger and anticipated helplessness
Forewarning from the ego to avoid the experience
Repression is failing and it becomes too much

Question 4

What are the 3 types of anxiety? (Freud, 1926)

Answer 4

Realistic - something in the real world that is an immediate threat
Moral - fear of punishment by the superego, threat comes from the internalized social world
Neurotic - fear of punishment or annihilation with or without a clear source of danger

Question 5

What is the citation for Freud’s etiological perspective?

Answer 5

Freud, 1926

Question 6

What is Fairbairn’s (1941) etiological perspective of anxiety?

Answer 6

The individual expectation to experience a lack of nurturance and love from current relationships which causes anxiety
Playing out drama of the past in present to try to master

Question 7

What is Winnicott’s (1949) etiological perspective of anxiety?

Answer 7

Maternal deprivation results in person taking on a false self to appease others and the external world
Anything good for the self results in guilt and displeasure resulting in anxiousness as does inability to appease others and the world

Question 8

What is Beck’s (1976) etiological perspective of anxiety?

Answer 8

Cognitive distortions (faulty information processing) results in over-predicting fear and danger
A potential threat is detected and the faulty information processing emphasizes the fear and dangerousness and results in anxious feelings

Question 9

What is the biological perspective of anxiety? (Stahl, 2010)

Answer 9

There are neurochemical abonormalities
GABA is decreased - GABA is an agonist and helps people relax
Benzodiazepines can be prescribed to increase GABA and reduce anxiety

Question 10

What is the citation for the biological perspective?

Answer 10

Stahl, 2010