AP Anxiety Disorders/Mood Disorders

1. AP Anxiety Disorders/Mood Disorders

2. Characteristics of Anxiety Disorders Anxiety: feeling of apprehension/dread. Feeling anxious is normal. Where it becomes an issue is when the anxiety is disproportionate to the actual situation

3. Constant worrying or obsession about small or large concerns • Restlessness and feeling keyed up or on edge • Fatigue • Difficulty concentrating or your mind "going blank" • Irritability • Muscle tension or muscle aches • Trembling, feeling twitchy or being easily startled • Trouble sleeping • Sweating, nausea or diarrhea • Shortness of breath or rapid heartbeat (mayoclinic.org)

4. Types of Anxiety Disorders • Generalized: the person feels anxious across a variety of environments • Difficulty sleeping, unable to follow through on everyday tasks • May be a product of learned behavior, as well as inability to adapt to modern life/change. 2. Phobic: a phobia is an irrational fear of something. It becomes an issue when the phobia interferes with the person’s ability to function.

5. Anxiety Disorders • Phobias may have been learned from a past event, as well as from parents/family members • Systematic desensitization helps overcome phobias. • Agoraphobia (fear of the outside world) extremely problematic 3. Panic Disorder: Characterized by extreme terror for no apparent reason. May also feel doom/death imminent Often occurs following stressful event

6. Anxiety Disorders 4. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders: Obsession: the thoughts that produce the anxiety Compulsion: the behavior repeatedly performed in an effort to ease the anxiety. The person afflicted with OCD has a continuous loop of behavior Symptoms often start mildly, and become progressively worse over time Cause of OCD: unknown, may be reaction to stress

7. Anxiety Disorders • 5. PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) : A survivor of a traumatic event will relive the fear though triggering events, overwhelming that person’s ability to cope. • Risk factors include being female, prolonged exposure to trauma, history of self/family of depression, history of neglect/abuse during childhood

8. 6. Social Anxiety Disorder (aka social phobia): Symptoms include nausea, lack of eye contact, difficulty talking in pubic situations • Person knows behavior is not rational • Most likely developed in early to mid teens • Females more likely to have • Can be environmentally triggered

9. Mood Disorders • Depression • Considered to be a chronic illness, although some only have one episode • One of the most common • Symptoms include irritability, loss of interest/energy, feeling of sadness/hopelessness, suicidal thoughts • Those with suicidal thoughts (ideation) should seek intervention immediately • Some people become clinically depressed because of lack of sunlight • Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression) • Moods shift from highs (mania) to lows (depression) • 1-6 % of population • Often treated with medication (e.g. lithium)