PSYC 111 Chapter Notes - Chapter 15.2: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Body Dysmorphic Disorder
15.2: Anxiety- Related Disorders: The Many Faces of Worry and Fear
588-604
• Somatic symptom disorder- condition marked by excessive anxiety about physical
symptoms with a medical or purely psychological origin
• Illness anxiety disorder- When people feel intense preoccupation with the possibility of
having a serious undiagnosed illness.
• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)- continual feelings of worry, anxiety, physical
tension, and irritability across many areas of life functioning
• Panic attack- brief, intense episode of extreme fear characterized by sweating, dizziness,
light-headedness, racing heartbeat, and feelings of impending death or going crazy.
o Panic attacks occur in every anxiety disorder, as well as mood and eating
disorders
• Panic disorder- repeated and unexpected panic attacks, along with either persistent
concerns about future attacks or a change in personal behavior in an attempt to avoid
them.
• Phobia- intense fear of an object or a situation that’s actually greatly out of proportion
to its actual threat. Most common of all anxiety disorders.
• Agoraphobia- fear of being in a place or situation from which an escape is difficult of
embarrassing or in which help is invaluable in the event of a panic attack. Most people
with a panic disorder develop at least some of its symptoms.
o One woman with agoraphobia didn’t leave the house once in 25 years
• Specific phobia and social anxiety disorder- phobias of objects such as animals, insects,
thunderstorms, elevators, and darkness.
• Social anxiety disorder- intense fear of negative evaluation in social situations
• Most people with phobias report no direct traumatic experience with the object of their
fear
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)- marked emotional disturbance after experiencing
or witnessing a severely stressful event. (rape, war, natural disaster.)
o Flashbacks
o Avoid thoughts, feelings, communication that reminds them of the event
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)- condition marked by repeated and lengthy (at
least one hour per day) immersion in obsessions, compulsions, or both.
• Obsession- persistent idea, thought, or urge that is unwanted, causing marked distress
• Compulsion-repetitive behavior or mental act performed to reduce or prevent stress
o Repeatedly checking door locks, windows, electronic controls, and ovens
o Performing tasks in set ways, like putting on one’s shoes in a fixed pattern
o Arranging and rearranging objects repeatedly
o Washing and cleaning repeatedly and unnecessarily
o Counting the number of dots on a wall or touching or tapping objects
• Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)- when people become preoccupied with imagined or
slight defects in their appearance, such as lips perceived as being “too thin.”
o Celebrities may be particularly prone to BDD because our culture places a high
premium on physical attractiveness.
