Anxiety Disorders by Derek Miller

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder:

2014-04-16 14:39:44 UTC

disorder in which a person has an obsession with someone or something (uncontrollable thoughts) and tries to balance the control between the thought and the right choices.
the cause of OCD is unknown, however it's predicted to be hereditary and deals with fear and anxiety in the brain.
Example: A person has a problem with dirt and despises it. That person will wash their hands consistently performing this task every day until they feel clean.

Symptoms:
-perform these exercises at least 1 hour per day
-have repeated thoughts over and over about the same idea
-never experience pleasure from their thoughts

Treatment:
-anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications
-exposure psychotherapy sessions

Panic Disorder

bailey_riecks — 2014-04-16 14:41:12 UTC

Etiology: More common in female than male. Found that it can be inhereted or run in the family, but for the most case unsure of the causes. Some people may experience panic disorders due to abnormalities in the brain, abuse of drugs or alcohol, or stressful events and major life transitions.

Description:

Sudden attacks of intesnes anxiety or fear

numerous physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, rapid breathing or
shortness of breath, blurred vision, dizziness, and racing thoughts
symptoms feel like someone experiencing a heart attack

Panic attacks can last for a short time, but can go as long as ten minutes. They can come back, reoccur, in clusters-shorter amounts of time, but more frequently.

-People who experience a panic disorder can develop agrophobia because they learn to associate certain places with anxiety or fear.

Medications:

It must help in the 2 stages of anxiety- 1.) takes away the diffictult thoughts and the symptoms, 2.) the panic the attack itself

Typical Meds:

Serotoin reuptake is an antidepressant- assist the brain in manitining enough supply of serotoin

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

jrexner — 2014-04-16 14:41:14 UTC

Description: Condition that can develop through experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event
Symptoms include flashbacks, bad dreams, avoiding places or situations that remind them of the event, and being "on edge" or easily startled

Example) A victim of abuse frequently relives the trauma he/she experienced, and has difficulty socializing with people who remind he/she of the person who inflicted the abuse.

Etiology: can develop from biological factors such as a hyperactive amygdala (resulting in the "false alarm") or the loss of volume of the hippocampus (accounting for memory deficits)
Treatment: combination of psychotherapy and medications (ex- antidepressants)

Agoraphobia

Jehswim — 2014-04-16 14:42:36 UTC

Etiology: can develop out of simple phobias, traumatic experiences, numerous panic attacks in a social setting, overwhelming physical and visual stimuli, genetic predisposition, or abuses (drug, alcohol, etc...)

Description: It is the fear of being caught in a social setting while having a panic attack. it causes people to rarely leave their home.

Example: A person is at a party and thinks they may have a panic atttack and cause a scene, therefore they have a panic attack. After that their fear grows of being caught in a social setting with these symptoms.

Treatment: A mix of medications, antidepressants and anti-anxiety medicine, and psychotherapy sessions, just talking about your feelings and problems.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

2014-04-16 14:57:25 UTC

Example of someone living with PTSD