Anxiety Disorder
Psychoanalysts believe that anxiety disorders are caused by internal mental conflicts often involving sexual impulses. These impulses cause an overuse of the ego’s defense system that fails over time. This shows that the unacceptable impulses the ego has blocked are the generalized anxiety disorders. These blocked impulses cause an unconscious state of apprehension for which the person does not know the cause of. Phobias, however, occur if the person sets the cause of the anxiety to a certain object, or situation, which they can more easily avoid than the actual source of anxiety.
Panic disorders and agoraphobia are caused by separation anxiety, mainly separation from parents, early in life. This happens in children who were taught to intervene in separation from a parenting figure by throwing tantrums. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is seen as a fixation in the mind at the primary stage of psychosexual development. The fact that compulsive behavior rituals often involve cleanliness shows that there is mental fixation during a period of mastering unclean bowel movements.
Behaviorists believe that in anxiety disorders the individual is not “fixated” but they have a
conditioned fear that does not involve oedipal complexes or displacement. The theory of classical conditioning says that phobias are the result of learned associations of neutral stimuli and frightening events. This also demonstrates why an individual might have a phobia of guns after being shot by one.
Biological theorists believe that people with anxiety disorders have unusually responsive autonomic systems that are more easily aroused by environmental stimuli. This condition is known as autonomic lability that contributes to a tendency to be jumpy or anxious. They feel that the basal ganglia has loops in the sensory input and behavioral output centers.
Somatoform Disorders
Psychoanalysts feel that somatoform disorders are caused by unresolved sexual impulses that produce intense anxiety that is converted into physical symptoms. Because of this conversion the original anxiety produced is now reduced, this process is termed primary gain, but if the person is allowed to escape or avoid stressful life situations.
Similar to the psychoanalysts’ perspective of secondary gain, behaviorists feel that if a person is allowed to escape or avoid the physical symptoms are reinforced.
Biological theorists, have very little to say since there seems to be no physical cause of the symptoms, except that there may be some genetic predisposition to Somatoform disorders.
Dissociative Disorders
Psychoanalysts believe that dissociative symptoms are caused by massive reliance on repression to ward off unacceptable impulses, particularly those of a sexual nature.
Anxiety according to Dr.Mercola, “anxiety is a natural normal response to potential, threats, which puts your body into a heightened state of awareness.” (Dr. Mercola) People are often unaware and disregard the severity of the disorder, thus mistaking anxiety for stress. On the contrary, anxiety has many similarities to stress,but stress is an anxiety trigger.(Henry) Frequently the causes of anxiety are unknown or result with our a clear cause rather by its own will.( Henry) The disorder most distinct feature is its internal trigger and its internal response, unlike many other disorders frequently caused internally by the victim without their knowledge.(Henry) “[Anxiety like stress, triggers]... a flood of stress hormones like cortisol
Psychology is a science that is constantly evolving and growing, and that is especially true when the concentration of study is abnormal psychology. There are so many mysteries within abnormal psychology that there are constantly progressing theories. Two of the more familiar theories are the biochemical theory and Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. Today we will be exploring these two theories, how they compare and how each has contributed to the field of psychology.
Freudian psychoanalysis distinguished three types of anxiety, - objective anxiety, neurotic anxiety, and moral anxiety. It is the ego's job to deal with anxiety (Hergenhahn, 2009). Freud's theories emphasize on sex as the main motive for human behavior, therefore a Freudian psychoanalysis therapist may attribute origin of the person’s anxiety to sex oriented issues such as sexual relationship, conflicts, and abuse, etc. The role of Freudian psychoanalysis therapist is to encourage patients to focus on affect and the expression of emotion and to explore their attempts to avoid distressing thoughts and feelings. One technique of Freudian psychotherapy is free association which means that patients are encouraged to recall and talk about their
Clinicians, however, do not always agree, perhaps because are more comfortable dealing with the domains of anxiety and depression. Several researches and surveys were published in this book trying to shed light on what it was that caused this disorder in people. Triggers the book talks about are the following, heritability, drug use, psychological triggers such as traumatic events, overwhelming joy, childhood traumas which measures six types: separation and losses, physical abuse, sexual abuse, witnessing violence, and neglect. People suffering this disorder can easily correlate it to severe anxiety or stress, panic attacks, depression or drug use therefore causing them to pay a little attention to these symptoms which in time will decrease or it can become a fuel and increase anxiety levels and worsening depersonalization levels. The Diagnosis of Depersonalization is made clinically, by meeting with the patient and thoroughly conducting an evaluation. This book describes several descriptions of the symptoms and as spelled out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV), Symptoms are recurrent or
In the first part of this paper I shall summarise the concepts of Psychoanalysis and Behaviour theories, as in my view theory in itself is an argument for a concept. Theory is a collection of propositions to illustrate principles of a subject (Oxford Dictionary, 1976). Secondly this paper explores similarities concerning the theories, eventually leading to a conclusion concerning their significance in today's therapeutic arena.
Compulsions are the behaviors that relieve the person of anxiety temporarily. If the obsession is perfect hygiene, the compulsion could be washing hands constantly. Compulsions can also be checking on something over and over again, including repeating phrases to calm themselves down. Basically, they are...
