Anxiety Disorders Overview & Theories
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Questions and Answers

Which statement accurately describes the role of the amygdala in anxiety disorders?

  • It is overactive in anxiety disorders. (correct)
  • It is responsible for maintaining phobias.
  • It decreases the response to fear stimuli.
  • It regulates appetitive motives.

    • What theory explains the development and maintenance of phobias?

  • Operant Conditioning Theory
  • Cognitive Behavioral Theory
  • Mowrer's Two-Factor Theory (correct)
  • The Behavioral Inhibition System

    • What is a distinguishing feature of separation anxiety disorder?

  • Persistent fear of animals.
  • Recurrent unexpected panic attacks.
  • Inability to speak in certain situations.
  • Excessive worry about separation from attachment figures. (correct)

    • In which type of anxiety disorder is there a persistent inability to speak in certain social situations?

    <p>Selective Mutism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of panic attack is likely triggered by specific situations?

    <p>Situationally Bound Panic Attack</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What characteristic is common among individuals with social anxiety disorder?

    <p>Fear of social scrutiny or evaluation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which type of specific phobia is characterized by a fear of natural elements?

    <p>Natural Environment Type</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which system activates in response to potential danger signals and leads to anxiety?

    <p>Behavioral Inhibition System</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a notable characteristic of Unipolar Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)?

    <p>Requires five or more specific symptoms.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is a defining feature of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)?

    <p>Persistent temper outbursts disproportionate to situations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How long must symptoms be present for a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder?

    <p>For at least two weeks.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What psychological trait is associated with an increased risk of depression?

    <p>Neuroticism.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which behavior illustrates Suicidal Gesture?

    <p>Giving away possessions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the expected duration of untreated episodes of Major Depressive Disorder?

    <p>4-9 months.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is true regarding marital conflict and depression?

    <p>Might exacerbate depressive symptoms in men.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best describes Suicidal Ideation?

    <p>Discussing thoughts or desires to end one’s life.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What distinguishes a hypomanic episode from a manic episode?

    <p>Hypomanic episodes last at least 4 days without severe symptoms.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is true of a Major Depressive Episode?

    <p>It is characterized by a persistent depressed mood or loss of interest.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a characteristic feature of a Mixed Episode?

    <p>It includes symptoms of both mania and depression almost daily.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which symptom is an example of re-experiencing the event in PTSD?

    <p>Flashbacks</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which specifier indicates severe anxiety in conjunction with mood episodes?

    <p>Anxious Distress</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What characterizes delayed-onset PTSD?

    <p>Symptoms appearing 6+ months post-trauma</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the duration for Cyclothymic Disorder in adults?

    <p>At least 2 years</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which type of bipolar disorder is characterized by the presence of hypomanic and depressive episodes without full criteria for either?

    <p>Cyclothymic Disorder</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which age group is most likely to demonstrate truancy as a behavior following sexual abuse?

    <p>School Age (6-12 years)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a significant social factor that influences the risk of developing PTSD?

    <p>Duration and severity of trauma</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a common treatment for Bipolar II Disorder?

    <p>Mood stabilizers like Carbamazepine and lithium</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a defining feature of Bipolar I Disorder?

    <p>Includes at least one manic episode.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which psychological factor could increase susceptibility to PTSD?

    <p>Pre-existing anxiety or depression</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best describes the coping style that corresponds with a higher risk of PTSD?

    <p>Avoidant strategies like isolation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What genetic finding supports the idea of predisposition to PTSD?

    <p>Similar PTSD patterns observed in identical twins</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which behavior is commonly seen in adolescents who have experienced sexual abuse?

    <p>Substance abuse</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a defining characteristic of Excoriation (Skin-Picking Disorder)?

    <p>Compulsive skin-picking resulting in tissue damage</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which treatment is commonly prescribed for OCD and related disorders?

    <p>SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of symptoms are associated with Substance/Medication-Induced Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorder?

    <p>Symptoms triggered by substance use or withdrawal</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), what does the 'response prevention' component entail?

    <p>Refraining from compulsive behavior</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key symptom duration difference between Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

    <p>Symptoms persist more than one month for PTSD</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which disorder is characterized by overly familiar behavior with strangers?

    <p>Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED)</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a common trigger for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

    <p>Natural disasters</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a feature of Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)?

    <p>Inability to form healthy attachments with caregivers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Anxiety Disorders

    • Characterized by intense fear and anxiety in response to specific situations.
    • Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) involves persistent anxiety.
    • Other anxiety disorders are often triggered by distinct stimuli and involve intense fear.

    Key Theories & Brain Structures

    • Behavioral Approach System (BAS): Regulates appetitive motives (moving toward desired things).
    • Mowrer's Two-Factor Theory: Phobias are developed through classical conditioning (pairing a neutral stimulus with an aversive one) and maintained by operant conditioning (avoiding the stimulus relieves fear, reinforcing avoidance).
    • Fear Circuit in the Brain:
      • Amygdala: Overactive in anxiety disorders.
      • Medial Prefrontal Cortex: Underactive in anxiety disorders, less regulation of the amygdala.
      • Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS): Activates in response to signals of potential danger, leading to anxiety.
      • Fight/Flight System (FFS): Related to panic responses, partially regulated by serotonin levels.

