ANXIETY DISORDERS

RESEARCH ON ANXIETY
• More common in women than in men
• 20% - 60% of patients with somatic disorders experience
secondary anxiety & depression.

ANXIETY IS OFTEN CONFUSED WITH FEAR

• Fear is short-lived; Anxiety lasts longer.
• Anxiety & fear coexist in almost all situations in varying
propositions.
• Anxiety is the response to danger that warns from “within” –
as an instinct – that there is danger and one may lose control
of the situation.
Reference: Notes shared by Dr. Villasor, DLSU
ANXIETY GENERALLY LEADS TO ONE OF THESE TWO
OUTCOMES:

a.) TRAUMATIC ANXIETY: intense panic, inability to

function normally or adapt to situations.

b.) Signal Anxiety: an ability to anticipate the danger

and take appropriate preventive measures against it.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE DEVELOPMENT OF ANXIOUS RESPONSE PATTERN:

SUPPRESSED MEMORIES: of infancy and childhood can result in an exaggerated

response to emotional stress in adult life.

SUPPRESSED EMOTIONS: inability to find an outlet for feelings in personal relationships

especially one’s anger and frustration.

SURROUNDINGS IN WHICH YOU LIVE: influence the way you think about self and
others. Anxiety is common if one is insecure about surroundings.

PHYSICAL CAUSES: mind and body constantly interacting and any change in this
interaction may cause anxiety. Examples are pregnancy, adolescence, menopause,
recovering illnesses. During these conditions, mood changes are common and they may
lead to anxiety.
TYPES OF ANXIETY

ANXIETY STATES: panic disorders; generalized anxiety; phobic disorders

PANIC DISORDER – recurrent attacks of anxiety or panic along with nervousness,

often associated with feelings of approaching doom.
• may begin slowly occur suddenly
• more common in young adults
• usually not related to other mental illnesses
• often appear to occur without precipitating factors, especially if emotions are
suppressed
• common symptoms: palpitations; chest pains; difficulty in, or rapid breathing;
dizziness or weakness
• described as a strange, weird or ghostly feeling-as if something bad is going to
happen
GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER = a condition where there is chronic,
exaggerated worry or tensions, often without any provocative factors. One
may fear disaster or worry about most aspects of life such as health, money,
family, work.
COMMON SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
general irritability
headache, muscle tension in head, neck, back
tremors in hands and arms
increased activity of the autonomic nervous system
involuntary functions of body such as breathing, digestion, sweating of palms,
flushing of face, dryness in mouth
the progress recovery of generalized anxiety disorder varies from person to
person
SPECIFIC PHOBIA - conditions where one has irrational
fears(phobia) of a specific object, activity or situation.
• Fear is disproportionate to circumstances;
• Cannot deal with the fear by reasoning or control it
with will power;
• One is aware that fears are not justified yet, one stays
away from feared object.
Separation Anxiety Disorder
- excessive fear or anxiety concerning separation from
home or attachment figures
- The fear, anxiety or avoidance is persistent, lasting at
least 4 weeks in children and adolescents and
typically 6 months or more in adults
- The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or
impairment in social, academic, occupation or other
important areas of functioning.
Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) – a marked or intense
fear or anxiety of social situations in which the individual may be scrutinized by
others; duration of disturbance is typically at least 6 months.
- In children, the anxiety must occur in peer settings and not just during
interactions with adults. 75% of individuals in the U.S. have an age at onset
between 8 and 15 years.
- Onset of disorder may follow a stressful or humiliating experience (e.g.,
being bullied, vomiting during a public speech, etc.), developing slowly.
- Detection in older adults may be challenging because of several factors
such as changes to social environment or roles that may obscure
impairment in social functioning, focus on somatic symptoms, comorbid
medical illness, limited insight, etc.
COPING WITH ANXIETY

A. PSYCHOEDUCATION – improving understanding of anxiety, its

triggers and interventions

B. PSYCHOTHERAPY

INSIGHT PSYCHOTHERAPY – determination of client’s inner

strength that affects his stability of relationships with family,
friends, work environment; his motivation for treatment and his
ability to bear difficulties in life.
SUPPORTIVE PSYCHOTHERAPHY – client discusses his difficulties with the
therapist, who likely to point out his unrealistic fears and encourage client
to face situations and/or circumstances that lead to anxiety.

BEHAVIOR THERAPY – focuses on changing specific actions and uses

several techniques to decrease or stop unwanted behavior. For example,
diaphragmatic breathing.

COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPHY – (ANXIETY MANAGEMENT

TRAINING) teach patients to react differently to the situations and bodily
sensations that trigger panic attacks and other anxiety symptoms. Patient
learns how his thinking patterns contribute to his symptoms, how to
change his thoughts so that symptoms are less likely to occur.
A. RELAXATION TECHNIQUES – involves a series of
exercises focusing on tensing and relaxing
muscles. Subject learns to distinguish between
tension and relaxation and gradually moves on to
being to “turn able” a state of relaxation.
B. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY – exercise can prevent and
reduce anxiety , partly because they are using the
muscles.
C. MEDITATION
D. MEDICATION