Psychology 2310A/B Lecture Notes - Acute Stress Reaction, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2310A/B
• Professor: Rod Martin

Document Summary

We need to have a certain amount of fear and anxiety in order to survive. Autonomic arousal fight-flight response fear is the emotion that keeps us from doing dangerous things its fear that causes us to avoid e. g. , jumping off the edge of a cliff. Anxiety have an evolutionary basis it is adaptive to have these emotions and there is probably a certain amount of genetic variation in the population. People who don t experience these emotions are the basis for psychopath and antisocial disorder. Anxiety disorders are the most common group of mental disorders 25% lifetime prevalence. Major dsm-iv anxiety disorders (specific diagnoses of anxiety disorders in the dsm) Phobias (including specific phobias, social phobia, and agoraphobia) Persistent, excessive, unreasonable fear cued by a specific object or situation. Phobic situation is avoided or endured with intense distress. Interferes significantly with functioning, or marked distress about having phobia. Persistent, irrational fear linked to social or performance situations.