Chapter Five: Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Related Disorders

state of immediate alarm

vague sense of being in danger

when people have discomfort from fear and anxiety is too severe, too frequent, lasts too long, or is triggered too easily

experience general and persistent feelings of worry and anxiety

persistent and irrational fear of a particular object, activity, or situation

fear traveling to public places

intense fear of social or performance situations in which they may become embarrassed

recurrent attacks of terror

gad is most likely to develop in people who are faced with ongoing societal conditions that are dangerous

early developmental experiences may produce an unusually high level of anxiety in certain children

free association and therapists interpretations of transference, resistance, and dreams

help clients with gad become less afraid of their id impulses and more successful in controlling them

help anxious patients identify and settle the childhood relationship problems that continue to produce anxiety in adulthood

gad arises when people stop looking at themselves honestly and acceptingly

many people are guided by irrational beliefs that lead them to act and react in inappropriate ways (basic irrational assumptions)

ppl with gad constantly hold silent assumptions that imply theyre in imminent danger

ppl with gad implicitly hold positive and negative beliefs about worrying

believe worrying is a useful way of appraising and coping with threats in life, so they worry constantly

believe their repeated worrying is harmful and uncontrollable, so they meta-worry

certain individuals cant tolerate the knowledge that negative events can occur, even if the possibility is small

therapists point out the irrational assumptions held by clients, and suggest more appropriate assumptions

therapists guide clients to recognize and change their dysfunctional worrying

drugs that calm people at lower doses and help them to fall asleep at higher doses

persistent and unreasonable fears

fear of being in public places or situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable

a small number of ppl with agoraphobia go out together for exposure sessions

clinicians give clients and their families detailed instructions for carrying out exposure treatments themselves

people are exposed to the objects / situations they dread

an exposure treatment that uses relaxation training and a fear hierarchy to help clients with phobias react calmly to their fear

teaching clients how to bring on a state of deep muscle relaxation at will

a list of feared objects / situations

actual confrontation

confrontation may be imagined

clients are exposed repeatedly and intensively to a feared object and made to see that it is actually harmless

the therapist confronts the feared object / situation while the fearful person observes

a severe and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur

expose themselves to their dreaded social situations, re-examine and challenge maladaptive beliefs

modeling, role-playing, rehearsing, feedback, reinforcement

members try out and rehearse new social behaviors with other group members

an anxiety disorder marked by recurrent and unpredictable panic attacks

periodic, short bouts of panic that occur suddenly, reach a peak within minutes, and gradually pass

a small area of the brain that seems to be active in the regulation of emotions

researchers produce hyperventilation / other biological sensations by administering drugs / instructing clinical research participants to breathe, exercise, or think in certain ways

a tendency to focus on ones bodily sensations, assess them illogically, and interpret them as harmful

a disorder in which a person has recurrent obsessions, compulsions, or both

persistent thoughts, ideas, impulses, or images that seem to invade a persons consciousness

repetitive and rigid behaviors / mental acts that people feel they must perform in order to prevent or reduce anxiety

a persons attempt to eliminate unwanted thoughts by thinking or behaving in ways that put matters right internally, making up for the unacceptable thoughts

clients are repeatedly exposed to objects or situations that produce anxiety and obsessive fears but they are told to resist performing their compulsive behaviors

people feel compelled to save items and become very distressed if they try to discard them

hair pulling disorder

skin picking disorder

people become preoccupied with the belief that they have a particular defect / flaw in their physical appearance