Behavioural emotional cognitive characteristics

• Phobias- 


  -An irrational fear of an object or situation

  According to DSM-5 phobias can fall into 3 categories

  1.Specific phobia - phobia of object or situation

  2.Social phobia/anxiety - phobia of social situations

  3.Agoraphobia- phobia of being outside or in a public place
• Depression-


  A mental disorder characterised by low mood and low energy levels
• Depression falls into 4 categories according to DSM-5 - 


  1.Major depressive disorder- severe but often short term depression

  2.Persistent depressive disorder- long term or recurring depression

  3.Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder - childhood temper tantrums

  4.Premenstrual dysphroic disorder- disruption to mood before/during menstruation
• OCD- 


  -Classified as an anxiety disorder. Characterised by either obsessions (Recurring thoughts, images etc) and/or compulsions (repetitive behaviours). Most people have both
• Phobias : Behavioural characteristics -

  Panic - in response to phobic stimuli, person may panic. e.g crying,screaming, running away

  Avoidance- Sufferer makes an effort to avoid coming into contact with phobic stimuli

  Endurance- When sufferer continues to experience high anxiety levels when in the presence of phobic stimuli
• Phobias : Emotional characteristics-

  Anxiety- Prevents sufferer from relaxing. Makes it hard to experience positive emotions

  Fear - Immediate and extremely unpleasant response when in presence of/ thinking about phobic stimuli

  Unreasonable- Unreasonable and disproportionate response to (potentially) harmless stimuli
• Phobias : Cognitive characteristics -

  Selective attention - Attention is held on the phobic stimuli meaning the sufferer cannot concentrate on anything else

  Irrational beliefs- Phobic holds irrational beliefs in relation to phobic stimuli

  Cognitive distortions - Phobic's perception of the phobic stimuli may be distorted
• Depression : Behavioural characteristics -

  Activity levels - Lethargy or psychomotor agitation (cannot relax)

  Disruption to sleep- Insomnia or hypersomnia

  Aggression and self harm - Verbally/physically aggressive in some cases. Aggression can be directed to self
• Depression : Emotional characteristics -

  Lowered mood- feeling sad, individuals describe themselves as 'worthless' and 'empty'

  Anger- Anger can be directed at self or others. Can lead to self-harming behaviour

  Lowered self esteem- People with depression report lower self esteem. Can include self loathing
• Depression : Cognitive characteristics-

  Poor concentration - Unable to focus on tasks at hand

  Dwelling on the negative- Cognitive biases towards negative thinking

  Absolutist thinking- 'Black and white thinking' catastrophising, over generalisations
• OCD : Cognitive characteristics-

  Obsessive thoughts- unwanted, persistent, irrational thoughts

  Cognitive strategies- to deal with obsessions

  Selective attention - directed towards the anxiety-generating stimuli
• OCD; Behavioural characteristics- 


  Compulsiosn- feel compelled to repeat a behaviour to relieve anxiety

  Avoidance- attempt to avoid anxiety triggering situations
• OCD: Emotional characteristics- 


  Anxiety and distress - obsessions can cause high levels of anxiety, compulsions only give temporary relief from anxiety

  Accompanying depression- low mood and lack in pleasure of everyday activities

  Guilt and disgust- Irrational guilt and disgust at oneself/external details