Transcript National Anxiety Disorder Screening Day

Recognizing Symptoms of
Anxiety
How To Cope
by
Dr. Mark D. Humbert
Department of Psychology
Sinclair Community College
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A story of Anxiety:
“I was inside a very busy shopping area
and all of a sudden it happened; in a
matter of seconds I was like a mad
woman. It was like a nightmare, only I
was awake; everything went black and
sweat poured out of me-my body, my
hands, even my hair. All of the blood
seemed to drain out of me; I went white
as a ghost.”
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About Anxiety and
Depression:
Anxiety is a natural part of life
 anxiety warns us of impending danger or
tells us an event is important.
 Normal anxiety keeps us alert and
sometimes helps us perform.

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About Anxiety and
Depression


We experience
anxiety before an
exam, presentation,
or first date.
Have you ever
walked in a high
crime area without
fear?
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About Anxiety and
Depression:
Normal anxiety can become “abnormal”
when it interferes with your productivity,
when you cannot turn it off, or when it
disrupts your life.
 Anxiety can lead us to worry and feel
helpless about things; leading to
depression.
 Over 38 million Americans suffer from
anxiety and depression.

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Overview of Anxiety
Disorders
13% adults or 19 million people suffer
from an anxiety disorder.
There are five different kinds of anxiety
disorders:
 Panic
 Obsessive-Compulsive
 Post-Traumatic Stress
 Phobias
 Generalized Anxiety
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Panic Disorder: Feels like a
heart attack:
“My heart started pounding in my head
and my ears; I thought that my heart
was going to stop. I could hear the
voices of people but from a long way off.
I had a lump in my throat like a golf ball.”
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Panic Disorder:
A sudden “attack” of escalating fear or
anxiety that peaks within 10 minutes.
 Pounding heart
 sweating
 trembling
 smothering sensation
 chest pains
 fear of dying
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 chills or hot flushes

Panic Disorder with
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is the fear of open, busy
areas.
 Fear of situations that are difficult or
embarrassing to escape.
 Fear shopping in crowded stores,
crowded streets, crossing a bridge,
leaving the house alone.
 Avoid situations that might trigger panic
attack.

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Phobic Disorders: excessive
fear of objects or people
Specific Phobia: irrational fear of a
situation or object that poses no real
threat.
 It is normal to fear driving a car on a wet
highway, fear of losing control on ice.
 It is not normal to fear driving when road
is uncrowded, or when speed is slow

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Specific Phobia:


Types: fear of
elevators, funerals,
lightening, insects,
furry animals,
snakes, needles,
blood, heights.
There are over 1000
types!
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Phobic Disorders:
Social Phobia: fear of public scrutiny.
 Fear that they will do something
humiliating or embarrassing.
 Stage fright and speech anxiety.
 Most common type of phobia.

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Social Phobia:
It is normal to fear an encounter with a
boss or before giving a speech; most of
us can endure the ordeal.
 It is abnormal to avoid eating in public
restaurants because of fear of choking
on food or fear using public restrooms.

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Obsessive-Compulsive
Disorder
Different from Obsessive-compulsive
personality disorder; those who suffer
from perfectionism.
 Repeated, intrusive, unwanted thoughts
that lead to a series of behavior that
seems impossible to control.

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Obsessions: “I can get you
out of my mind”
Obsessions can be an ideal that keeps
repeating in your mind.
 Gross images (a dog crushed by car)
 musical themes that you hate
 obsessed over an impulse to do harm

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Compulsion: “I will stop after
I check it five my times.”
Compulsions: irresistible behaviors
 hand-washing
 checking door locks
 repeating certain words in order
 counting things
 some people take hours checking all the
appliances are off before leaving home,
and doubt still remains!

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Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder
Persistent over-arousal after
experiencing an extreme stressor.
 The stressor may have occurred months
or years ago, but the person responds
as though it is still occurring.
 A normal stressor is getting stuck in
traffic, paying bills, starting a new
quarter in school.

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PTSD

An extreme stressor
is anything that
threatens serious
physical injury,
threats to one’s own
or another’s physical
safety, or threat of
death.
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PTSD

War combat,
witnessing a
shooting, rape,
crime victim, sexual
abuse, domestic
violence, severe
accident, and natural
disasters like
tornadoes,
earthquakes, fires.
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PTSD
The person must have experienced
intense fear, helplessness or horror.
 Re-experience the traumatic event in
dreams or have flashbacks that it is
reoccurring.
» Feels guilty, sleep problems
 Numbed emotions: feelings of
detachment, dissociates, may use drugs
 easily startled, irritable, angry outbursts

Generalized Anxiety
Disorder:

“I find myself worrying when there’s
nothing in my head. It’s like I’m worrying
first and then there’s something in my
head to worry about. Then I worry that I
am worrying too much.”
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Generalized Anxiety
Disorder:


Exaggerated worry
about everyday
routine life activities,
and expecting the
worst.
Worrying more days
than not for 6
months.
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Generalized Anxiety
Disorder:
Brings up a new worry each day or the
same old worry but makes no changes
 worry about finances, school, social
relationships that are unsettled, future
health.
 are on edge, irritable, restless, sleepless
 mind goes blank, troubles concentrating
 May have headaches, nausea, fatigue

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FACTS ABOUT ANXIETY
DISORDERS:
Panic ………….. 1.7% (2.4 Million)
 OCD…………..
2.3% (3.3 Million)
 GAD…………..
2.8% (4 Million)
 PTSD………….
3.6% (5.2 Million)
 Phobia………… 8.0% (11.5 Million)
 any anxiety…… 13.3% (19.1 Million)
*based on 7/1/98 U.S. Census resident population of 143.3 million,

age 18-54
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What are effective
treatments?
Behavioral therapy: changes responses
to specific situations or stops unwanted
behavior (anxiety).
» Uses Diaphragmatic Breathing
» Systematic Desensitization
 Cognitive-behavioral: understanding
how thinking pattern induces anxiety.
» Disputes irrational beliefs/thoughts

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Treatments
Medications:
 are not a cure but can help relieve
anxiety symptoms.
 Be careful as some medications are
highly addictive like Xanax, and Valium
 BuSpar is non-addictive.
 Start with low dosages first, then
gradually increases.
 Give medications time to work.
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Anxiety goes with other
disorders:
Anxiety and depression go together
 anxiety goes with substance abuse
because the person tries to selfmedicate.
 Goes with eating disorders

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QUIZ (don’t get anxious)
Which of the following
may be disorders of
the brain?
 Stroke, epilepsy
 anxiety disorders,
schizophrenia,
depression
 autism, anorexia,
dyslexia
 Alzheimer’s
 all the above




All the above
anxiety may be
caused by deficits of
GABA
neurotransmitter.
GABA is an
inhibitory, helps tone
down excessive
neuron firing.
Low levels of
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QUIZ

PTSD is a condition
that only affects war
veterans?


False
a traumatic event
may include tornado,
rape, mugging, car
wreck.
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QUIZ




What is the most
common mental
health problem in
the U.S. today?
Depression
schizophrenia
anxiety disorder



Anxiety disorder
depression occurs
frequently in the
general population
but many do not
seek treatment and
“shake” it off.
Substance abuse is
the most common
disorder
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QUIZ


Most people
successfully take
control of the
symptoms of anxiety
by willpower and
personal strength.
True or false?




False.
Wishing the
symptoms of anxiety
away does not work.
Treatment usually
involves medications
and psychotherapy.
Anxiety is highly
treatable!
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