Anxiety Disorders About Anxiety Disorders and their Treatment

Why I Chose this Topic I chose this topic because as a foreign resident in the UAE, I get anxious from time to time.

Types of Anxiety Disorders There are basically five major types of anxiety disorders. ◦Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◦Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) ◦Panic Disorder ◦Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) ◦Social Anxiety Disorder

Generalized Anxiety Disorder Generalized Anxiety Disorder is a state of ongoing anxiety, excessive worry and tension, especially when there is little or nothing to worry about. People with generalized anxiety disorder have difficulty letting go of their worries. Their anxious thoughts go hand in hand with physiological symptoms, especially tiredness, headaches, muscle tension, spasms or aches, problems with swallowing, shaking, twitching, easy to get angry, hot and cold sweats, and hot flashes.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is characterized by reoccurring, undesirable thoughts (obsessional thinking) and/or repetitious behaviors (compulsions). Repetitive behaviors like excessive hand-washing, counting, checking, or cleaning are typically performed with the hope of warding off obsessive thoughts or making them disappear. Performing these so-called "rituals," however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them markedly increases anxiety. People with OCD may be plagued by persistent, unwelcome thoughts or images, or by the urgent need to engage in certain rituals. They may be obsessed with germs or dirt, and wash their hands over and over. They may be filled with doubt and feel the need to check things repeatedly.

Panic Disorder In panic disorder, there are unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal distress. People with panic disorder have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. During a panic attack, most likely your heart will pound and you may feel sweaty, weak, faint, or dizzy. Your hands may tingle or feel numb, and you might feel flushed or chilled. You may have nausea, chest pain or smothering sensations, a sense of unreality, or fear of impending doom or loss of control.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD is an anxiety disorder that some people get after seeing or living through a really bad experience. The most common symptoms are flashbacks (reliving the trauma over and over, including physical symptoms like a racing heart or sweating), bad dreams, and frightening thoughts. People with PTSD will try to avoid places that have bad associations.

Social Anxiety Disorder In social anxiety disorder, there is overwhelming anxiety and excessive self-consciousness involved with everyday social situations. Social phobia can be limited to only one type of situation — such as a fear of speaking in formal or informal situations, or eating or drinking in front of others — or, in its most severe form, may be so broad that a person experiences symptoms almost anytime they are around other people. People with social phobia have a persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and being embarrassed or humiliated by their own actions. Their fear may be so severe that it interferes with work or school, and other ordinary activities. Physical symptoms often accompany the intense anxiety of social phobia and include blushing, profuse sweating, trembling, nausea, and difficulty talking.

Treatment Medication ◦Anti-depressants  Tricyclics  SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)  MAO Inhibors ◦Anti-anxiety  Benzodiazapines (Klonapin and Xanax) ◦Beta-Blockers

Treatment Continued Psychotherapy ◦Cognitive-behavioral therapy.  Rational emotive therapy  Systematic Desensitization

References Wells, A. (1997). Cognitive therapy of anxiety disorders: A practice manual and conceptual guide. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Clark, L. A.; Watson, D.; Mineka, S. (1994). Temperament, personality, and the mood and anxiety disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Vol 103(1), pp doi: / X Bourne, E.J. (2005). The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, Fourth Edition. New York, NY: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Question and Answer Period

Presentation Analysis Q. Did presentation explore a specific research topic or question? A. No. This presentation was based around a very broad heading, not a specific topic. Q. Did presentation address why student selected topic. A. Technically yes, but not in a very convincing way. Clearly, the student wasn’t very interested in this topic.

Presentation Analysis Q. Did presentation include two embedded research citations? A. No. Three gratuitous references are attached at the end but the student never addresses or refers to them during the presentation. These references are worthless. Q. Did the presentation convey much thought or effort? A. No, not at all. The presentation was a very clever “copy and paste” job in which many of the words were carefully changed to avoid detection of plagiarism. In fact, it took me about 20 minutes to put this entire presentation together. Virtually no thought went into it at all.

Final Assessment and Grade Final Grade: Minimal Pass, 50 (out of 100). ◦Student failed to develop a specific research question or topic. He simply defined diagnoses without going into any depth or analysis. There was no evidence of original or creative thinking. ◦Research references were nonsensical. Student never used his references inside the body of the presentation (this alone qualifies the presentation for an automatic grade of 50). ◦Student just did something to get it over with. There was no personal or professional investment in the presentation and it showed.