Anxiety
Disorders
[Link] phobia,
[Link] phobias,
[Link] Anxiety disorders,
[Link]-compulsive disorder.
Presented by:
ABDUL HASEEB KP
Understanding
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are a group of conditions characterized
by unrealistic, irrational fears or anxieties of
disabling intensity.
They are among the most common categories of mental
disorders, affecting approximately 25 to 29 percent of
the U.S. population at some point in their lives.
These disorders are the most common for women and the
second most common for men, imposing significant
personal, economic, and healthcare challenges
Understanding Anxiety
Disorders Anxiety Disorders
•Definition: Anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive fear or worry that is not
proportional to the current situation, and often persists even when there is no immediate
threat or stressor.
•Nature: The anxiety is often anticipatory, focused on future events or possible dangers, with
symptoms that include persistent worry, muscle tension, restlessness, and avoidance
behaviors.
•Examples: Generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific
phobias.
•Course: Symptoms are chronic, lasting
Stressfor months or longer, and typically interfere
Disorders
significantly
•Definition: with daily
Stress functioning,
disorders even in the
are psychological absence that
responses of a concrete stressor
occur after exposure to a
significant stressor, usually a traumatic or extremely stressful event.
•Nature: Symptoms are a direct reaction to an identifiable stressor or traumatic event. The
anxiety and distress typically arise after the event.
•Examples: Acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
•Course: Symptoms onset after the trauma, and may include intrusive memories,
nightmares, flashbacks, hyperarousal, and avoidance of reminders of the trauma. The
symptoms are specifically tied to the event and usually subside after the person processes
the trauma.
Understanding Anxiety
Disorders
Key Differences
Anxiety Disorders Stress Disorders
Internal, not always Triggered by a specific
Origin
identifiable stressor or trauma
Chronic, can occur in the Begins after trauma, may be
Duration
absence of stress acute or chronic
Excessive worry, tension, Intrusive memories,
Symptoms
panic attacks avoidance, hyperarousal
GAD, panic disorder, phobias,
Disorders PTSD, acute stress disorder
etc.
Types of Anxiety
Disorders
Generalize Panic Social OCD
d Anxiety Disorder Anxiety
Identified in the Considered a
Defined in the 1980s, involves distinct
Recognized in the extreme fear of disorder in
1950s, late 1970s,
characterized by social situations the 1990s,
involves recurring and being judged characterized
persistent and panic attacks and
excessive worry by others. by obsessive
intense fear of thoughts and
about various future attacks.
aspects of life. compulsive
behaviors.
Anxiety Disorders
Introduction
Historically, anxiety disorders, along with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), were
considered "neurotic disorders," a term that was largely abandoned in the DSM in 1980. In
DSM-5, OCD is no longer classified as an anxiety disorder; instead, it is listed in a
new category called "obsessive-compulsive and related disorders." This reclassification
occurred because anxiety is not always a prominent symptom or indicator of OCD severity,
anxiety appears in many disorders, and the neurobiological underpinnings of OCD, focusing
on frontal-striatal neural circuitry, appear to be different from those of other anxiety
disorders. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was also moved to a new category called
"trauma and stressor-related disorder
Three Response Systems: Both fear/panic and anxiety involve three components:
◦ Cognitive/Subjective: Thoughts and feelings (e.g., "I feel afraid/terrified," "I'm going to die" for
fear/panic; negative mood, worry for anxiety).
◦ Physiological: Bodily responses (e.g., increased heart rate, heavy breathing for fear/panic; tension,
chronic overarousal for anxiety).
◦ Behavioral: Actions (e.g., strong urge to escape/flee for fear/panic; avoidance for anxiety)
Key aspects of anxiety disorders
• Fear versus Anxiety: While often used interchangeably, fear and anxiety have distinct characteristics.
◦ Fear is an alarm reaction to immediate danger where the source of threat is obvious. It involves the activation of the
"fight-or-flight" response of the autonomic nervous system, allowing for rapid escape.