Anxiety is a normal reaction to a threatening situation and results from an increase in the amount of adrenaline from the sympathetic nervous system. This increased adrenaline speeds the heart and respiration rate, raises blood pressure, and diverts blood flow to the muscles. These physical reactions are appropriate for escaping from danger but when they cause anxiety in many situations throughout the day, they may be detrimental to a normal lifestyle. An anxiety disorder is a disorder where feelings of fear, apprehension, or anxiety are disruptive or cause distortions in behavior, (Coon, 526); they are psychiatric illnesses that are not useful for normal functioning. At times, an underlying illness or disease can cause persistent anxiety. Treatment of the illness or disease will stop the anxiety. Anxiety illnesses affect more than 23 million Americans with about 10 million Americans suffering from the most common, general anxiety disorder . (Harvard, 1). Common anxiety disorders are panic attacks (panic disorder), phobias, and general anxiety disorder (GAD). Panic attacks Panic attacks can begin with a feeling of intense terror followed by physical symptoms of anxiety. A panic attack is characterized by unpredictable attacks of severe anxiety with symptoms not related to any particular situation. (Hale, 1886). The person experiencing the attack may not be aware of the cause. Symptoms include four or more of the following: pounding heart, difficulty breathing, dizziness, chest pain, shaking, sweating, choking, nausea, depersonalization, numbness, fear of dying, flushes, fear of going crazy. Heredity, metabolic factors, hyperventilation, and psychological factors may contribute to anxiety causing panic attacks.
The Dissociative Disorders category of the DSM-IV-TR, is characterized by a disruption in the functions of perception, identity, consciousness, or memory. The disorders in the Dissociative Disorders category include Dissociative Amnesia, Dissociative Fugue, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), Depersonalization Disorder and Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified.
Due to the intense nature of the physical symptoms of PD and its impact of one’s life, various researchers has identified different contributory factors of this disorder. Some studies indicated hyperventilation, over activity in the noradrenergic neurotransmitter system, interceptive classical conditioning, anxiety sensitivity, catastrophic misinterpretation of bodily sensations and safety behaviors are potential factors of PD (Davey, 2014). While, other researchers have stated PD is possibly caused by genetic predisposition, abnormalities in serotonin, and early developmental factors (Sansone et al., 1998). As the etiology of PD remains unknown and further studies are being conducted, it is agreed upon the mental health community that biological, psychological and cognitive factors contribute to the etiology and maintenance of PD.
It has been claimed that attentional bias causes anxiety. Attentional bias is when attention is automatically captured by certain stimuli. In terms of anxiety, this can be for example, the fear of spiders. Individuals who suffer from the phobia could, for example be reading a newspaper and related stimuli such as the word ‘web’ would capture their attention. Attentional bias has been found among many anxiety disorders including social phobia, OCD, trait anxiety, social phobia and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). I will review evidence for the presence of attentional bias among anxiety disorders and try to determine whether attentional bias causes anxiety. I will review evidence from Macleod and Mathews (2002), Koster, Crombez, Verschuere, Damme and Wiersema (2006), and Bradley and Mogg (1999).
Sigmund Freud began studying human defense mechanisms in the late 1800s. His work became a solid foundation for the continued study into this topic for the last century, especially in regards to the work of his daughter, Anna Freud. Anna Freud believed that identifying a patient’s way of defending himself against his undesirable instincts would help psychotherapist discover the root of “unwelcome affects” (A. Freud, 1936, p. 32 via Sollod, Wilson and Monte, 2009, p. 199). Although there are a multitude of defense mechanisms to consider in psychoanalytic psychology, the five chosen for discussion include repression, denial, projection, displacement, and sublimation.
Anxiety disorder is a type of abnormal behavior characterized by unrealistic, irrational fear. These types of disorders are diagnosed two as often in women as in men. Although these disorders can be very chronic and serious, they are easily treatable. Generalized anxiety disorder is when people experience fear and worry that is not focused on one specific aspect; nevertheless, they suffer greatly with headaches, dizziness, heart palpitations, and insomnia. Obsessive-compulsive disorder, better known as OCD, involves persistent, unwanted, obsessions and irresistible urges to perform compulsions in order to relieve anxiety. Unlike other anxiety disorders, OCD consists more of anxiety and worry rather than fear itself. Many people who experience OCD are aware that there is no motive behind their actions, however their anxiety is heightened when they try to ignore the compulsions. People with such anxiety disorders often experience sensitivity to other people’s views as well as worry over their surroundings.
Symptoms are formed as a result of repression even though the patient may not be aware of it. Freud says; (Freud, 1973, p335) “We must now form more definite ideas about this process of repression. It is the precondition for the construction of symptoms.” Symptoms serve as a substitute for the patient for something that repression is holding back. Freud says; “A symptom like a dream, represents something as fulfilled: a satisfaction in the infantile manner” (Freud, 1973, p413).
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. Every person experiences some form of anxiety in his or her lifetime. Anxiety helps us deal with tense situations like using our flight or fight reaction, study harder for an exam, or keep focus on important deadlines. Anxiety can be useful until it gets to the point of interfering with everyday life. Some people explain it as not being able to shut the anxiety off. When anxiety becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it becomes a disabling disorder (National Institute of Mental Health, 2009). Each year, anxiety disorders affect about 40 million American adults age 18 years and older (National Institute of Mental Health, 2009). There are five major Anxiety Disorders they include Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Phobias.
As a student who is interested in psychology and the way the brain works/functions, learning about the somatic symptom disorder intrigues me. I have never actually heard of this disorder before, but hypochondria is about the closest to a somatic disorder that I have learned about. Now, the first thing that really caught my attention about this disorder was the definition about it, “People with somatic symptom disorder become excessively distressed, concerned, and anxious about bodily symptoms that they are experiencing, and their lives are greatly disrupted by the symptoms” (Comer, 2014). This blew my mind. I had always know about people thinking they have had every sickness or believe they are suffering from something they are not, I am also aware of the placebo effect, but the fact that people can create such strong distress in their lives from bodily symptoms they experience is something that brought out my curious nature of why and how. Another thing that is very interesting to me is that there are two patterns of somatic symptom disorder, called somatization pattern (the individual experiences a large and even varied number of bodily symptoms) and predominant pain pattern (which is the individual’s primary bodily problem being the experience of pain) (Comer, 2014).