Anxiety Disorders

The early versions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) used the term neurosis when describing disorders involving anxiety. Neurosis covered several psychological conditions, including disorders involving trauma and dissociation, which we just covered. According to Freud, anxiety represents ways in which the ego attempts to defend itself against anxiety. He also viewed neurotic disorders as being “ego-alien” or “ego-dystonic” to the individual. That is, the person perceives the symptoms as something that is not typical for them to feel and they tend look for help. Makes sense, since most of us do not like the feeling of anxiety and we want it to go away. 

This topic reviews several types of anxieties, as well as, some disorders in which anxiety plays a role but is not the main feature. We will start by reviewing the anxiety disorders (Press Book and lumen link), which include General Anxiety Disorder, Panic, Panic with Agoraphobia, Phobias, and Social Anxiety Disorders. DSM 5 also includes Separation Anxiety Disorder and Selective Mutism as part of the anxiety disorders, although these are predominantly seen in children. There are audio slides, and traditional slides for these topics under course materials. 

The DSM-5 includes OCD, Trichotillamania, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Hoarding, and skin-picking as disorders that create a lot of anxiety in the individuals who struggle with these issues. I have included some videos on these disorders which we can talk about further if you have questions. 

For this discussion, I would like all of you to weigh in on the following questions:  

Anxiety may be a normal emotional reaction in some situations but not in others. 1) Describe and discuss a situation in which anxiety would be a normal reaction and one in which it would be a maladaptive reaction. What are the differences? 

2) Based on your readings, videos, and slides, what criteria would you use to distinguish between normal and abnormal anxiety? 

3) Give an example of a character in popular culture (TV, movies, social media, etc.) who may fit the criteria for any of the anxiety disorders discussed in the chapter.