PSYO 1012 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Personality Disorder, Paranoid Personality Disorder, Dependent Personality Disorder
4 Jul 2018
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Lesson 12: Psychological Disorders 2
Chapter 15
Describe the different classes of anxiety disorders and list factors that may have
contributed to their development
Generalized anxiety disorder: a common anxiety disorder, characterized by a pervasive,
excessive, and hard-to-control state of worry or anxiety that lasts at least six months.
-People may experience trouble with sleep, body restlessness or agitation, difficulty
concentrating, or muscle tension.
-Adults must exhibit at least of the preceding symptoms to be diagnosed with GAD.
-Females are twice as likely as males to have GAD.
-3-9% of north America have GAD.
Panic attacks: involve sudden changes in body and mind, characterized by an overwhelming
sense of impending doom, heart palpitations, trembling, sweating, shortness of breath, dizziness,
intense dread, nausea, and a fear of dying.
-Attacks are associated with perceptions of threat and can occur due to fear of danger,
inability to escape, fear of embarrassment, or fear of a specific category of objects.
-Attacks usually last approximately 10 minutes but can come and go over a course of an
hour or so.
Panic Disorder: defined by frequent panic attacks and pervasive and persistent fear, worry,
embarrassment, and concern about having more attacks.
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-The preoccupation with having another attack creates an anxious mood, which then
increases the likelihood of more worrisome thoughts and another attack.
-Creates a positive feedback cycle.
-A panic attack must be followed by at least a month of persistent worry over future
attacks, along with the development of potentially maladaptive behaviours to avoid
attacks.
-Panic disorder is more common in women than men.
Phobia: a persistent and unreasonable fear of a particular object, situation, or activity.
Social anxiety disorder: marked by a pronounced fear of humiliation or embarrassment in the
presence of others, or sever self-consciousness about one’s appearance, behaviour, or both.
Agoraphobia: intense anxiety, fear, and panic about being in places from which escape might be
difficult or in which help might not be available should a panic attack occurs, such as in open
spaces, a public market, in line somewhere, outside of the home alone, or in enclosed spaces.
Specific phobias: marked by an intense and immediate fear, even panic, when confronted with
very particular situations or objects; even thinking about those situations or objects may set off
the fear reaction.
-Anxiety disorders results from the interplay between biological and environmental
factors.
-Genetic heritage is a biological factor that makes people vulnerable to anxiety disorders.
oEstimates range from 30-50% for GAD, panic disorder, and agoraphobia.
-Different genes may be involved in anxiety disorders by influencing the likelihood of
developing a particular disorder.
-These genes with broader effects may be linked to the personality trait of neuroticism.
-Degree of extraversion may play a role in some anxiety disorders.
-Genes affect the regulation of certain neurotransmitters implicated in anxiety.
oDeficient in receptors for GABA an inhibitory neurotransmitter.
oLead to excessive activation in certain brain regions, especially the limbic
structures associated with fear.
-Biological preparedness theory: people are instinctively predisposed towards some
fears.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Describe the different classes of anxiety disorders and list factors that may have contributed to their development. Generalized anxiety disorder: a common anxiety disorder, characterized by a pervasive, excessive, and hard-to-control state of worry or anxiety that lasts at least six months. People may experience trouble with sleep, body restlessness or agitation, difficulty concentrating, or muscle tension. Adults must exhibit at least of the preceding symptoms to be diagnosed with gad. Females are twice as likely as males to have gad. Panic attacks: involve sudden changes in body and mind, characterized by an overwhelming sense of impending doom, heart palpitations, trembling, sweating, shortness of breath, dizziness, intense dread, nausea, and a fear of dying. Attacks are associated with perceptions of threat and can occur due to fear of danger, inability to escape, fear of embarrassment, or fear of a specific category of objects.
