Psychology 2070A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Social Anxiety Disorder, Palpitations, Body Dysmorphic Disorder
29 May 2018
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Chapter 5: Anxiety, Trauma- and Stressor-Related, and Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders
Chapter 5 (p. 122-142)
The Complexity of Anxiety Disorders
• Anxiety: a negative mood state characterized by bodily symptoms of physical tension and
apprehension about the future
o Subjective sense of unease
o Set of behaviours (looking anxious, fidgeting)
o Physiological response (elevated HR, BP, muscle tension)
Chapter 5 (p. 143-154)
Chapter 5 (p. 155-162)
Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders
• Disorder that develop after relatively stressful life events
• Attachment disorders (children) after inadequate or abusive child-rearing
• Adjustment disorders characterized by persistent anxiety and depression following stressful life
events
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• War, terrorist attacks, hurricanes, physical assault (rape), car accidents, natural
catastrophes, sudden death of loved ones
• Clinical description
o Exposure to a traumatic event during which an individual experiences or
witnesses death or threated death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual
or threatened sexual violation
o Flashback → sudden memories, accompanied with strong emotional response
and victims find themselves reliving event
▪ Leads to avoidance of things that remind them of the trauma
▪ Numbing of emotions
▪ Unconscious avoidance of emotions/stimuli
o Diagnosis cannot be made until one month after occurrence of traumatic event
o Acute stress disorder: very similar to PTSD (basically PTSD) that has symptoms
that occur within the first month
▪ 50% of people with ASD developed PTSD
▪ 52% of trauma survivors who went on to develop PTSD did not meet
criteria for ASD
• Statistics
o Once it appears PTSD tends to last (runs chronic course)
o Diagnosis predicts suicidal attempts
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Causes
o Someone personally experiences a trauma and develops a disorder
o Whether a person develops PTSD is complex issue
▪ Involves biological, psychological and social
o 67% of POW developed PTSD
o 33% who endured long-term deprivation and torture DID NOT develop PTSD
o Great vulnerability the greater chance you will develop disorder
o Family history of anxiety → generalized biological vulnerability to PTSD
o Stress Diathesis
o Generalized psychological vulnerability → early on unpredictable/uncontrollable
life events
o Unstable families → more likely to develop PTSD
• Treatment
o Facing original trauma, processing the intense emotions and develop effective
coping mechanism
o Catharsis → reliving emotional trauma to relieve emotional suffering
o Cognitive therapy → correct negative assumptions about trauma
• Adjustment Disorders
o Describe anxious or depressive reactions to lfie stress
• Attachment Disorders
o Refers to disturbed and developmentally inappropriate behaviours in children,
emerging before 5 years old, in which the child is unable or unwilling to form
normal attachment relationships with caregivers
Chapter 5 (p. 163-173)
Summary: Anxiety, Trauma- and Stressor-Related and Obsessive Disorders
The Complexity of Anxiety Disorder
• Anxiety: a future-oriented state characterized by negative affect in which person focuses on the
possibility of uncontrollable danger or misfortune
o Fear: present-oriented state characterized by strong escapist tendencies and a surge in
the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system in response to current
danger. Emotion of an immediate alarm reaction to present danger or life-threatening
emergencies.
• Panic Attack: Abrupt experience of intense fear or discomfort accompanied by a number of
physical symptoms, such as dizziness or heart palpitations. Represents the alarm response of
fear, but there is no actual danger.
o 1.) unexpected (without warning)
o 2.) expected (always occurring in a specific situation)
o Panic (Sudden, overwhelming fright or terror.) and Anxiety combine to create different
anxiety and related disorder
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Chapter 5: anxiety, trauma- and stressor-related, and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. Trauma- and stressor-related disorders: disorder that develop after relatively stressful life events, attachment disorders (children) after inadequate or abusive child-rearing, adjustment disorders characterized by persistent anxiety and depression following stressful life events. Summary: anxiety, trauma- and stressor-related and obsessive disorders. Emotion of an immediate alarm reaction to present danger or life-threatening emergencies: panic attack: abrupt experience of intense fear or discomfort accompanied by a number of physical symptoms, such as dizziness or heart palpitations. Posttraumatic stress disorder: ptsd focuses on avoiding thoughts or images of past traumatic experiences, precipitating causes of ptsd is obvious traumatic experiences, mere exposure to trau(cid:373)a is(cid:374)"t e(cid:374)ough. Adjustment disorders: development of anxiety or depression in response to stressful, but not traumatic, life events. Individuals prone to anxiety or depression generally may experience increases during stressful life events.
