Abnormal Psychology: Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders revolve around fear, a fear that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen to you.

Freud recognised anxiety disorders during his research on patients, and made the distinction between two classes of anxiety: neurotic anxiety and rational anxiety.

Neurotic Anxiety

Neurotic anxiety is an irrational anxiety. For example, you are afraid of spiders even though there is very little chance you will be harmed by one.

Rational Anxiety

Rational anxiety comes from a real fear. For example, you are afraid of a certain type of spider because it is poisonous to humans and therefore possess a real threat.

Types Of Anxiety Disorders

Although there are many different types of anxiety disorders, there are four which are most common:

1 - Generalised Anxiety Disorder

Generalised anxiety disorder is characterised by an overall feeling of dread, like something bad is going to happen to you but you don’t know what or when.

This results in chronic worry and a feeling that you cannot escape from this impending doom (sometimes this is called free-floating anxiety).

A person with generalised anxiety disorder therefore tends to have a pessimistic outlook on life, because they always think that bad things are going to happen to them.

2 - Phobic Disorders

Phobic disorders result in anxiety that stems from a specific source. The main types of phobic disorders are:

A - Specific Phobias

Specific phobias involve the fear of some object or situation. For example, the fear of heights is called acrophobia and the fear of confined spaces is called claustrophobia.

B - Social Phobia

Social phobia is a fear of the opinions of other people, usually because that person does not want to be judged harshly or criticised by other people. This can cause them to become shy around others, or angry if they are criticised.

C - Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is a fear of leaving the home or somewhere which is familiar to a person. Suffers of agoraphobia will spend the majority of their time in their house, and will not travel very far from it.

To the agoraphobic their house is their comfort zone, and they will stay there until they feel comfortable to re-enter the world again.

3 - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterised by thoughts which induce anxiety, and actions which are taken to relieve it.

For example, if a person is afraid of dying as a result of an infection, they may constantly wash their hands and avoid touching surfaces in public.

4 - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder is anxiety which comes as a result of being exposed to a traumatic or life threatening situation.

This is something which is commonly experienced by military veterans, although it is also common amongst the general public such as with people who survive a natural disaster or a car accident.

Summary

• Anxiety disorders are based on a fear of something.

• Freud said there were two types of anxiety disorders, neurotic anxiety and rational anxiety.

• Generalised anxiety disorder is a constant sense of impending doom.

• Specific phobic disorders are a fear of something specific.

• Social phobia is a fear of being criticised by others.

• Agoraphobia is a fear of unfamiliar people or places.

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder is anxiety created by thoughts, which are then relieved by actions.

• Post-traumatic stress disorder occurs after being exposed to an emotionally stressful situation.