Anxiety

Brain

100

In this response you see physical changes in the body including muscle tension, breathing and heart rate increase, blood pressure rises, mental alertness

Stress response OR Fight or flight response

200

True or false: the brains of people in anxiety behave the same way as people without anxiety

False: everyone experiences anxiety, but with people with anxiety disorders the pathways to communicate anxiety are stronger and mechanisms to inhibit anxiety are less effective

300

These almond sized bundles of nerves is the structure of the brain that initiates feelings of anxiety

Amygdala

400

True or false: because your brain is fully developed by age 25 it will not change after

False: the brain is plastic and can reorganize itself throughout its lifetime and make some connections stronger or weaker depending on its circumstance

500

This part of the brain is involved in making and maintaining memory

Hippocampus

will also accept: amygdala

Symptoms

100

True to False: anxiety is a problem of moral character

FALSE: anxiety is a health condition

200

True or false: physical symptoms such as digestive problems are common in anxiety

True: also muscle tension, feelings of fatigue after trouble sleeping

300

Name two kinds of anxiety disorder:

Generalized, social, panic, agoraphobia, specific phobias

(Will accept PTSD and OCD)

400

Name two symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder

• Persistent worrying or anxiety about a number of areas that are out of proportion to the impact of the events
• Overthinking plans and solutions to all possible worst-case outcomes
• Perceiving situations and events as threatening, even when they aren't
• Difficulty handling uncertainty
• Indecisiveness and fear of making the wrong decision
• Inability to set aside or let go of a worry
• Inability to relax, feeling restless, and feeling keyed up or on edge
• Difficulty concentrating, or the feeling that your mind "goes blank"

500

According to the DSM to be diagnosed with GAD you need to have symptoms more days than not for at least how many months?

6

Treatment

100

True or false: when you change your behavior and thinking patterns your brain will reorganize itself to support these connenctions

True! 

200

It is estimated that this percentage of people worldwide have or have had an anxiety disorder?

(ie. lifetime prevalence)

16%

(will accept 10-20%, bonus points for 16! note: other estimates have been higher for the USA ~30, ~3% have GAD at a given time)

300

Diet, sleep and ______ are important factors in treating anxiety disorders

Exercise!

400

This kind of therapy is generally considered most effective for anxiety disorders (and we do it here)

CBT

500

Name one kind of medication used to treat anxiety:

SSRIS, SNRIS, benzos (not often prescribed), hydroxyzine (not discussed but some of you may be on)

Treatments Barriers

100

The negative judgements people with mental illness fears if they were to get treatment is called _____

stigma

200

What do most people rely on to pay for the majority of their mental health treatment?

Health insurance