Medicine Notes Psychology Notes
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Anxiety
Anxiety is a survival mechanism for dealing with real dangers
Attention focuses on perceived danger
Increase in arousal (heart rate; sweating; butterflies in stomach; more blood to muscles) in preparation for flight/ fight
Strong urge to avoid
Anxiety is problematic when danger is imagined
Anxiety disorder when axiety is out of proportion to the danger, is persistent and disabling
More than 1 in 20 people suffer from anxiety disorder each year
Types of anxiety disorders
Panic disorder – repeated unexpected attacks of anxiety
Phobias (specific + social) – vertigo/ coyote ugly: marked fear and avoidance of a situation
Obsessive compulsive disorder- distressing thoughts or images with putting right acions
Post traumatic stress disorder- rape/ road traffic accident- unwanted, distressing memories of traumatic event
Generalised anxiety disorder – finance/studies/health – excessive worry about several different things
Impact of anxiety disorders
Common
Varying in disability from mild to very disabling
Around 2/3rd would warrant treatment
Higher rate in women than men
Co-morbidity with depression and substance abuse common
Runs in families but genetic vulnerability is broader than just anxiety disorders
Varies in persistence
Cost to society of untreated anxiety disorders and depression
Treatments
Medications
Benzodiazopines- for short term distress
Anti-depressants – SSRIs/ SNRIs
Psychological treatments
Cognitive behaviour therapy
8-16 sessions, once a week, hour long
Based on cognitive model of emotional disorders
Aims to change problematic beliefs and related behaviours
Strong foundation in academic sychology
Patient is very active
No treatment- wait lists, controls for natural recovery
Psychosocial placebo or active treatment
Panic disorder
Repeated attacks of anxiety with marked bodily sensations that come out of the blue
Persistent panic attacks results from catastrophic misinterpretation of benign body sensations
Sensations that are misinterpreted are mainly those involved in normal anxiety responses
Misinterpretation involves believing the sensations indicate immediate physical/ mental disaster
Sympathetic nervous system goes into overdrive to produce a fight or fight response to an unthreatening stimulus. This is thought to be due to deficiency in areas of the brain that regulate this response- low levels of serotonin in the limbic system
Symptoms: racing heart, sweating, breathlessness, muscle tremor, nausea
Cognitive symptoms: I’m going to die
Behavioural symptoms: freezing, being...
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