◦ Panic attacks are nearly identical to fear, but they occur in the absence of obvious external danger and are often
accompanied by a subjective sense of impending doom, including fears of dying, going crazy, or losing control.
◦ Anxiety, in contrast, is a more complex blend of unpleasant emotions and cognitions that is more oriented to the
future and more diffuse, meaning the danger is often unclear. It involves negative mood, worry about possible future
threats, self-preoccupation, and a sense of being unable to predict or control the threat
Adaptive Value: In mild to moderate degrees, anxiety can actually be adaptive, helping individuals
plan and prepare for potential threats and enhancing learning and performance. However, it becomes
maladaptive when it is chronic and severe.
• Learning and Conditioning: Many fears and anxieties are learned. Previously neutral stimuli can
become conditioned to elicit fear or anxiety if paired with traumatic or painful events, a process
known as classical conditioning. This can also occur through vicarious conditioning, by observing
others' fearful behavior
Key aspects of anxiety disorders
• DSM-5 Primary Types: The DSM-5 recognizes five primary types of
anxiety disorders:
◦ Specific phobia
◦ Social anxiety disorder (social phobia)
◦ Panic disorder
◦ Agoraphobia Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by an intense fear of being in
situations or places where escape might be difficult or help unavailable if panic-like symptoms occur.
Individuals often fear and avoid crowded places, open or enclosed spaces, public transportation, or
even leaving home alone
◦ Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
• Common Causal Factors:
◦ Biological: There are genetic contributions, often linked to the personality trait of neuroticism (a
proneness to negative mood states). Brain structures like the limbic system (including the amygdala
and hippocampus) and neurotransmitters such as GABA, norepinephrine, and serotonin are
implicated.
◦ Psychological: Factors include classical conditioning of fear/panic/anxiety, perceptions of a lack
of control over one's environment or emotions (influenced by parenting styles), and faulty or
distorted cognitive patterns. The sociocultural environment also plays a significant role in shaping
fears.
• Treatment Approaches:
Effective treatments often involve graduated exposure to feared cues, objects, and situations to
allow fears to habituate.
Cognitive restructuring techniques, which help individuals challenge and change distorted
thoughts, can also be beneficial.
Medications, primarily anxiolytics and antidepressants, can also be useful for most anxiety
disorders, but behavioral and cognitive therapies often lead to more long-lasting improvements
Key Genetic predisposition to
anxiety disorders
Contributi
Traumatic experiences during
childhood
ng Factors Chronic stress from life
situations
Understanding anxiety disorders requires Imbalances in brain chemistry
examining various biological,
environmental, and psychological
influences that contribute to their Learned behaviors from
development. family or peers
Indicator Measura Timefram
s ble e
Common physical Outcome
Improvement in Physical symptoms
can improve within
symptoms include physical symptoms can
Physical rapid heartbeat,
sweating, and
be assessedsthrough
heart rate monitoring
a few weeks of
treatment with
muscle tension. and relaxation appropriate
Sympto techniques. strategies.
ms Emotional symptom Emotional
Emotional management can be symptoms may
Emotion symptoms often
involve feelings of
evaluated by tracking
mood changes over
show
improvement
al fear, worry, or
overwhelming
time with journals. within one to
three months
with therapy.
Sympto anxiety.
Behavioral outcomes Behavioral
ms
Behavior Behavioral
symptoms may lead
can be observed changes often
through increased take several
to avoidance of engagement in months of
al situations that
trigger anxiety.
previously avoided consistent
situations. practice and
Sympto reinforcement.
ms
Management Strategies for Anxiety
Disorders
Medication may Mindfulness
Cognitive-
include practices like
behavioral
antidepressants meditation can
therapy (CBT)
and anti-anxiety reduce anxiety
helps change
medications for symptoms
negative thought
relief. effectively.
patterns.
We appreciate your engagement and interest in this
important topic
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