-unpleasant feeling of fear and apprehension

-high physiological hyperarousal (depression is associated w/ low positive affect)

-diagnosed when subjectively experienced feelings of anxiety are clearly present

-fear and avoidance of objects/situations that do not present any real danger

-disrupting, out of proportion to the danger

-recognized by sufferer as groundless

-social/occupational impairments result

-recurrent panic attacks - sudden onset of physiological symptoms (dizziness, rapid heart rate, trembling) accompanied by terror & feelings of impending doom; sometimes accompanied by agoraphobia

-depersonalization (feeling of being outside one's body) & derealization (feeling of world not being real)

-panic attacks linked to specific situations

-cued panic attacks: when associated strongly w/ situational triggers

-situationally predisposed attacks: relationship w/ stimuli present but not strong

-uncued attacks: when occur in benign states

-persistent, uncontrollable worry, often about minor things

-has a lot in common with major depression

-frequent worries: health, hassles of daily life

-difficulty concentrating, tiring easily, restlessness, irritability, high level of muscle tension

-onset: usually in teens

-hard to successfully treat

-uncontrollable thoughts, impulses, or images (obsessions) & repetitive behaviour or mental acts (compulsions)

-slowness is the central problem: primary obsessional slowness

-many w/ OCD find their compulsions absurd, yet cannot stop them

-aftermath of a traumatic experience in which the person experiences increased arousal, avoidnce of stimuli with the event, and anxiety in recalling the event

-associated with right amygdala

3 Major Categories

-Re-experiencing the trauma

-Avoidance of stimuli associated w/ the event/numbing of responsiveness

-symptoms of increased arousal

-difficulties falling/staying asleep, difficulty concentrating, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response

-symptoms are the same as those of PTSD, but last for four weeks or less

-unwarranted fears caused by the presence/anticipation of a specific object/situation

-DSM-IV subdivisions:

-blood, injuries, injections

-situations

-animals

-natural environment

-five types of fears:

-agoraphobia

-fears of heights/water

-threat fears (blood/needles, storms/thunder)

-fears of being observed

-speaking fears

Social Phobias

(Social Anxiety Disorder)

-persistent, irrational fears linked generally to the presence of others

-generalized type: earlier age of onset, more comorbidity w/ other disorders, more severe impairment

-often occur in conjunction w/ GAD, specific phobias, panic disorder, avoidant personality disorder, mood disorders

-prevalence higher in lonely people, people w/ low quality of life