Download Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety Disorders
Fear
of real or imagined danger
Out of proportion to the
situation
19 million Americans (c. 2001)
Personal inadequacy,
avoidance, mood swings
Types
 General
anxiety disorder
– Continual, vague apprehension
– Trap themselves in a cycle of worry
 Phobic disorder
– Fear focused on an object, situation or
person
– Specific or social (speaking, eating…)
– Hemophobia, acrophobia,
logizmechanophobia
 Panic
disorder
– Sudden, helpless, terror of inevitable
doom
– Attacks range from minutes to over an
hour
 OCD
– Anxious thoughts + repeated coping
behaviors
– Problem when it interferes with what you
need to do
– Possible genetic basis
 Post
Traumatic Stress disorder
– Severe, long lasting effects of an
event
– Military vets, war victims, natural
disaster victims, violent crime
victims
– Flashbacks, nightmares
– Insomnia, guilt
Somatoform &
Dissociative
Disorders
Somatoform
Physical
symptoms brought on
due to psychological distress
No apparent physical cause
“Hysteria”
 Conversion
disorders (rare)
– Emotional difficulty creating loss of
physiological functions
– Loss of movement or speech
 Hypochondriasis
– Imaginary ailments
– Looks for signs, misinterprets
– Repressed emotions expressed with
physical symptoms
Dissociative (rare)
 Normal
= lost in a daydream
 Dis. Amnesia
– Memory loss w/o biological explanation
– Attempt to escape or block out traumatic
events
 Dis. Fugue
– Amnesia + flight to a diff. environment
– last from days to decades
– New identity possibly est.
– Escape from conflict
 Dis.
Identity Disorder
– (multiple personality disorder)
– Eve (22), Sybil (16)
– 2 or more separate and distinct
identities
– May or may not be aware of each
other
– Common cause is severe abuse at
a young age
Schizophrenia &
Mood Disorders
Schizophrenia
 Affects
the working memory
 Random, unrelated thoughts & sentences
 Delusions, hallucinations
 Incoherence
 Disturbances of affect (inappropriate
emotions for the situation)
 Deterioration in movement, functioning,
& diverted attention
Types
 Paranoid
 Disorganized
(grandeur or
persecution)
 Catatonic
 Remission
 Undifferentiated
Causes
 Genetics
(psych’s  Poor family
unable to
pinpoint details)
 Chemical
imbalances
relationships
and interactions
Mood disorders (intense &
long lasting)
 Major
depressive disorder
– Markers = issues eating, sleeping, thinking,
concentrating, decision making, lacking
energy, thoughts of suicide, feelings of
guilt or worthlessness
– Need 4 of the above
– Reduced ability to function & interact
 Bipolar
disorder
– Excessively & inappropriately happy
or unhappy
– Manic
 High energy, loud, optimistic,
irresponsible
– Depressive
 Lethargy, despair and
unresponsiveness
Seasonal Affective
 Become
depressive in response to
seasonal changes
 Sleep & eat excessively
 Linked to increase in melotonin
Suicide & depression
 Not
always linked
 1 suicide every 20 minutes
 Attempts higher in women
 Success higher in men
 More common in elderly
 Many times cause is unknown
Personality
Disorders

Antisocial
– Disregard of others
w/o remorse
 Dependent
– Submissive, needy
 Histrionic
– Excessive
emotions, attention
seeking

Obsessive Compulsive
– “perfectionist”,
control, orderly
 Paranoid
– Distrusts, suspicious
of others
 Schizotypal
– Intense discomfort
in close
relationships,
eccentric behavior
Drug Addiction

Psychological dependence
– Restless, irritable, uneasy
– M.j., alcohol, nicotine, cocaine,
amphetamines
– Leads to physiological dependence
– Tolerance increases usage
– Withdrawal: mind & body revolt against
lack of drug
Alcoholism
 Depressant
 50%
of h.s. seniors in the last month
 40% of auto deaths, murders
 Reduces inhibitions
 Systematically shuts down psych & phsyio
functions
 Factors: size, past experience, speed,
family history