Phobias

Question 1

stress

Answer 1

a state of psychological and physiological arousal produced by internal or external stressors that are perceived by individuals as a challenge or exceeding their ability to cope

Question 2

anxiety

Answer 2

a state of physiological arousal associated with feelings of apprehension, worry or uneasiness that something is wrong or unpleasant is about to happen

Question 3

anxiety disorder

Answer 3

a group of mental disorders that are characterised by chronic feelings of anxiety, distress, nervousness and apprehension about the future with a negative effect

Question 4

(specific) phobia

Answer 4

characterised by an excessive or unreasonable fear of a particular object or situation

• out of proportion
• produce a desire to avoid the stimulus
• thoughts alone can lead to a phobic reaction
• diagnosable

Question 5

specific phobias

Answer 5

• animals
• situational
• natural environments
• blood/injection/injury
• other phobias

Question 6

panic attacks

Answer 6

a period of sudden onset of intense fear or terror, often associated with feelings of impending doom

Question 7

anticipatory anxiety

Answer 7

a gradual rise in anxiety level as a person anticipates being exposed to a phobic stimulus in the future

Question 8

GABA dysfunction

Answer 8

• precipitating
• without GABA, activation of the postsynaptic neuron might get out of control
• might cause anxiety and FFF responses

Question 9

the role of the stress response

Answer 9

• precipitating
• the perceived stressor, whether dangerous or not, elicits the FFF response
• the response can become associated with the phobic stimulus through CC

Question 10

long-term potentiation (bio factors of phobia)

Answer 10

-plays an important role in learning and memory of fear by strengthening synaptic connections in the neural pathway formed during the learning process

Question 11

classical conditioning (psych factors of phobia)

Answer 11

precipitating

Question 12

operant conditioning (psych factors of phobia)

Answer 12

• perpetuating
• after acquisition through CC, a person may avoid the phobic stimulus
• leads to negative reinforcement (–)

Question 13

cognitive models (perpetuating)

Answer 13

emphasise how and why people with a phobia have an unreasonable and excessive fear of a phobic stimulus

Question 14

cognitive bias

Answer 14

a tendency to think in a way that involves errors of judgement and faulty decision making

Question 15

memory bias

Answer 15

the distorting of influences of present knowledge, beliefs and feelings as the recollection of previous experiences

Question 16

selective memory

Answer 16

the tendency for memory recall of a phobic stimulus to be better for negative or threatening information than positive or neutral information

Question 17

catastrophic thinking

Answer 17

overestimating, exaggerating or magnifying an object or situation and predicting the worst possible outcomes

Question 18

specific environmental triggers

Answer 18

• precipitating

- specific objects or situations in the environment that triggers an extreme response

Question 19

stigma around seeking treatment

Answer 19

• perpetuating

- sufferers of phobias are likely to suffer from stigma and avoid telling other of their fear

Question 20

benzodiazepines

Answer 20

a group of drugs that work on the central nervous system, acting on GABA receptors in the brain to increase its inhibitory effects and make post-synaptic neurons resistant to excitation
-sedatives, mild tranquilisers and depressants

Question 21

relaxation techniques

Answer 21

-over-breathing can lead to a lack of carbon dioxide, leading to dizziness, blurred vision, pins and needles

Question 22

breathing techniques

Answer 22

an anxiety-management technique that involves teaching correct breathing habits

• promotes relaxation
• inhibits FFF
• restores carbon dioxide levels in the blood

Question 23

exercise

Answer 23

• provides a sense of distraction from fear
• uses up stress hormones
• increases tolerance to some fear and anxiety symptoms

Question 24

Cognitive behaviour therapy (phobia)

Answer 24

aims to change faulty thoughts and behaviours that perpetuate the phobia

Question 25

cognitive (phobia, CBT)

Answer 25

identify fear and anxiety-related thoughts to recognise unhelpful ways of thinking

Question 26

behavioural (phobia, CBT)

Answer 26

recognise unhelpful behaviours and promote positive behaviour therapies

Question 27

systematic desensitisation

Answer 27

a kind of behaviour therapy that aims to replace an anxiety response with a relaxation response when an individual encounters a phobic stimulus -applies classical conditioning in unlearning the connection between anxiety and phobic stimulus

Question 28

systematic desensitisation process

Answer 28

- learning a relaxation technique - developing a fear hierarchy - systematic, graduated pairings

Question 29

psychoeducation

Answer 29

the provision and explanation of information about a mental disorder to increase knowledge and understanding of their disorder and its treatment

Question 30

psychoeducation process

Answer 30

- challenging unrealistic thoughts | - not encouraging avoidance behaviours

Question 31

resilience qualities

Answer 31

- the ability to achieve positive results in adverse situations - the ability to function competently in situations of acute or chronic stress - the ability to recover from trauma

Question 32

adequate diet

Answer 32

balanced diet reduces the risk of physical health problems as well as improve sleep, energy levels, mood and mental health

Question 33

cognitive behavioural strategies (maintenance of mental health)

Answer 33

- drawn from CBT | - cognitive reconstructing

Question 34

cognitive reconstructing

Answer 34

aims at replacing dysfunctional thoughts with more functional ones

Question 35

social support

Answer 35

the assistance, care or empathy provided by other people

Question 36

appraisal support

Answer 36

help from another person that improves someone's understanding of their mental health problem

Question 37

tangible assistance

Answer 37

the provision of material support such as services, financial assistance or goods

Question 38

informational support

Answer 38

provided by other people regarding how to cope with a mental health problem, symptoms or contributing factors

Question 39

emotional support

Answer 39

through expressions of empathy and by reassuring that a person is cared for

Question 40

transtheoretical model of behaviour change

Answer 40

a stage-based model that describes how people intentionally change their behaviour to achieve a health-related goal

Question 41

pre-contemplation stage

Answer 41

- people in this stage are not ready to change and have no intention of taking any initiative - lack of motivation

Question 42

contemplation stage

Answer 42

- people in this stage are thinking about the possibility of changing their behaviour but do not initiate change - may consider beginning to make change

Question 43

preparation stage

Answer 43

- generally involves mental preparation for the desired behaviour change by formulating an action plan for change - high motivation - commitment for change

Question 44

action stage

Answer 44

- overt attempts to change or abandon the problem behaviour - relapse is common (spiral model) - progression is likely to occur when a person hits a high level of evidence in improvement

Question 45

relapse

Answer 45

a full-blown return to the original problem behaviour

Question 46

maintenance stage

Answer 46

- reached when people have successfully sustained the changed their behaviour over a relatively long period of time without relapse - termination is reached when it is believed that the behaviour will never return

Question 47

strengths of the transtheoretical model of behaviour change

Answer 47

- relevant for simple and complex behaviour - emphasises that behaviour change is a process that happens over time - takes account for individual differences

Question 48

limitations of the transtheoretical model of behaviour change

Answer 48

- has not been through research on the variables which influence stage transitions - lack of research to justify or validate the relevance of time frames in stages - role of individual's decision making may be overstated