Exam 3 Flashcards
OCD
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
What is OCD?
Anxiety disorder characterized by obsessions and compulsions
Obsessions
Recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, images, cause unwanted anxiety and stress
(contamination, order, losing control, doubt)
Compulsions
Repetitive behaviors/covert mental acts intended to reduce anxiety
(washing hands, ordering, counting, checking)
Negative reinforcement
Removing distress due to an action
DSM-V Criteria for OCD
Presence of obsessions, compulsion, or both
Obsessions and compulsions are extremely time-consuming
Hair Pulling Disorder
Trichotillomania : compulsion to pull hair - there are also skin-picking disorders causing lesion, hoarding disorder, difficulty with parting from things, and body dysmorphic disorder . . .
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
DSM-V : Preoccupation with 1 or more perceived defects, repetitive mirror checking (behavior(s) develop), clinically significant distress
OCD - Neuro Factors
Overregulation in brain systems (dysfunctional connections in frontal lobe, thalamus, and basal ganglia)
Abnormalities in neural communication (too little serotonin SSRIs can work)
Genetics (identical twins 65%, fraternal twins 15%)
OCD - Psych Factors
Operant conditioning: comp: short-term relief: reinforced
Obsessional thinking: OCD: mental or behavioral rituals
OCD - Social Factors
Stress: OCD follows stressor: severity proportional
Culture + Religion: may determine context of obsessions and compulsions
OCD - Treatment - Neuro
Medication (SSRI - Zoloft, Celexa, and Paxil)
TCA Anafranil
Meds + behavioral treatment recommended
OCD - Treatment - Psych
Cognitive methods: reduce irrationality and frequency of intrusive thoughts / accuracy of thoughts
Exposure + response prevention therapy
Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERPT)
face or confront fear until subsiding
refrain from compulsions, avoidance, escape behaviors
graduated exposure based on fear hierarchy
if you challenge with anxiety-provoking tasks, body will habituate anxiety
Trauma
actual or threatened death, serious injury, sex violence
Stress
overwhelmed, worried, run down
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
3 Stages: alarm: fight or flight response to stressor
resistance: way an organism adapts to physical and psychological stressor
exhaustion: effects of long-term stress on emotional and physical well-being
PTSD
Go through traumatic event - can lead to developing PTSD as a stress disorder
Characteristics of PTSD
intrusive re-experiencing event
avoidance
negative thoughts and mood
increased arousal and activity
symptoms can last longer than 1 month
Acute Stress Disorder (ASD)
symptoms within 4 weeks of traumatic event, last less than 1 month
Factors in “What is traumatic?”
Kind of trauma (disaster, accident, injury)
severity of trauma
duration and proximity of trauma
What basic assumptions does PTSD challenge?
1) belief in a fair and just world
2) belief that it’s possible to trust others/safety
3) belief that it’s possible to be effective in this world
4) the sense that life has purpose + meaning
Adjustment Disorder
emotional reactions to milder life circumstances: new job, married, new home, retiring, breakup
PTSD - Historical Perspective
US Civil War: Palpitations, exhaustion, “irritable heart”
Traumatic neurosis: 1880s - central nervous system railway spine
Hysterical neurosis: Variety
War neurasthenia: weak nervous system - can’t handle combat
Shell shock: artillery and exposure to shells (Abram Kardier wrote on shell shock