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a hoodlum, it is anxiety. You are projecting the threatening situation in future
and
reacting to it as if it is imminent.
You may note that anxiety serves a kind of adaptive function as well, because it
prepares a person for fight or flight if the danger really comes. But if the person
avoids the very situation that in her perception may cause the danger, and if
such
imagined situations are unrealistic, then the effect becomes debilitating. Thus
you may
distinguish between adaptive anxiety and pathological anxiety by assessing
the realistic
probability of the occurrence of the object of anxiety and by assessing how
dysfunctional it makes the person.
Before you go into learning the specific symptoms of each, you should know
the
common characteristics of anxiety disorders.
Cognition or subjective perception of danger which may be accompanied by
vivid
and occasionally morbid images of the difficulties encountered.
Physiological responses through activation of sympathetic nervous system.
Usually it
includes increased heart rate, trembling, breathing discomfort, dilated pupils,
nausea
etc.
On the behavioural level, there is usually a tendency to avoid the dreaded
situation.
However, in some cases, as in Obsessive compulsive disorder and some
instances
of Post traumatic Stress disorder, repetitive behaviour is also observed.
In this Unit, you would learn specifically about Panic attacks and Phobias.
Self Assessment Questions
1) What are the primary types of anxiety according to DSM IV TR?
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2) State True or False beside each statement
a) Fear is imaginary; anxiety is response to a really possible event ( ).
b) Real and pathological anxiety can be distinguished in terms of degree of
dysfunction ( ).
c) Sympathetic nervous system is activated during anxiety ( ).
1.3 PANIC ATTACK: SYMPTOMS AND CLINICAL
FEATURES
Have you ever encountered any situation where a person has all on a sudden
started
behaving as if under severe stress? She sweats, almost faints and complains
that she
cannot breathe. People around may start thinking that she has a heart attack,
but
after some time she recovers and gradually becomes normal. While this
