Anxiety Disorders Chapter 14, Lecture 3

Anxiety Anxiety DisordersDisorders

Chapter 14, Lecture 3Chapter 14, Lecture 3“Through conditioning, the short list ofnaturally painful and frightening events canmultiply into a long list of human fears.”

- David Myers

Anxiety Disorders

Feelings of excessive apprehension and anxiety.

1. Generalized anxiety disorder2. Panic disorder3. Phobias4. Obsessive-compulsive disorder5. Post-traumatic stress disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

1. Persistent and uncontrollable tenseness and apprehension.

2. Autonomic arousal.

3. Inability to identify or avoid the cause of certain feelings.

Symptoms

Panic Disorder

Minutes-long episodes of intense dread which may include feelings of terror, chest pains, choking, or other frightening sensations.

Anxiety is a component of both disorders. It occurs more in the panic disorder,

making people avoid situations that cause it.

Symptoms

Discovery Health Channel Phobia Study

Top 10 fears (men and women combined):1. Fear of snakes2. Fear of being buried alive3. Fear of heights4. Fear of being bound or tied up5. Fear of drowning6. Fear of public speaking7. Fear of hell8. Fear of cancer9. Fear of tornados and hurricanes10. Fear of fire

12

3

45

1

2

34

5

Discovery Health Channel Phobia Study

Other results:

We fear giving a speech (36%) more than meeting new people (12%)

We fear embarrassing ourselves in a sport (44%) more than asking someone for a date (35%)We fear being stranded in the ocean (62%) more than being stranded in the desert (24%)We fear the IRS (57%) more than God (30%)

Discovery Health Channel Phobia Study

Things we fear equally:

Rats and dentists (58%)

Elevators and flying (52%)

Public speaking and being alone in the woods (40%)

While the pollsters found the level of fear in American society to be high, they also reported that few seek treatment (roughly 11 percent of those with extreme fear).

Let’s see what you fear with Handout 14-10…

When psychologist James Geer asked people the open-ended question “What do you fear?”, the fifty-one specific fears on this handout were mentioned more than once…The following 11 received the highest intensity ratings: untimely or early death, death of a loved one, speaking before a group, snakes, not being a success, being self-conscious, illness or injury to loved ones, making mistakes, looking foolish, failing a test, suffocating.

Phobias

Marked by a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that disrupts behavior.

Phobias

Marked by a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that disrupts behavior.

Two common phobias:

Agoraphobia – fear of situations where escape isdifficult (i.e., open spaces)

Social Phobia – fear of being scrutinized by others

Other Specific PhobiasAcarophobiaFear of itching or insects that cause

itching

AcrophobiaFear of heights

GephyrophobiaFear of bridges

HemophobiaFear of blood

AerophobiaFear of flying

TriskaidekaphobiaFear of the number 13

HerpetophobiaFear of reptiles

MikrophobiaFear of germs

ErgophobiaFear of work

Other Specific PhobiasDextrophobiaFear of objects on the right side of the

body

AilurophobiaFear of cats

AeronausiphobiaFear of vomiting

MurophobiaFear of mice

AmaxophobiaFear of vehicles and/or driving

NumerophobiaFear of numbers

AnthophobiaFear of flowers

NyctophobiaFear of darkness

AnthrophobiaFear of people

Other Specific PhobiasAnglophobiaFear of England or anything related to

English culture

AndrophobiaFear of men

CacophobiaFear of ugliness

ClaustrophobiaFear of closed spaces

TestophobiaFear of tests

SyngenesophobiaFear of relatives

LiticaphobiaFear of lawsuits

OctophobiaFear of the Figure 8

PteronophobiaFear of being tickled

Other Specific PhobiasArachibutyrophobiaFear of peanut butter sticking

to the roof of your mouth

CoulrophobiaFear of clowns

GamophobiaFear of marriage

OchlophobiaFear of crowds

AquaphobiaFear of water

OphidiophobiaFear of snakes

ArachnophobiaFear of spiders

OrnithophobiaFear of birds

AstraphobiaFear of lightning

Other Specific PhobiasBogyphobiaFear of the Bogeyman

AllodoxaphobiaFear of opinions

AmnesiphobiaFear of amnesia

PhonophobiaFear of speaking aloud

BrontophobiaFear of thunder

Pyrophobia Fear of fire

ThanatophobiaFear of death

Cynophobia Fear of dogs

Trichophobia Fear of hair

Allinphobia Fear of garlic

Other Specific PhobiasDementophobiaFear of insanity

GenuphobiaFear of knees

HellenologophobiaFear of Greek terms

AulophobiaFear of flutes

ChromophobiaFear of money

DidaskaleinophobiaFear of going to school

EuphobiaFear of hearing good news

Ideophobia Fear of ideas

PanophobiaFear of everything

XenophobiaFear of strangers

Other Specific PhobiasVenustraphobiaFear of beautiful women

LachanophobiaFear of vegetables

PeladophobiaFear of bald people

SamhainophobiaFear of Halloween

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

Fear of long words

KosmikophobiaFear of cosmic phenomenon

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Persistence of unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and urges to engage in senseless

rituals (compulsions) that cause distress.

A PET scan of the brain of a person with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). High

metabolic activity (red) in the frontal

lobe areas are involved with

directing attention.

Brain Imaging

Brain image of an OCD

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Four or more weeks of the following symptoms constitute post-traumatic stress

disorder (PTSD):

1. Haunting memories2. Nightmares

3. Social withdrawal4. Jumpy anxiety5. Sleep problems

Bettm

ann/ Corbis

Resilience to PTSD

Only about 10% of women and 20% of men react to traumatic situations and develop PTSD.

Holocaust survivors show remarkable resilience against traumatic situations.

All major religions of the world suggest that surviving a trauma leads to the

growth of an individual.

Explaining Anxiety Disorders

Freud suggested that we repress our painful and intolerable ideas,

feelings, and thoughts, resulting in anxiety.

The Learning Perspective

Learning theorists suggest that fear

conditioning leads to anxiety. This anxiety

then becomes associated with other objects or

events (stimulus generalization) and is

reinforced.

John Coletti/ S

tock, Boston

The Learning Perspective

Investigators believe that fear responses are inculcated through observational learning. Young monkeys develop fear

when they watch other monkeys who are afraid of snakes.

The Biological Perspective

Natural Selection has led our ancestors to learn to fear snakes, spiders, and other

animals. Therefore, fear preserves the species.

Twin studies suggest that our genes may be partly responsible for developing fears

and anxiety. Twins are more likely to share phobias.

The Biological Perspective

Generalized anxiety, panic attacks, and

even OCD are linked with brain circuits like the

anterior cingulate cortex.

Anterior Cingulate Cortexof an OCD patient.

HomeworkRead p.608-611

“Although nothing justifies terror andvictimization, those who have suffered, [Staub]reports, often develop a greater-than-usualsensitivity to suffering and empathy for otherswho suffer, an increased sense of responsibility,and an enlarged capacity for caring.”

- David Myers