2. Characteristics of Phobias, Depression and OCD

• What is a phobia?

  • An irrational fear of an object or a situation
  • The extent of fear is out of proportion to any danger presented by the phobic stimulus
• What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?

  • Panic - crying, screaming, running away, freezing
  • Avoidance - effects are made to avoid the feared objects and situations to reduce the anxiety
  • Endurance - remaining in the presence of the phobic stimulus but experiencing high levels of anxiety
• What are the emotional characteristics of phobias?

  • Anxiety: Unpleasant state of high arousal that prevents relaxation and positive emotion
  • Emotional responses are unreasonable: Emotions are disproportionate to the danger posed by the stimuli
• What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?

  • Selective attention to the phobic stimulus: attention will be placed on the phobic stimulus once identified
  • Irrational beliefs: an unsupported view of the phobic stimuli. They are not based on evidence and operate mostly on assumptions
  • Cognitive distortions: an exaggerated or irrational thought pattern around the phobic stimulus. There's an error in thinking or logic that affects the way your mind processes information
  • Recognition of exaggerated anxiety: conscious awareness that anxiety levels experienced are overstated
• What is depression?

  A mental disorder characterised by low mood and energy levels
• What are the behavioural characteristics of depression?

  • Low and high activity levels
  • Disruption to eating behaviour
  • Disruption to sleep
  • Aggression and self harm
• What are the emotional characteristics of depression?

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

  • Poor concentration: unable to stick with tasks that they would usually would do or find it hard to make decisions that would normally have been made quickly
  • Dwelling on negative aspects: See the glass as half empty and have a bias towards recalling unhappy events
  • Absolutist thinking: see situations in black or white. When a situation is unfortunate, they would see it as an absolute disaster
• What is OCD?

  A condition characterised by obsessions and/or compulsive behaviour
• What are the behavioural characteristics of OCD?

  • Compulsive behaviour: repetitive (sufferers feel compelled to repeat behaviour e.g. hand washing, counting, tidying / reduce anxiety (10% of sufferers show compulsive behaviour alone, compulsions are performed to manage the anxiety that is produced by the obsessions e.g. compulsive hand washing is carried as a response to an obsessive fear of germs
  • Avoidance: Reduce anxiety by keeping away from what triggers OCD (may avoid coming into contact with germs by emptying bin)
  • Disruption to eating behaviour
• What are the emotional characteristics of OCD?

  • Anxiety and distress: Anxiety that goes along with obsessive thoughts are unpleasant. The urge to repeat the behaviour creates anxiety
  • Depression: often accompanied by depression; may have a low mood and a lack of enjoyment out of activities
  • Irrational guilt: felt over minor moral issues
  • Disgust: directed to something external e.g. dirt or at the self
• What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD?

  • Obsessive thoughts: 90% of sufferers have this feature where thoughts occur over and over again. Are always unpleasant e.g. being contaminated by germs, impulses to hurt someone
  • Cognitive strategies: Adopted to deal with obsessions and manage the anxiety associated with them e.g. religious person being tormented by guilt may respond by praying
  • Insight into excessive anxiety: Sufferers are aware their obsessions and compulsions are not rational (symptom needed for diagnosis)