Anxiety, OCD, and Related Disorders

Question 1

Fear

Answer 1

the central nervous systems physiological and emotional response to a serious threat to one’s well being

Question 2

Anxiety

Answer 2

the central nervous systems physiological and emotional response to a vague sense of threat or danger

Question 3

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Answer 3

experience general and persistent feelings of worry and anxiety
- free-floating anxiety
- women diagnosed with this disorder outnumber men, 2:1

Question 4

GAD: Sociocultural Perspective

Answer 4

most likely to develop in people that face ongoing dangerous societal conditions
- strongest force is poverty
- can also be caused by widespread contagious diseases

Question 5

GAD: Psychodynamic Perspective

Answer 5

anxiety due to inadequate ego defence mechanisms
- overprotecting parents cause weak defence mechanisms when older

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

Question 6

GAD: Humanistic Perspective

Answer 6

GAD happens when people stop looking at themselves honestly and acceptingly
- children who fail to receive unconditional positive regard may become self critical and develop harsh standards, called conditions of worth
- treatment is client centred therapy

Question 7

GAD:Cognitive-Behavioural Perspective

Answer 7

development of basic irrational assumptions

metacognitive therapy- suggest people with GAD hold both positive and negative beliefs about worrying

Question 8

Meta-worries

Answer 8

worrying about worrying

Question 9

Intolerance of Uncertainty Theory

Answer 9

individuals cannot tolerate the knowledge that negative events may occur
- biologically based

Question 10

Avoidance Theory

Answer 10

people with GAD have greater bodily arousal and worrying serves to reduce this arousal

Question 11

Rational-emotive therapy

Answer 11

point out the irrational assumptions held by clients, suggest more appropriate assumptions, and assign homework that gives the clients practice at challenging old assumptions and applying new ones

Question 12

Break Down Worrying

Answer 12

• educate the clients about the role of worrying in their disorder
• clients observe their bodily arousal
• clients are to appreciate the triggers of their worrying

Question 13

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Answer 13

mindfulness based cognitive -behavioural therapy

Question 14

GAD: Biological Perspective

Answer 14

says anxiety is biological; family having it increases probability of you developing it

Question 15

Benzodiazepines

Answer 15

provides relief from anxiety
- certain neurons have receptors that receive the benzos

Question 16

Gamma-aminobutyric Acid (GABA)

Answer 16

a neurotransmitter whose low activity in the brains fear circuit has been linked to anxiety

Question 17

Fear Circuit

Answer 17

prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, ínsula, and amygdala, a small almond-shaped brain structure that usually starts the emotional ball rolling
- hyperactive in those with GAD

Question 18

Sedative-Hypnotic Drugs

Answer 18

drugs that calm people in low doses and helps them fall asleep in higher doses

Question 19

Antidepressants

Answer 19

drugs that are usually used to lift the moods of depressed persons
- increase activity of serotonin and norepinephrine

Question 20

Antipsychotics

Answer 20

commonly given to people with schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis, are also helpful to some individuals with more severe and treatment-resistant generalized anxiety disorder

Question 21

Agoraphobia

Answer 21

fear of travelling to public places

Question 22

Classic Conditioning

Answer 22

a process of learning by temporal association in which two events that repeatedly occur close together in time become fused in a persons mind and produce the same response

Question 23

Modelling

Answer 23

a process of learning through imitation of other actions

Question 24

Preparedness

Answer 24

a predisposition to develop certain fears

Question 25

Systematic Desensitization

Answer 25

exposure treatment that uses relaxation training and a fear hierarchy to help clients with phobias react calmly to the objects or situations they dread

Question 26

Flooding

Answer 26

client exposed repeatedly and intensively to feared objects and made to see that it is actually harmless

Question 27

Social Anxiety

Answer 27

afraid of social or performance situations in which they might become embarrassed - causes by maladaptive assumptions - treated by medication ie; benzos and antidepressants - also treated by cog-behav therapy

Question 28

Social Skills Training

Answer 28

a therapy approach that helps people learn or improve social skills and assertiveness through role-playing and rehearsing of desirable behaviours - model, role-play, rehearse, feedback, and reinforce

Question 29

Panic Disorder

Answer 29

recurrent attacks of terror; common in those with anxiety

Question 30

Panic Attacks

Answer 30

periodic, short bouts of panic that occur suddenly, reach a peal within minutes, and gradually pass - anti-depressants help

Question 31

Biological Challenge Tests

Answer 31

a procedure used to produce panic in participants or clients by having them exercise vigorously or perform some other potentially panic-inducing task in the presence of a researcher or therapist

Question 32

OCD

Answer 32

individuals feel overrun by recurrent thoughts that cause anxiety or by the need to perform certain repetitive actions to reduce anxiety - characterized by obsessions and compulsions

Question 33

Obsessions

Answer 33

a persistent thought, idea, impulse, or image that is experienced repeatedly, and causes anxiety

Question 34

Compulsions

Answer 34

a repetitive and rigid behaviour or mental act that a person feels driven to perform in order to prevent or reduce anxiety

Question 35

OCD: Biological

Answer 35

cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit is hyper active in those with OCD - hyperactive thalamus which leads to increased anxiety and attention towards this sensation

Question 36

Trichotillomania

Answer 36

hair pulling disorder

Question 37

Excoriation Disorder

Answer 37

skin-picking disorder

Question 38

OCD Treatment

Answer 38

- antidepressants particularly SSRI's to increase serotonin - expose and response prevention; expose them to situations which activate their obsessions starting with the least anxiety provoking to the most and then prevent them from acting upon the compulsion

Question 39

Cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit

Answer 39

network connecting the cortex, striatum, and the thalamus - has a direct (positive feedback loop) and indirect (regulatory loop) - OCD is when these pathways are imbalanced

Question 40

Illness Anxiety

Answer 40

persistent anxiety about ones health - treatment can include anti-depressants, exposure therapy, and response prevention