Anxiety.
Publié le 10/05/2013
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A Genetics and Neurobiology
Studies suggest that anxiety disorders run in families.
That is, children and close relatives of people with disorders are more likely than most to develop anxietydisorders.
Some people may inherit genes that make them particularly vulnerable to anxiety.
These genes do not necessarily cause people to be anxious, but the genesmay increase the risk of anxiety disorders when certain psychological and social factors are also present.
Anxiety also appears to be related to certain brain functions.
Chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters enable neurons, or brain cells, to communicate with eachother.
One neurotransmitter, gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), appears to play a role in regulating one’s level of anxiety.
Lower levels of GABA are associated withhigher levels of anxiety.
Some studies suggest that the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin play a role in panic disorder.
B Psychological Factors
Psychologists have proposed a variety of models to explain anxiety.
Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud suggested that anxiety results from internal, unconsciousconflicts.
He believed that a person’s mind represses wishes and fantasies about which the person feels uncomfortable.
This repression, Freud believed, results inanxiety disorders, which he called neuroses.
More recently, behavioral researchers have challenged Freud’s model of anxiety.
They believe one’s anxiety level relates to how much a person believes events can bepredicted or controlled.
Children who have little control over events, perhaps because of overprotective parents, may have little confidence in their ability to handleproblems as adults.
This lack of confidence can lead to increased anxiety.
Behavioral theorists also believe that children may learn anxiety from a role model, such as a parent.
By observing their parent’s anxious response to difficult situations,the child may learn a similar anxious response.
A child may also learn anxiety as a conditioned response.
For example, an infant often startled by a loud noise whileplaying with a toy may become anxious just at the sight of the toy.
Some experts suggest that people with a high level of anxiety misinterpret normal events asthreatening.
For instance, they may believe their rapid heartbeat indicates they are experiencing a panic attack when in reality it may be the result of exercise.
C Social Factors
While some people may be biologically and psychologically predisposed to feel anxious, most anxiety is triggered by social factors.
Many people feel anxious in responseto stress, such as a divorce, starting a new job, or moving.
Also, how a person expresses anxiety appears to be shaped by social factors.
For example, many culturesaccept the expression of anxiety and emotion in women, but expect more reserved emotional displays from men.
IV TREATMENT
Mental health professionals use a variety of methods to help people overcome anxiety disorders.
These include psychoactive drugs and psychotherapy, particularlybehavior therapy.
Other techniques, such as exercise, hypnosis, meditation, and biofeedback, may also prove helpful.
A Medications
Psychiatrists often prescribe benzodiazepines, a group of tranquilizing drugs, to reduce anxiety in people with high levels of anxiety.
Benzodiazepines help to reduceanxiety by stimulating the GABA neurotransmitter system.
Common benzodiazepines include alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam (Klonopin), and diazepam (Valium).
Twoclasses of antidepressant drugs—tricyclics and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)—also have proven effective in treating certain anxiety disorders.
Benzodiazepines can work quickly with few unpleasant side effects, but they can also be addictive.
In addition, benzodiazepines can slow down or impair motor behavioror thinking and must be used with caution, particularly in elderly persons.
SSRIs take longer to work than the benzodiazepines but are not addictive.
Some peopleexperience anxiety symptoms again when they stop taking the medications.
B Psychotherapy
Therapists who attribute the cause of anxiety to unconscious, internal conflicts may use psychoanalysis to help people understand and resolve their conflicts.
Othertypes of psychotherapy, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy , have proven effective in treating anxiety disorders.
In cognitive-behavioral therapy, the therapist often educates the person about the nature of his or her particular anxiety disorder.
Then, the therapist may help the person challenge irrational thoughts that lead toanxiety.
For example, to treat a person with a snake phobia, a therapist might gradually expose the person to snakes, beginning with pictures of snakes andprogressing to rubber snakes and real snakes.
The patient can use relaxation techniques acquired in therapy to overcome the fear of snakes.
Research has shown psychotherapy to be as effective or more effective than medications in treating many anxiety disorders.
Psychotherapy may also provide morelasting benefits than medications when patients discontinue treatment.
Contributed By:Lynn F.
BufkaDavid H.
BarlowMicrosoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation.
All rights reserved..
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