Definitions
Is anxiety a physical or mental reaction?
Trick question!
Anxiety is both physical and a mental reaction to perceived threats.
Name two physical symptoms of anxiety.
Any of the following: Increased heart-rate, sleep problems, upset stomach, muscle tension, shaking, sweating, etc.
Name at least two of the four primary anxiety treatment methods.
1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
2. Exposure Therapy
3. Relaxation Skills
4. Medication
"I feel like a failure, and therefore I must be a failure."
Emotional Reasoning.
What are the first two steps of the Cycle of Anxiety?
Anxiety and Avoidance
In what way can anxiety be helpful?
Anxiety can help us to protect ourselves from danger and focus our attention on problems.
Name two psychological symptoms of anxiety.
Any of the following: Uncontrollable worry, poor concentration, excessive nervousness, avoidance of fear, racing thoughts, etc.
What does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) do to combat anxiety?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps a person to identify the unhealthy thinking patterns that create anxiety and challenge those thinking patterns.
Give an example of Catastrophizing.
Catastrophizing - Only seeing the worst possible outcomes of a situation.
Example: "I lost my job and therefore my life is going to fall apart."
What are the second two steps of the Cycle of Anxiety?
Short-Term Relief from Anxiety and Long-Term Anxiety Growth
What is the difference between stress and anxiety?
Stress is your body's reaction to a trigger and is generally a short-term experience.
Anxiety is a sustained mental health disorder that can be triggered by stress. Anxiety hangs around longer and generally negatively impacts a person's daily life.
Explain the fight-or-flight response.
When you feel threatened, the fight-or-flight response is automatically triggered, and several physiological changes prepare you to either confront or flee from a threat.
How does Exposure Therapy work?
During exposure therapy, the therapist and their client create a plan to gradually face anxiety-producing situations, thus breaking the cycle of avoidance. With enough exposure, the anxiety loses its power and the symptoms diminish.
The following statement is an example of which kind of cognitive distortion:
"She didn't say hello to me this morning, therefore she must hate me."
Jumping to Conclusions, Mind Reading
What is an example of avoidance?
Some examples may include:
-Skipping class to avoid giving a presentation
-Using drugs or alcohol to numb feelings
-Procrastinating on challenging tasks
A ______ is an extreme anxious response where a person experiences numerous physical symptoms, and is overwhelmed by a feeling of dread.
Panic Attack
True or False:
Because the fight-or-flight response has evolved to protect us from life-threatening danger, the response can not be activated by non-life-threatening situations.
FALSE.
The fight-or-flight response can be activated by many non-fatal situations, such as fear of embarrassment. People with chronic anxiety problems often have an over-active fight-or-flight response.
Name two types of relaxation skills.
Any of the following: deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and mindfulness.
In your own words, what does it mean to "Disqualify the Positive"?
Why does the cycle make anxiety worse?
When avoiding an anxiety-producing situation, you obtain a sense of immediate relief. The anxiety symptoms temporarily lessen. But the fear that initially led to avoidance worsens, and the brain learns that when the anxiety-producing situation is avoided, the symptoms go away. As a result, the symptoms of anxiety will be worse the next time and avoidance is more likely.
A _______ is a very intense fear of a specific situation or object, which is out of proportion to its actual threat.
Phobia
The _______ _________ can be used to combat the fight-or-flight response and usually involves slower and deeper breathing, muscle relaxation, and slowing the heart-rate.
Relaxation Response
Medication is most effective to treat anxiety when it is used in combination with _________.
Therapy
This is a kind of cognitive distortion occurs when you think in absolutes, such as "always", "never", or "every."
All-or-Nothing Thinking
Which therapeutic technique breaks the Cycle of Anxiety in the Avoidance phase?
Exposure Therapy