Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety Disorders Characterized by generalized apprehension, worry, and a variety of physical symptoms Generalized Anxiety Disorder Phobias Panic Disorder Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) 6.8 million, 3.1% Women are twice as likely to be affected than men. Very likely to be comorbid with other disorders.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Experiencing a continuous, generalized feeling of anxiety (reaction to vague or imagined dangers) – 6 months or more Anxiety in many different areas of life Accompanied by physical symptoms… muscle tension, trouble sleeping, irritability, lack of concentration, headaches, fatigue, inability to relax, twitching/trembling, etc.

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) 15 million, 6.8% It is equally common among men and women.

Specific Phobias 19 million, 8.7% Women are twice as likely to be affected as men.

Phobias Specific Phobia Social Phobia Agoraphobia Severe anxiety is focused on a specific object or situation Examples: Enclosed spaces Snakes Spiders Heights Flying Social Phobia Fear of embarrassing oneself in a social situation Speaking, eating, using bathroom in public Agoraphobia “fear of the marketplace” Associated with panic disorder

PHOBIAS Common and uncommon phobias 100 90 80 Percentage 70 of people Afraid of it Bothers slightly Not at all afraid of it Being closed in, in a small place alone In a house at night Percentage of people surveyed 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Snakes in high, exposed places Mice Flying on an airplane Spiders and insects Thunder lightning Dogs Driving a car In a crowd Cats

PHOBIAS Treatment Exposure Treatment Flooding Counter-Conditioning Systematic Desensitization (1) training the patient to physically relax (2) establishing an anxiety hierarchy of the stimuli (3) counter-conditioning relaxation responding to ea. feared stimulus Biofeedback Modeling

Panic Disorder 6 million, 2.7% Women are twice as likely to be affected than men. Very high comorbidity rate with major depression.

Frequent Panic Attacks or fear of them: Panic Disorder Frequent Panic Attacks or fear of them: Sudden and unexplainable attacks of intense fear Come on with/without warning Not associated with a stimulus Individual fears that he/she is about to die Physical symptoms…choking, tightness in chest, difficulty breathing, nausea, dizziness Commonly occurs with Agoraphobia

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) 2.2 million, 1.0% Equally common among men and women. One-third of affected adults first experienced symptoms in childhood. OCD costs the U.S. 6% of the total $148 billion mental health bill.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder OBSESSIONS Intrusive and uncontrollable thoughts Contamination, safety, etc. COMPULSIONS Ritualistic and purposeless actions Cleaning, washing, checking, etc. O and C are usually related… compulsions help to decrease the anxiety caused by the obsession This pattern begins to interfere with functioning

OCD Common Obsessions and Compulsions Among People With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Thought or Behavior Percentage* Reporting Symptom Obsessions (repetitive thoughts) Concern with dirt, germs, or toxins 40 Something terrible happening (fire, death, illness) 24 Symmetry order, or exactness 17 Excessive hand washing, bathing, tooth brushing, 85 or grooming Compulsions (repetitive behaviors) Repeating rituals (in/out of a door, 51 up/down from a chair) Checking doors, locks, appliances, 46 car brake, homework

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 7.7 million, 3.5% Women are more likely to be affected than men. Rape is the most likely trigger of PTSD, 65% of men and 45.9% of women who are raped will develop the disorder. Childhood sexual abuse is a strong predictor of lifetime likelihood for developing PTSD.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Common among veterans of combat, survivors of accidents and disasters, victims of crimes, etc. Feel long-lasting after-effects of trauma Flashbacks, nightmares, insomnia, mood symptoms, stimulus generalization Symptoms last more than 1 month… up to years later