ANXIETY AND RELATED DISORDERS and SCHIZOPHRENIA discussion, psychology homework help

ANXIETY AND RELATED DISORDERS

Disorders that have anxiety as the primary symptom are very common and there are many different types. People with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) feel tense and apprehensive most of the time, and worry about a whole variety of things. People with Panic Disorder experience intense, overwhelming feelings of panic, often from out of the blue (and sometimes develop agoraphobia as a result). Obsessive Compulsive Disorder involves intrusive, anxiety-provoking thoughts (e.g. of death, germs, terrible accidents, etc.) and repetitive, ritualistic behaviors like hand-washing, bathing, checking, cleaning, and counting. The behaviors counteract the thoughts and help the individual to manage their anxiety, but they are often disruptive and time-consuming.
Phobias involve an intense fear of situations (bridges, elevators, driving), animals (spiders, snakes, dogs), medical procedures, or natural environment (storms, natural heights). Do you have experiences or observations of these disorders you want to share? Feel free to do additional research and share that with us, or suggest treatment methods that you have heard of, read about or experienced that might help people cope with these disorders.

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SCHIZOPHRENIA

In Chapter 13 we learn about the complex disorder called schizophrenia. With the onset of schizophrenia in late adolescence or early adulthood, a global impairment occurs, with symptoms ranging from delusions to hallucinations to flat affect and disorganized thinking. After reading the description of schizophrenia, what surprises you or intrigues you about these symptoms? What did you learn about the causal factors that you didn’t know? Feel free to do a little additional web research to learn more about this disorder, and tell us what you found.