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Understanding Mental Health

SSC 003
CRN:2167
Understanding Mental Health
Pre-paper II
Topic: Anxiety disorder
Tong Kin Fung
(8478136)

Anxiety is our basic emotion which occurred in certain circumstances, it is an instinct for us to react to danger
situations and threats we immediately encountered.
Anxiety make us staying in bad mood state, some bodily symptoms will be appeared and worry about we
cannot predict or control the future by predictions. We may apply it to boost our study efforts if doing well.

Understanding Mental Health

Fear activates fight-or-flight response on some situations we feel dangerous and life-threatening automatically,
and different from anxiety. Panic gives us false alarm even there is nothing of causes of fear, this suddenly
happened and accompanied by symptoms in cognitive or physical.
If someone fear is excessive and unreasonable, this may be an implication of suffering from anxiety disorder.
The disorder aroused by excessive or irrational fear and/ or anxiety with duration of at least six months, affected
by genetic and psychological factors, like serotonergic and noradrenergic activity, catastrophization.
Several types of anxiety disorders such as Agoraphobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorders (GAD) and Social
Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) will be briefly introduced.
People with Agoraphobia feared and avoided to go to streets and crowded places, frightened by their bodily
sensations, they think there is no help if something bad happened, feeling anxious when hanging around places
or in situations which would feel hard to escape. Agoraphobia lasting for six months and two of the five specific
situations must be matched.
On the other hand, Generalized Anxiety Disorders have a high-relapsing rate, that more than half remitted 13
years later, people suffer from GAD cannot control their diffuse uneasiness, worry and apprehension, such
living in a future-oriented mood state unceasingly. Their anxiety and worry may be excessive and irrational
without control itself, they may feel restless, easily fatigued.
Factors causing GAD in biological factor related to functional deficiency in Gamma aminobutyric acid
(GABA) that have no way to inhibit anxiety, besides, hypervilgilance and perception of uncontrollability and
unpredictability could raise from past experiences which made deep impression for them. Also danger schemas
also a cause by biased processing threatening information and be interpreted ambiguously in a threatening way.
The disorder treated by taking drug to reduce anxiety and suppressing the stress hormone cortisol.
Social Anxiety Disorder characterized by disabling fears of specific social situations, people could feel
disturbed of exposing to scrutiny and potential negative evaluation, it also have significant fears of most
performance situation and avoidant personality disorder will often diagnosis relatively.
Another disorder like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD)will
be elided here due to similar symptoms and cause compared to aforementioned disorders.
In summary, anxiety affects our emotions which provides negative mood state sometime or in danger, excessive
panic, long-lasting intensity is the common symptoms of different types of anxiety disorders, people suffering
from GAD, SAD and Agoraphobia are influenced by biological and psychological factors and have many
bodily symptoms. We can treat it by drug and counselling to get through anxiety.

Reference

Butcher, J. N. Mineka, S., & Hooley, J. M. (2009). Abnormal psychology. New York, NY: Pearson
Barlow, D.H. & Durand, V.M. (2012).Abnormal psychology: An integrative approach (6th Ed.), Cengage
Learning.

Gamble, C., Working with serious mental illness: a manual for clinical practice. Edinburgh: Baillire Tindall in
association with the Royal College of Nursing, 2000.

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