We are all familiar with the topic of anxiety and have all experienced it in anxiety-arousing situations, whether it is taking a big exam, public speaking, or meeting new people. Extreme anxiety is the central characteristic of neuroses, now known as anxiety disorders, and can sometimes interfere with a person’s life in that normal and desired functioning is made impossible. One of the most common forms of anxiety is phobias or the irrational fear of something even in the absence of real danger. Someone who suffers phobic reactions can take a simple fear out of proportion and may vigilantly act in avoidance of a situation where the feared stimulus is expected. A phobia can significantly interfere with one’s life and this was primarily the goal …show more content…
Wolpe’s systematic desensitization method was significant in that it provided an effective method of treating severe anxiety and phobic reactions. Phobias can significantly interfere with one’s life in that normal and desired functioning is made impossible and to help someone overcome a phobia is primarily the goal of systematic desensitization. Perhaps we already know how to overcome a fear and Wolpe was quick to point this out himself: frequent exposure to a feared object may result in the gradual disappearance of the fear. Although we already know this, systematic desensitization and the use of the anxiety hierarchy provided a way to treat extreme anxiety and phobic reactions when they interfere with normal functioning. On a personal perspective, if I were on the shoes of the researcher, in this case, Wolpe, I would not change anything about his perfected systematic desensitization method; his method effectively treated extreme anxiety and phobias. Numerous studies on behavioral therapy followed after Wolpe’s findings and his use of classical conditioning and reciprocal inhibition to the treatment of psychological disorders has become a part of intervention strategies. A study conducted by Frederickson relied on Wolpe’s reciprocal inhibition concept in treating difficulties stemming from negative emotions, such as anxiety, depression, or any stress-related problems (Frederickson, 2000). Based on the idea that two emotions cannot occur at once, Frederickson hypothesized that teaching patients with such psychological disorders strong positive emotions, such as optimism and contentment, it will directly inhibit the negative emotions. Another study based on Wolpe’s findings proved the effectiveness of systematic desensitization, wherein college students
Introduction Throughout the human life, many events will occur that cause individuals to experience the feelings associated with anxiety. Examples of these events that can cause individuals to experience anxiety are public speaking engagements, eating in restaurants, and using public restrooms (Sands & Gellis, 2012). The diagnosis of anxiety is sustained when the emotion is experienced with significant frequency and intensity, when the psychosocial functioning of the individual is impeded, and when the reaction is not conducive with the stimulus (Sands & Gellis, 2012). In addition, a significant amount of individuals who are diagnosed with anxiety disorders face the challenges of maintaining employment, or becoming active participants within their communities because of tremendous distress.
Emotional processing of fear: Exposure to corrective information. Psychological Bulletin, 99, 20–35. Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014a).
Topic: Generalized Anxiety Disorder General Purpose: To Inform Specific Purpose: To help my audience gain insight into Generalized Anxiety Disorder so that they may better understand the illness. Thesis Statement: Generalized Anxiety Disorder is widely misunderstood, understanding what it is, what the symptoms are, possible treatments, and how to best help someone during an anxiety attack is crucial for those who have family or friends with this disorder. Introduction: Attention Material: Your chest begins to tighten, hands start to tingle, everything gets too loud and too bright all at the same time.
Avoidant behaviors, such as those experienced by Melvin, can also occur in anxiety disorders. However, the recurrent thoughts that are usually present in GAD are typically about real life concerns, whereas the obsessions of OCD usually do not involve real life concerns (DSM-V, 2013.) There is evidence that worrying has both maladaptive consequences such as avoidance and interfering as well as adaptive coping strategies that indicate that worrying can be preparational and motivating (Borcovec et. al., 1995.) While the study supports the notion that worrying did help clients cope with unpleasant events it is unclear whether or not worry serves these motivational and preparational functions (Borcovec et.
Dr. Nichols (2010) writes; “Many fears are positive and productive because they prod [one] to do something about fearful situations” (p. 23). “Fear is a healthy, natural response that can turn unhealthy and manipulative” (Nichols, 2010, p. 70). The concept of action should be one of encouragement because fear can cause anxiety, anger, and depression. Anxiety “wastes mental, physical, and spiritual energy” (Nichols, 2010, p. 54), and anger is a “dangerous emotion that becomes a distraction from the main problem” (Nichols, 2010, p. 57). Fear can also cause bodily damage over a period of time, including heart disease, cancer, and damage to the immune system (Nichols,
Chapter 4 covered anxiety, phobias and obsessive compulsive disorders. Anxiety, fear and phobias are normal human emotions that in most respects are used to keep us safe by influencing us to avoid potentially dangerous situations. It is only when our emotions are not in proportion to the reality of the situation that our fears, obsessions and anxiety become pathological. It is very easy for me to see how an otherwise healthy individual could develop generalized anxiety disorder in today’s society. There is just so much to be legitimately concerned with such as the economy, the high cost of health care and war (such as the war on terrorism).
