characteristics of phobias, depression and OCD

• phobias

  anxiety disorders characterised by excessive fear and anxiety triggered by object, place or situation - extent of fear out of proportion to any real danger presented by phobic stimulus and interferes with persons normal routine - e.g. heights, spiders
• Emotional characteristics of phobias

  ANXIETY - unpleasant state of high arousal (worry/distress) we experience when we encounter or think about phobic stimulus - can make it difficult to experience positive emotions

  UNREASONABLE EMOTIONAL RESPONSE - fear/terror experienced often disproportionate to actual danger posed by phobic stimulus - e.g. individuals fear of spiders involve very strong emotional response to a tiny harmless spider
• Cognitive characteristics of phobias

  IRRATIONAL BELIEFS - beliefs that aren't logical and don't make sense to other people - sufferers hold irrational beliefs about phobic stimuli and are very resistant to rational arguments

  SELECTIVE ATTENTION - sufferers find it difficult to focus attention away from phobic stimulus and this can interfere with everyday life - e.g. someone with a phobia of spiders may find it difficult to concentrate if someone mentioned there was a spider near by
• Behavioural characteristics of phobias

  AVOIDANCE - sufferers go out of their way to avoid phobic stimulus to reduce anxiety - can significantly interfere with normal everyday life - e.g. someone with social phobia might avoid certain social situations might affect job or relationships

  PANICKING - sufferers may panic in response to phobic stimuli by crying, screaming, running away or freezing
• Depression

  mood disorders characterised by sad, depressed mood - other symptoms include loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities, low energy levels, negative self concept and feelings of worthlessness - to be diagnosed symptoms must cause significant distress or impairment in general functioning for more than 2 weeks
• emotional characteristics of depression

  SAD, DEPRESSED MOOD - sadness common emotional term when people describing depression - often combined with feelings of emptiness, worthlessness, hopelessness and low self esteem

  ANGER - negative emotions can be shown in form of anger - can be directed as aggression towards oneself (self-harming) or towards others
• cognitive characteristics of depression

  NEGATIVE SCHEMA - often have negative thoughts and expectations about their lives, relationships and world in general - believe things will generally turn out badly and expectation can turn into self fulfilling prophecy reinforcing negative beliefs

  POOR CONCENTRATION - sufferers often find themselves unable to stick to a task or make decisions as they normally would - likely to interfere with sufferers work and ability to community
• behavioural characteristics of depression

  DISRUPTION OF SLEEP AND EATING - depression associated with disruption in normal eating and sleeping behaviours - insomnia (reduced sleep) and hypersomnia (increased need for sleep) combo and appetite can increase or decrease with depression leading to weigh loss or gain

  ACTIVITY LEVELS - often experience disruption in activity levels - low energy levels lead to withdrawal from work, social lives or struggling to get out of bed - some have high levels of energy resulting inn agitation and restlessness
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)


  characterised by either obsessions (thoughts create feelings of anxiety - internal) and/or compulsions (repetitive behaviours carried out to try reduce anxiety created by obsession - external) - obsessions and/or compulsions cause distress are time consuming (take more than one hour a day) and interfere with normal routine
• emotional characteristics of OCD


  ANXIETY - unpleasant state of high arousal we experience can accompany both obsessions and compulsions - obsessive thoughts can be frightening and stress can be overwhelming and prevent person from functioning normally

  REDUCTION IN ANXIETY - anxiety often reduced as result of compulsive behaviours and anxiety reduction may drive many repetitive compulsive behaviours - e.g. compulsive hand washing might reduce anxiety caused by fear of germs
• cognitive characteristics of OCD


  OBSESSIONS - persistent recurring internal thoughts often drive anxious feelings - could be ideas (germs everywhere) or doubts (worry something important has been overlooked)

  IRRATIONAL BELIEFS - beliefs that aren't logical and don't make sense to other people - at some point in disorder sufferer does recognise obsessions or compulsions are excessive and unreasonable
• behavioural characteristics of OCD


  COMPULSIVE BEHAVIOURS - externally visible and repetitive as sufferers feel compelled to repeat behaviour to reduce anxiety - e.g. repetitive hand washing or tidying

  AVOIDANCE - sufferers may go out of their way to avoid situations which usually trigger anxiety which can significantly interfere with normal day to day life - aim being to reduce anxiety through avoidance - e.g. suffered who compulsively wash their hands may avoid coming into contact with germs