Anxiety Disorder

• Abnormal Psychology: a "harmful dysfunction" in which behavior is judged to be atypical, disturbing, maladaptive and unjustifiable.
• Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: the big book of disorders. DSM will classify disorders and describe the symptoms. DSM will NOT explain what causes or possible cures.
• Two Major Classification in the DSM
• Neurotic Disorders: distressing but one can still function in society and act rationally.
• Psychotic Disorders: person loses contact with reality, experiences distorted perceptions.
• Anxiety Disorders: a group of conditions where the primary symptoms are anxiety or defenses against anxiety.
• Phobias: a person experiences sudden episodes of intense dread.
• Generalization Anxiety Disorder (GAD): a person is continuously tense, apprehensive and in a state of autonomic nervous system arousal.
• Panic Disorder: an anxiety disorder marked by a minute-long episode of intense dread in which a person experiences terror and chest pain, choking and other frightening sensation.
• Obsessive-compulsive Disorder: persistent unwanted thoughts (obsessions) cause someone to feel he need (compulsion) to engage in a particular action.
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): flashbacks or nightmares following a person's involvement in or observation of an extremely stressful event.