Marcovitz includes an abundance of information on the lives of phobics though concise summarizations of studies, statistics, and quotes from people who are suffering or have suffered from phobias. Combined, this allows the chapter to impart a profound understanding of what it is like to possess a social or specific phobia onto the reader. The apprehension the reader is given then allows the reader to empathize with phobics.
Over 9 million people in the U.S. suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder, that is about 5% of the U.S. population. For the large number of people who suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) it brings many challenges with it. Many of these challenges start out of as mental issues, but they can evolve into physical issues that affect a person’s life. For example, some common effects that often come along with GAD that can negatively affect someone’s life are depression, substance abuse, and eating disorders. Those effects may only be mental issues, but they can make very real impacts on someone’s life.
Cognitive Processing Therapy Patricia A. Resick, PhD developed the cognitive processing therapy that includes an exposure element but highly emphasizes on cognitive strategies to alter negative thinking that emerged from a traumatic event (DeAngelis, 2013). Cognitive processing therapy actually draws upon knowledge from prolonged exposure treatments that have been effective but focuses mainly on information processing theory (Schulz, 1992). Cognitive processing therapy has the victims directly address these negative cognitions related to related to safety, danger, trust and one’s introspections that leads prevents them from recovery. The therapists role is to engage in the cognitive component of the therapy through the use of open-ended
Behavior therapy was studied by Ivan Pavlov and his famous dog study in which dogs were conditioned to salivate upon hearing a bell. It was later continued to be studied by John Watson who has the famous “Little Albert” study in which an 11-month old infant was conditioned to be scared of fuzzy white things because a rat was paired with a loud noise. The conclusion of the two conditioning experiences was that, behaviors followed by satisfying experiences tend to increase in frequency and behaviors followed by aversive experiences tend to decrease in frequency” (Thoma, 2015). Watson’s assistant Mary Jones, used this principle to clinical applications reasoning that, “if conditioning could be used to induce a phobia, perhaps it could be used to undo a phobia as well” (Thoma, 2015). Thus, behavior therapy was developed and began being used for
Susan would appear to have at least five symptoms of a Social Anxiety Disorder: intense, disproportionate, and persistent fear or anxiety regarding social conditions (e.g., restaurant, daughters’ school, grocery store) where Susan could be exposed to public scrutiny; fear of being negatively evaluated by other people; anxiety is caused by exposer to social situations; avoidance of the feared social situation (she is ordering groceries online instead of visiting the grocery store were her most recent episode occurred); and significant distress or impairment (Comer, 2014). Note, while many individuals with social anxiety may experience panic attacks, Susan’s major concern is regarding a fear of negative evaluation by others, whereas in panic disorders the primary concern is about the symptoms of the panic attacks themselves (Comer,2014). Social anxiety disorder has begun to significantly impair her functioning in multiple areas of her life. She already begun to avoid the grocery store and this fear is generalizing to restaurants and her daughter’s
These symptoms make it difficult for a person to live their life in peace, and overcoming these symptoms is step one to overcoming the disorder. Ordinary day-to-day activities are interrupted because of anxiety and fear. Constant worrying has a huge impact on your mental as well as physical well-being. Symptoms can be emotional as well as physical.
Anxiety Anxiety is a sense of fear or dread that something terrible is going to happen. Anxiety can be general or specific to a place, social situation or thing (phobia) Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by significant feelings of anxiety and fear. Anxiety is a worry about future events and fear is a reaction to current
The creeping cycle hypothesis of desensitization was begun in 1930 as worldview with a case in New York City. In which five components were noted in the age correspondence and establishment of what is named as the crawling cycle hypothesis of desensitization. To start with variable was the disclosure of steam motor which makes the likelihood of making various duplicates of daily paper else it was impractical with hand printing of daily paper. Second variable was another kind of daily paper. The daily paper New York sun which was begun in 1833 by Benjamin day.
There are many scary things in this world, but for the most part, they are things that you can put in the back of your mind and push past it; then, there are phobias. Phobias strike a person with a type of fear that makes your feelings impossible to ignore and can actually influence significant parts of a person’s life. These fears appear frequently among people; they can range widely from person to person but there are some commonalities. Some of the main phobias among the population are acrophobia, aerophobia, ophidiophobia, arachnophobia, social phobia, and agoraphobia (Cherry, n.d.). Social phobia is essentially the fear of social interaction but, like most things, this varies from person to person.