Topic 9 - Anxiety

Question 1

_______ appears in our lives in a number of ways, some of which are common to most everyone and some of which are clearly manifestations of mental illness.

Answer 1

Anxiety

Question 2

A type of anxiety that is a common reaction to stressors. It is typically short-lived and situation limited.

Answer 2

Everyday Anxiety

Question 3

The following stressors may contribute to ________ anxiety:
- Going to the dentist
- Walking down a dark street
- Public speaking
- Test-taking
- Being in new situations
- Concern for a loved one
- Worrisome new health symptom

Answer 3

Everyday

Question 4

Everyday anxiety is part of the larger state called ____.

Answer 4

Fear

Question 5

The purpose of situational anxiety is to make the person more _____ or careful. It is an important survival mechanism and can trigger the “_____ or ______” sympathetic nervous system response.

Answer 5

Alert
“Fight or Flight”

Question 6

_________ anxiety becomes characterized by apprehension, nervousness and worry, as well as by feelings of discomfort that can be both physical and _________.

Answer 6

Prolonged
Emotional

Question 7

Anxiety can also derive from ________, especially when prolonged, where the person feels stretched beyond capacity for too long.

Answer 7

Overload

Question 8

Short-term anxiety experienced in relation to a stressful circumstance, such as being in the hospital or having a high-stress exam.

Answer 8

State Anxiety

Question 9

State anxiety ranges in _________ in individuals circumstance by circumstance, and among individuals in the same circumstance.

Answer 9

Intensity

Question 10

T/F - State anxiety is not amendable to remedies like talking with a friend or going for a walk.

Answer 10

False - State anxiety is SOMETIMES amendable to remedies like talking with a friend or going for a walk.

Question 11

Most people have old associations with physical __________ remedies like getting a hug or caress from mom, which can be helpful for _____ anxiety.

Answer 11

Nurturance
State

Question 12

Having an anxiety-prone personality. Consistently more inclined to be a worrier or to express higher levels of anxiety in everyday situations.

Answer 12

Trait Anxiety

Question 13

T/F - Trait anxiety tends to intensify state anxiety and make it harder to improve.

Answer 13

True

Question 14

A validated, commonly used research instrument in the form of a questionnaire that assesses levels of both state and trait anxiety. Frequently incorporated as a measuring tool in studies.

Answer 14

State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)

Question 15

A type of stress that motivates us and enhances our performance.

Answer 15

Eustress

Question 16

A type of stress that after a certain point, stress has a negative effect and our performance drops off.

Answer 16

Distress

Question 17

Common ________ signs and symptoms of anxiety include:
- Muscle tension (e.g. neck)
- Paleness
- Sweating
- Shakiness
- Trembling
- Lightheadedness
- Headache
- Increased heart rate/palpitations
- Pupil dilation
- Stomach pain
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Numbness/tingling
- Chills/hot flashes
- Shortness of breath
- Chest constriction
- Increased blood pressure
- Dry mouth
- Choking feelings
- Frequent urination

Answer 17

Physical

Question 18

Common _______________ symptoms of anxiety include:
- Can’t think/mind goes blank
- Negative thoughts/feelings of dome/failure
- Confusion
- Indecision or hasty/poorly thought out decisions
- Limited concentration
- Irritability
- Panic
- Sense of detachment/unreality (aka. derealization)
- Apathetic
- Loss of confidence
- Struggling to cope
- Easily discouraged/tired

Answer 18

Psychoemotional

Question 19

Common ___________ symptoms of anxiety include:
- Avoidance of eye contact
- Biting fingernails
- Restlessness activities (e.g. pacing, fidgeting)
- Reliance on smoking/drinking/drugs
- Disinterest in sex
- Under- or overeating
- Clumsy/accident prone

Answer 19

Behavioural

Question 20

A type of anxiety characterized by nervousness, apprehension and self-doubt that may or may not be associated with real-life stressors.

Answer 20

Problem Anxiety

Question 21

Anxiety becomes ___________, and may be indicating or heading in the direction of _______, when the feelings of anxiety have some or all of the following characteristics:
- Very prolonged or frequently recurring
- Out of proportion
- Become disconnected from specific circumstances
- Adverse effects on day-to-day function, work, relationships and sense of well-being
- Associated with increasingly low self-esteem and feeling unable to cope
- Frequent unreasonable anger, irritability, lashing out
- Anxiety attacks, panic attacks

Answer 21

Problematic
Illness

Question 22

Physical health manifestations of _______ anxiety can become more worrisome, and these include:
- Insomnia, sleep disturbance, exhaustion
- Nightmares, flashbacks
- Hypertension
- Poor appetite, digestive upset, poor eating choices/habits, stomach/GI pain, ulcer, irritable bowel
- Chronic/recurring headache
- Chest pain, heart palpitation
- Restricted breathing, hyperventilation, fainting

Answer 22

Problem

Question 23

T/F - Prolonged anxiety lowers immune resilience and predisposes the individual towards frequent illness.

