anxiety
Feelings of apprehension, tension, and worry. Serves as our adaptive function (our physical and mental alarm system)
pathological anxiety
provoked by exaggerated or nonexistent threats; response is disproportional; uncontrollable (can't shut off alarm reaction), disruptive (interferes with relationships and daily life).
phobic disorder
intense, irrational fear triggered by a specific object or situation.
specific phobia
fear of a specific object or situation and go out of their way to avoid it even through it's irrational.
coulrophobia
fear of clowns (VIDEO)
Four phobias
Fear of particular situations (1), fear of features of natural environment (2), fear of injury of blood (3), fear of animals and insects (4)
social anxiety disorder or social phobia
extreme and irrational fear of being embarrassed, judged, or scrutinized by others in social situations. includes fear of crowds, public speaking, speaking in class, meeting new people.
generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
global, persistent, excessive, and chronic apprehension. not worrying about one specific thing; "free floating", hyper-vigilance (constantly on alert for problems). physical symptoms: distractability, fatigue, sleep disturb., headaches, psychomotor agitat
panic disorder
involves sudden onset of rapid escalating attack of terror. panic attacks (sweating, trembling, increased heart rate, dizziness, lightheadedness) source not really known; sometimes stress.
agoraphobia
fear of not being able to escape or get help in case of a panic attack. results in a pervasive avoidance of situations outside of the home or in a crowd.
obsessive-compulsive disorder
recurrent obsessions (thoughts) or compulsions (actions) that are severe enough to be time-consuming or cause distress or impairment.
obsessions
persistent repeated, intrusive, uncontrollable thoughts or mental images. cause great anxiety and distress. little or no basis in reality.
compulsions
unwanted repetitive actions performed to alleviate obsessions. may be overt physical behavior or covert mental behavior.
explaining anxiety disorder
cognitive (anxious ppl tend to perceive ambiguous situations as threatening; overestimating danger of environment.), situational, biological.
mood disorders
serious, persistent disturbance in one's emotion. causes psychological discomfort, impairs normal functioning, or both. 2 categories: depressive and bipolar disorders.
major depression
characterized by depressed or irritable mood, less of interest in pleasurable activities (anhedonia), sense of hopelessness, worthlessness, guilt, social withdrawal. changes in appetite and sleep. most common mental disorder.
dangers of untreated mental disorders
result in ineffective coping mechanisms such as self-injurious behavior, drinking, drug use. even suicide.
dysthymic disorder
chronic and persistent low-grade depression nearly every day for more than two years. less intense symptoms of depression; chronic low energy, low self-esteem, difficulty concentrating.
bipolar disorder
oscillating between mania and depression; extreme mood swings.
mania
elevated mood (euphoria), high energy and racing thoughts, frenzied goal-directed behavior and multiple activities, rapid speech, impaired functioning and poor judgment, invincibility, decreased need for sleep.
explaining mood disorders
genetic component, deficiency of serotonin and norepineprine.brain differences, biological rhythms, negative life events, lack of interpersonal support, chronic stress, negative self-thought, cognitive distortions
learned helplessness
when people feel unable to control the events around them they become passive and unresponsive. saligman experiment.
eating disorders
serious and maladaptive disturbance in eating behavior. two main diagnosis: anorexia and bulimia nervosa.
anorexia nervosa
characterized by restriction of food intake. weight is below 85% of normal weight. high preoccupation with thoughts about food.
bulimia nervosa
characterized by binge-purge episodes. strong feelings of negative body image.
binge
eating a very large amount of food with some sense of lack of control around the episode.
purge
eliminating the food through self-induced vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, enemas or excessive exercise.