    Types of Anxiety Disorders

    • Separation Anxiety Disorder: Excessive worry about separation from attachment figures. Common in children (symptoms must last 4 weeks) and adults (6 months).
    • Selective Mutism: Persistent inability to speak in specific situations, despite speaking in others.
    • Specific Phobia: Persistent, irrational fear of specific objects or situations (e.g., animals, environment, blood, situational triggers).
      • Animal Type: Fear of animals (onset around age 7).
      • Natural Environment Type: Fear of natural elements (onset around age 7).
      • Blood-Injection-Injury Type: Can cause fainting due to decreased heart rate.
      • Situational Type: Fear of specific situations (onset in early 20s).
    • Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD): Fear of social scrutiny or evaluation. Common in adolescents, often peaks at age 13.
    • Panic Disorder: Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks with physical symptoms.
      • Situationally Bound: Triggered by specific situations.
      • Unexpected: No specific trigger.
      • Situationally Predisposed: Likely but not guaranteed in specific situations.
    • Manic Episode: Elevated, expansive, or irritable mood lasting at least 1 week. Includes decreased need for sleep, flight of ideas, increased activity, distractibility, talkativeness, and grandiosity. Often lasts 3-4 months if untreated.
    • Hypomanic Episode: Less severe than mania, lasting at least 4 days. Does not cause marked impairment in daily life.
    • Major Depressive Episode: Persistent depressed mood or loss of interest/pleasure.
    • Mixed Episode: Symptoms of both mania and depression almost daily for at least 1 week.

    Specifiers for Bipolar Disorder Episodes

    • Psychotic Features: Hallucinations or delusions (mood-congruent or incongruent).
    • Anxious Distress: Severe anxiety increasing risk of suicide.
    • Mixed Features: Depressive episodes with some manic symptoms.
    • Melancholic Features: Severe depressive symptoms with lack of response to pleasure.
    • Catatonic Features: Lack of movement or waxy flexibility.
    • Atypical Features: Increased sleep and appetite during depression.
    • Peripartum Onset: Occurs around childbirth.
    • Seasonal Pattern: Depression in fall/winter and mania in spring/summer (SAD).
    • Bipolar I Disorder: Alternates between major depressive and manic episodes.
      • Rapid Cycling: At least 4 manic/depressive episodes per year.
      • Men often have earlier onset, usually with mania as the first episode.
    • Bipolar II Disorder: Alternates between depressive and hypomanic episodes.
      • Rapid Cycling: Four or more hypomanic/depressive episodes per year.
      • Common treatments: Carbamazepine and lithium (mood stabilizers).
    • Cyclothymic Disorder: Chronic fluctuating mood involving hypomanic and depressive symptoms that do not meet full criteria for hypomanic or depressive episodes.
      • Duration: At least 2 years for adults, 1 year for children/adolescents.

    Additional Notes

    • Unipolar Mood Disorders: Only depression or mania is present, usually depression.
    • Etiology: Factors like reward sensitivity and sleep disruption can trigger manic episodes.

    General Concepts of Depression

    • Depression: Sometimes called "psychological fever." It's an emotional state characterized by sadness, low self-esteem, hopelessness, and helplessness, often using Introjection as a defense mechanism (taking on others' feelings as one's own).
    • Interpersonal Relationships: Relationship issues often precede depression, especially in men. Marital conflict tends to have a strong effect on depression.

    Types of Depressive Disorders

    • Unipolar Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): Requires 5 or more of the following symptoms: depressed mood, thoughts of death, loss of pleasure (anhedonia), sleep and appetite disturbances, concentration issues, psychomotor disturbances, fatigue, or low energy.
    • Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD): Characterized by severe temper outbursts (verbal or behavioral) that are disproportionate to the situation. Outbursts occur at least 3 times a week, across at least two settings (e.g., home and school), and have been persistent for at least 12 months. Symptoms should start by age 10 and not meet criteria for mania.
    • Major Depressive Disorder (Single and Recurrent Episodes): Involves sad mood or loss of pleasure in usual activities, with additional symptoms like sleep disturbance, weight changes, fatigue, guilt, concentration issues, or recurrent suicidal thoughts. Symptoms are present nearly every day for at least two weeks. Typically untreated episodes last 4-9 months. More common in Western countries, with about 4-7 episodes expected over a lifetime.

    Psychological and Personality Factors in Depression

    • Neuroticism: A trait marked by heightened sensitivity to negative events, increasing susceptibility to depression and anxiety.

    Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors

    • Suicidal Ideation: Talking about wanting to die.
    • Suicidal Gesture: Actions indicating intent, such as giving away possessions.
    • Suicidal Plan: Developing a method to end one's life if things don't improve.
    • Suicidal Attempt: Making an actual attempt on one's life.
    • Suicidal Act or Behavior: Making plans for a violent death with means readily available.

    Durkheim's Types of Suicide

    • Egoistic Suicide: Occurs when individuals feel detached from society and lack social support.
    • Altruistic Suicide: Occurs when individuals are overly integrated into society and sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
    • Anomic Suicide: Occurs in times of social upheaval or rapid change, leading to a sense of normlessness and despair.
    • Fatalistic Suicide: Occurs when individuals feel excessively oppressed and trapped by societal rules.
    • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Characterized by intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) aimed at reducing anxiety.
    • Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD): Preoccupation with perceived flaws in physical appearance, leading to excessive grooming or avoidance of social situations.
    • Hoarding Disorder: Persistent difficulty discarding possessions, often due to sentimental value or fear of losing something useful.
    • Trichotillomania (Hair-Pulling Disorder): Recurrent pulling out of one's hair, resulting in noticeable hair loss.
    • Excoriation (Skin-Picking Disorder): Compulsive skin-picking, resulting in tissue damage.
    • Substance/Medication-Induced Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorder: Symptoms triggered by substance use or withdrawal.
    • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder due to Another Medical Condition: OCD-like symptoms caused by a medical condition.
    • Medications: SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) are commonly used.
    • Psychological Treatment: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP):
      • Developed by Meyer, this approach tailors exposure therapy to OCD-related rituals.
      • Exposure: Confronting feared objects or situations.
      • Response Prevention: Deliberately refraining from compulsive behavior.
      • Examples:
        • OCD: Touching a dirty dish (exposure) without washing hands (response prevention).
        • BDD: Engaging with people who might judge their appearance (exposure) while avoiding self-checking rituals like mirror-gazing (response prevention).
        • Hoarding Disorder: Discarding items (exposure) and resisting sorting/counting rituals (response prevention).
    • Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD): A rare, severe disorder primarily seen in children who struggle to form healthy attachments with caregivers. Exhibits socially inappropriate behavior and difficulties with forming normal, loving relationships.
    • Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED): Characterized by overly familiar behavior with strangers, lack of typical stranger anxiety, and ease in approaching unfamiliar adults.
    • Acute Stress Disorder (ASD): Triggered by exposure to traumatic events (e.g., serious injury, death, sexual violation). At least 8 symptoms lasting between 3 to 31 days after trauma, including intrusive memories, flashbacks, dissociative reactions, avoidance, hypervigilance, and altered reality perception.
    • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Similar to ASD but symptoms persist more than one month. Common triggers: natural disasters, abuse, combat/war trauma.
      • Symptoms:
        • Re-experiencing the event: Intrusive memories, flashbacks, nightmares.
        • Avoidance: Evading reminders or thoughts related to the trauma.
        • Mood and cognitive changes: Persistent negative beliefs, emotional numbing, memory gaps, self-blame.
        • Increased arousal and reactivity: Irritability, self-destructive behavior, concentration issues, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response.
      • PTSD Specifiers:
        • Acute: 1-6 months.
        • Chronic: Over 6 months.
        • Delayed-Onset: Symptoms appear 6+ months post-trauma.
        • With Dissociative Symptoms: Experiences of depersonalization (feeling detached from oneself) or derealization (feeling of unreality).

    Behaviors of Sexually Abused Individuals by Age

    • Young Children: Self-destructive behaviors (e.g., head banging).
    • School Age (6-12 years): Truancy, running away.
    • Adolescents: Substance abuse, aggression.
    • Adults: Struggle with anger control.

    Etiology of PTSD

    • Social Factors:
      • Trauma Nature: Severity, duration, and proximity of trauma increase PTSD risk.
      • Social Support: Emotional support post-trauma can aid recovery, while lack of support heightens vulnerability.
    • Psychological Factors:
      • Shattered Assumptions:
        • Personal Invulnerability: Trauma disrupts belief in personal safety.
        • World's Justice: Events seem senseless or unjust.
        • Good People's Protection: Assumption that bad things happen only to "bad" people is challenged.
      • Pre-existing Distress: Pre-existing anxiety or depression increases PTSD susceptibility.
      • Coping Styles:
        • Avoidant Strategies: Isolation or substance use is linked to higher PTSD risk.
        • Dissociation: Short-term dissociation post-trauma raises PTSD risk.
        • Meaning-Making: Searching for meaning in trauma can be beneficial, aiding emotional integration.
    • Genetics: Twin studies suggest genetic predisposition, especially in identical twins.

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    Explore the characteristics and key theories behind anxiety disorders in this quiz. Learn about the Behavioral Approach System, Mowrer's Two-Factor Theory, and the brain structures involved in the regulation of fear and anxiety. Test your knowledge on how these elements interact in anxiety disorders.

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