Thinking About Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior

1. Thinking About Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior Charles T. Blair-Broeker Randal M. Ernst

2. Anxiety and Mood Disorders Module 28

3. Psychology Student’s Disease • Students think that they have some of these disorders • We all exhibit some symptoms some of the time • Remember MUDA – need to have all 4 characteristics to qualify as a psych disorder • If you still think you or someone you know may have a disorder, seek help

4. Anxiety Disorders Module 28: Anxiety and Mood Disorders

5. Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders • Anxiety: A vague feeling of apprehension or nervousness • Anxiety disorder: where anxiety begins to take control and dominate a person’s life

6. Types of Anxiety Disorders • Anxiety disorders are divided into: • Generalized Anxiety Disorder • Panic Disorder • Phobia • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

8. Anxiety Disorders:Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder Module 28: Anxiety and Mood Disorders

9. Generalized Anxiety Disorder • An anxiety disorder characterized by disruptive levels of persistent, unexplained feelings of apprehension and tenseness

10. Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety • Must have at least three of the following: • Restlessness • Feeling on edge • Difficulty concentrating/mind going blank • Irritability • Muscle Tension • Sleep Disturbance

11. Panic Disorder • An anxiety disorder characterized by sudden bouts of intense, unexplained panic • Panic attacks may happen several times a day

12. Anxiety Disorders:Phobia Module 28: Anxiety and Mood Disorders

13. Phobia • An anxiety disorder characterized by disruptive, irrational fears of specific objects or situations • The fear must be both irrational and disruptive.

15. Phobias

16. Social Phobia • Phobias which produce fear in social situations • Fear of speaking in public

17. Agoraphobia • Fear of situations the person views as difficult to escape from • Fear of leaving one’s home or room in the house

18. Anxiety Disorders:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Module 28: Anxiety and Mood Disorders

19. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder • An anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted, repetitive thoughts and actions • Obsessions – repetitive thoughts • Compulsions – repetitive actions • The obsessions/compulsions begin to take control of the person’s life.

21. Anxiety Disorders:Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Module 28: Anxiety and Mood Disorders

22. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder • An anxiety disorder characterized by reliving a severely upsetting event in unwanted recurring memories (flashbacks) and dreams

23. Anxiety Disorders:Causes of Anxiety Disorders Module 28: Anxiety and Mood Disorders

24. Biological Factors • Hereditary factors may result in a predisposition (likelihood)for developing anxiety disorders (runs in genes of a family) nature or nuture? • Brain functions appear to be different in an anxiety disorder patient • Evolutionary factors may lead to anxiety disorders (esp. phobias)

25. Learning Factors • Through classical conditioning people may associate fear with an object.(Who learned to fear a white rat?) • Observational learning--watching another experiencing fearfulness--may result in developing fear. • Fear of an object may be reinforced when by avoiding the feared objects.(avoiding flying, reduces your anxiety about flying, making you less likely to fly, so you don’t to reduce anxiety)

26. Mood Disorders Module 28: Anxiety and Mood Disorders

27. Mood Disorders • Classification of disorders where there is a disturbance in the person’s emotions • Major types of mood disorders include: • Major Depressive Disorder • Bipolar Disorder • Dysthymic Disorder

29. Mania • Period of abnormally high emotion and activity

30. Depression • Extended period of feeling sad, listless, and drained of energy

31. Mood Disorders:Major Depressive Disorder Module 28: Anxiety and Mood Disorders

32. Major Depressive Disorder • A mood disorder in which a person, for no apparent reason, experiences at least two weeks of depressed moods, diminished interest in activities, and other symptoms, such as feelings of worthlessness

33. Dysthymic Disorder • Similar to major depressive disorder but less severe and shorter in duration

34. Mood Disorders:Bipolar Disorder Module 28: Anxiety and Mood Disorders

35. Bipolar Disorder • A mood disorder in which the person alternates between the hopelessness of depression and the overexcited and unreasonably optimistic state of mania • Used to be called manic-depressive disorder • Many times will follow a cyclical pattern

36. Mood Disorders:Causes of Mood Disorders Module 28: Anxiety and Mood Disorders

37. Biological Factors • Mood disorders have a hereditary nature to them (ex. Identical twins: if one is bipolar, 70% chance other will be too) • Depressed individuals tend to have depressed brains. • PET scans indicate less activity during periods of depression.

38. Social-Cognitive Factors • Depression may be a variation of learned helplessness.(nothing you do can improve your bad situation: “stuck” – dead-end job; bad marriage) • Depressed individuals attribute events using the following characteristics: • Stable: the bad situation will last for a long time • Internal: they are at fault • Global: all of life is bad (work, school, family – nothing to look forward to)

40. The End