2. Characteristics of Phobias, Depression and OCD

• What are behavioural characteristics?


  Ways in which people act
• What are emotional characteristics?

  Ways in which people feel
• What are cognitive characteristics?

  • Ways in which people think
  • Refers to the process to knowing, perceiving and believing
• What are phobias?

  • An irrational fear of an object or situation
  • Characterised by excessive fear and anxiety triggered by an object, place or situation
  • Extent of fear is out of proportion to any real danger presented by the phobic stimulus (irrational)
• What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?

  • Panic: Involves a range of behaviours inc. crying, screaming or running away. Can freeze, be clingy or throw a tantrum
  • Avoidance: Will go to great extents to prevent encountering their fear (makes it hard to go about their daily life
  • Endurance: Occurs when a person chooses to remain in the presence of the phobic stimulus (alternative response to avoidance)
• What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?

  • Anxiety: Unpleasant state of high arousal that prevents relaxation and positive emotion
  • Unreasonable emotional responses: The emotions of fear and anxiety are disproportionate to the danger posed by the phobic stimulus
  • Fear: The immediate and extremely unpleasant response experienced when a phobic stimulus is encountered or thought about
• What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?

  • Selective attention to phobic stimulus: Phobic sufferers may be hypervigilant, focusing intensely on the source of their phobia. Keeping attention on something dangerous can be positive as you can react quickly to a threat. Not useful if fear is irrational
  • Irrational beliefs: Person with a phobia may hold thoughts that cannot be easily explained or have logic or basis of reality
  • Cognitive distortions: Errors in thinking and logic that impact the way the mind processes information. Person's perception may be inaccurate or unrealistic
  • Recognition of exaggerated anxiety: Person with phobia may have conscious awareness that the anxiety levels being experienced are excessive but continue to display it
• What is depression?

  Condition characterised by lowered mood and low energy levels
• What are the behavioural characteristics of depression?

  • Low activity levels: Have reduced levels of energy making them lethargic. This affects everyday life e.g. work.
  • High activity levels: People can experience psychomotor agitation e.g. pacing. Agitated individuals have high energy so struggle to relax
  • Changes to eating behaviour: Appetite or eating may increase or decrease, leading to weight gain or weight loss
  • Changes to sleep: May experience insomnia or have an increased need for sleep (hypersomnia)
  • Aggression and self harm: Easily irritable and become verbally or physically aggressive (includes physical aggression to themselves to others). Includes self harm and suicide attempts
• What are the emotional characteristics of depression?

  • Lowered mood: Involves people feeling worthless or empty
  • Anger: Directed at the self or others. Can lead to aggressive or self-harming behaviour
  • Lowered self esteem: Tend to report liking themselves less than usual. Can become extreme with individuals becoming self loathing
• What are the cognitive characteristics of depression?

  • Poor concentration: Unable to stick with tasks they usually would. They find it hard to make decisions which normally would've been made easily. Work can therefore be affected
  • Dwelling on negative aspects: Pay more attention to negative aspects and ignore the positives. See the glass half empty and have bias towards recalling unhappy events
  • Negative schema: Interpret information about themselves in a negative way leading to cognitive biases
  • Absolutist thinking: See situations in black and white. An unfortunate situation for them is seen as a disaster
• What is OCD?

  A condition characterised by either obsessions (recurring thoughts/images) and/or compulsions (repetitive behaviours e.g. hand washing)
• What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD?

  • Compulsions are repetitive: Feel the need to repeat a behaviour e.g. hand washing, tidying)
  • Compulsions to reduce anxiety: 10% of OCD sufferers show just compulsive behaviour. For many, compulsions are used to manage anxiety produced by compulsions e.g. compulsive hand washing as a response to an obsessive fear of germs
  • Avoidance: Attempt to reduce anxiety by keeping away from situations that trigger their OCD. Those who wash hands compulsively may avoid contact with germs by not emptying the bins
• What are the emotional characteristics of OCD?

  • Anxiety and distress: Obsessive thoughts = unpleasant and the anxiety that goes with them can be overwhelming. The urge to repeat behaviour also creates anxiety
  • Depression and low mood: Sufferers have a low mood categorised by persistent sadness, loss of interest in activities and mood swings
  • Irrational guilt: Felt over minor moral issues
  • Disgust: Directed to something external e.g. dirt
  • Self loathing: May feel they're not good enough or feel they don't deserve love or bad things happen to them for a reason