Psychology for Dummies (61 page)
Read Psychology for Dummies Online
Authors: Adam Cash
Tags: #Psychology, #General, #Body; Mind & Spirit, #Spirituality
There are euphemisms a plenty when it comes to this next major class of mental disorders, the
anxiety disorders.
“Stress,” “worry,” “nerves,” “nervousness,” and “fear” are all terms we use every day, and we seem to think that we know what they mean.
Anxiety
can be defined as a sense of generalized fear and apprehension. When we’re anxious, we’re generally fearful. Fearful of what? That depends. Identifying what someone is fearful of helps determine what kind of anxiety disorder he or she may have.
Normal worrying aside, anxiety disorders are probably the most common type of mental disorder. But is worrying actually a mental disorder? Remember, all behavior and mental processes exist on a continuum of normality. Worry can be so intense or bothersome to the worrier that it could reach the level of a disorder in need of professional attention. Worried about being a pathological worrier yet? Relax, take a deep breath, and read on. There’s more to cover before you start jumping to conclusions and running for help.
Some of the most common anxiety disorders include:
Generalized anxiety disorder:
Excessive and persistent worry about many different things
Posttraumatic stress disorder:
Re-experiencing traumatic events that were life threatening, including symptoms of heightened arousal and avoidance of trauma-related places and people
Obsessive-compulsive disorder:
Obsessions (recurring thoughts) and compulsive behavior (driven to repeat an activity like hand-washing)
In this chapter, I focus on one of the most common anxiety disorders known as
panic disorder.
Some people are afraid to leave their homes, and it’s not because they live in a bad neighborhood. The people who I’m referring to suffer from a phobia of large, open places called
agoraphobia.
Agoraphobia is typically associated with a major anxiety disorder known as
panic disorder
— a condition in which a person experiences recurring panic or anxiety attacks and a fear of future attacks.
The
DSM-IV
definition for a panic attack is “A discrete period of intense fear or discomfort, in which four (or more) of the following symptoms developed abruptly and reached a peak within 10 minutes:”
Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate
Sweating, trembling, or shaking
Shortness of breath, feeling of choking, or chest pain
Nausea, dizziness, or lightheadedness
Feelings of unreality or being detached from oneself
Fear of losing control or going crazy or dying
Numbness, tingling, chills, or hot flashes
A person who has recurrent panic attacks may be suffering from panic disorder if he worries incessantly about having more attacks, has unrealistic fears of the implications of the attack, or has significantly changed his behavior as a result of the attacks. A hallmark of panic disorder is the fear the panic attacks are a signal of some major illness, such as a heart attack, losing one’s mind, or dying. This symptom can be very serious because it can lead to excessive stress. Worrying about dying can be pretty stressful and may well be a factor in the very illnesses actively dreaded.
The most common change in a person’s behavior is the development of agoraphobia. This state involves an intense fear of being in places or situations in which it might be difficult to get away or to get help if needed. Common examples of situations associated with agoraphobia are riding in elevators, standing in a large crowd, traveling on a crowded subway car, or even driving in thick traffic.