Answer 23

True

Question 24

Prolonged, problematic anxiety tends to include an increasing _____________ from its actual causes. The person feels anxious much or all of the time.

Answer 24

Disconnection

Question 25

T/F - With prolonged, problematic anxiety, it can be more or less intense at different moments with a clear reason why.

Answer 25

False - With prolonged, problematic anxiety, it can be more or less intense at different moments AND THERE IS OFTEN NO clear reason why.

Question 26

T/F - With prolonged, problematic anxiety, it can be triggered by a range of anxiety triggers and/or everyday events. What was originally involved initiating the anxiety may not be properly remembered.

Answer 26

True

Question 27

A person with prolonged, problematic anxiety will often develop a pattern of anxiously fixating on one or more aspects of life. What are the 5 most common sources?

Answer 27

1) Money 2) Relationship 3) Job/Boss 4) Health 5) Children

Question 28

The key themes in problem anxiety and anxiety illness include: - Pathological worry, ______________ - _________ of everyday people, places, objects and activities - Anxious _________, obsessive thoughts and behaviours - Controlling behaviours - Violent/suicidal ideation - _______________ behaviours

Answer 28

Hypervigilance Avoidance Fixations Self-Medication

Question 29

This limbic system centre is a communications hub between the parts of the brain that process incoming signals and the parts that interpret them. It alerts the rest of the brain that a threat is present and can trigger a fear/anxiety response.

Answer 29

Amygdala

Question 30

Via its close relationship with the hippocampus, the ________ plays a role in the storage of emotional memories and in creating associations between such memories and dysfunctional anxiety reactions.

Answer 30

Amygdala

Question 31

This brain centre encodes painful or threatening events into memories.

Answer 31

Hippocampus

Question 32

Studies have found that the ___________ can become smaller in individuals who have experienced child abuse or who have been in military combat. Such physical change is believed to be responsible for memory fragmentation and __________.

Answer 32

Hippocampus Flashbacks

Question 33

Prolonged exposure to the stress hormone ________ is known to damage the hippocampus.

Answer 33

Cortisol

Question 34

Children with higher anxiety levels are found to have ______ amygdalae than those with lower levels. They also have more extensive ___________ networks between their amygdalae and other limbic centres, and with brain areas associated with attention and response regulation.

Answer 34

Larger Association

Question 35

T/F - Neurotransmitter homeostasis is not affected in anxiety.

Answer 35

False - Neurotransmitter homeostasis IS CLEARLY affected in anxiety.

Question 36

What are the 4 neurotransmitters affected in anxiety?

Answer 36

1) Serotonin 2) Dopamine 3) GABA 4) Norepinephrine

Question 37

A key mediator of "good" mood, well-being and calm thinking.

Answer 37

Serotonin

Question 38

A key mediator of pleasure/pain and motivation/reward.

Answer 38

Dopamine

Question 39

A key mediator of relaxation and sleep.

Answer 39

GABA

Question 40

The brain's sympathetic neurotransmitter, responsible for mobilizing the brain and body in "fight or flight" action. Also involved in focus, executive function, rapid linking to memory, vigilance, energetic response and initiation of the body's sympathetic state.

Answer 40

Norepinephrine

Question 41

_________ and __________ actions may be altered/suppressed in problem anxiety. They can act as mood stabilizers and are important to central modulation.

Answer 41

Endorphin Enkephalin

Question 42

Prolonged anxiety is associated with observable neurotransmitter __________. Prolonged stress is know to alter neurotransmitter homeostasis, but also, some people undoubtedly have inherent imbalance or ______________.

Answer 42

Imbalances Predisposition

Question 43

Problem anxiety predisposes toward __________. These two are often intertwined in mood disorders, such as _______ illness. This is because many of the causative factors in the person's circumstances induce both conditions.

Answer 43

Depression Anxiety

Question 44

Anxiety is a sympathetic nervous system state involving elements such as _________ release, "fight or flight" responses, increased ____ perception and intensity, suppression of digestion and _____.

Answer 44

Adrenalin Pain Sleep

Question 45

There is difficulty moving into the homeostatic _______________ state with anxiety. When _________, the effects on physical and emotional resilience can help create a transition to depression, and often an anxiety/depression _____.

Answer 45

Parasympathetic Prolonged Cycle

Question 46

Problem anxiety causes over-utilization of specific mood-balancing neurochemicals. Since they are replenished during ___________ sleep, their volumes often become low and this leads into the neurochemistry of __________.

Answer 46

Restorative Depression