Anxiety Disorders

1
Anxiety Disorders

• Extreme anxiety causes significant disruptions in
  the persons cognitive, behavioral or
  interpersonal functioning

2
Phobic Disorder

• Specific Phobia - Characterized by persistent,
  irrational fear and avoidance of something
  SPECIFIC!
• Can provoke panic attacks interfere with life
• Particular situations, natural environment,
  injury/blood, animals/insects
• Social phobia (Social Anxiety Disorder) fear of
  being scrutinized, judged, embarrassed by others
• Agoraphobia fear of experiencing a panic attack
  in a public place and being unable to escape or
  get help

3

• Panic Disorder
• Minutes long episodes of intense dread and terror
• May fear the fear itself and avoid situations
  where panic has struck
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Person is unexplainably and continually tense and
  apprehensive
• Person cannot identify and cannot avoid its cause

4

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Characterized by unwanted, repetitive thoughts
  (obsessions) and actions (compulsions).
• Interferes with your life
• Often develops teens-early 20s 2-3
• Why Anxiety Disorders?
• Classical Conditioning (associations)
• Operant Conditioning (rewards)
• Stimulus generalization
• Observational learning
• Genes