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The characteristics of OCD, phobias and depression (for A Level AQA…
The characteristics of OCD, phobias and depression (for A Level AQA Psychology)
Phobias
DSM-5 categories of phobias
Specific phobia
: phobia of an object (e.g. animal 🦒 ) or situation (e.g. flying)
Social anxiety
(Social phobia): phobia of a social situation such as flying or having an injection
Agoraphobia
: phobia of being outside or in a public place
Behavioural characteristics
Panic
May involve crying, screaming, or running away.
Avoidance
Preventing coming into contact with the phobic stimulus
Endurance
Opposite of avoidance: a person chooses to stay within sight of a phobic stimulus
Emotional characteristics
Anxiety
An unpleasant state of high arousal. Can be long term
Fear
Immediate and extremely unpleasant response to a phobic stimulus
Emotional response is unreasonable
The fear is disproportionate to any threat posed
Cognitive characteristics
Selective attention to the phobic stimulus
If a person can see a phobic stimulus, its hard to look away from it. Keeping our attention on something REALLY dangerous is good as it gives us a good chance or responding quickly to a threat - however, this is not so useful when the fear is irrational.
Irrational beliefs
Unfounded thoughts in relation to phobic stimuli e.g. social phobias - 'I must always sound intelligent'
Cognitive distortions
Inaccurate and unrealistic perceptions e.g. mycophobia (fear of mushrooms 🍄 ) may see mushrooms as ugly.
Depression
DSM categories of depression
Major depressive disorder
: severe but often short-term depression
Persistent depressive disorder
: long-term or recurring depression (including sustained major depression)
Disruptive mood disregulation disorder
: childhood temper tantrums
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
: Disruption to mood prior to and/or during menstruation
Behavioural characteristics
Activity levels
Reduced levels of energy - leads to lethargy. This can be so extreme that individuals cannot get out of bed.
It may also have the opposite effect -
psychomotor agitation
- individuals struggle to relax.
Disruption to sleep or eating behaviour
Person may experience insomnia (reduced sleep 🛌 ) or hypersomnia (increased need for sleep 😴 )
Appetite may also increase or decrease leading to weight gain or weight loss
Aggression and self-harm
Depressed people can easily become physically or verbally aggressive
Also leads to aggression directed towards oneself - e.g. self-harm (cutting or suicide attempts)
Emotional characteristics
Lowered mood
Such lowered mood that depressed people often describe themselves as 'worthless' and 'empty'
Anger
Directed at oneself or others. This
emotion
can lead to
aggressive
behaviours.
Lowered self-esteem
This can be quite extreme - with people describing a sense of self-loathing
Cognitive characteristics
Poor concentration
Harder to stick 🦯 with tasks or make typically straightforward decisions
Attending to and dwelling on the negative
People with depression have a tendency to focus on the negative - includes recalling unhappy events rather than happy ones.
Absolutist thinking
'black-and-white' thinking - when a situation is bad, an depressed individual tends to see
absolute
disaster
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
DSM categories of OCD
OCD
: characterised by either obsessions (recurring thoughts 💭 etc.) and/or compulsions (excessive handwashing etc.) Most people have both.
Trichotillomania
: compulsive hair pulling
Hoarding disorder
: the compulsive gathering of possessions and the inability to part with anything
Excoriation disorder
: compulsive skin-picking
Behavioural characteristics
Compulsions are repetitive
E.g. excessive handwashing or ordering are particularly common
Compulsions reduce anxiety
Compulsions are performed in an attempt to reduce anxiety produced by obsessions.
Avoidance
People with OCD attempt to manage their anxiety by staying away from situations that might trigger it. E.g. compulsive handwashing leads to avoiding germs
Emotional characteristics
Anxiety and distress
Obsssive thoughts are unpleasant and frightening and the anxiety that goes with them can be frightening
Accompanying depression
Compulsive behaviour can bring relief from this but it is only temporary
Guilt and disgust
Irrational guilt over minor issues or disgust against something external (e.g. dirt) or the self
Cognitive characteristics
Obsessive thoughts
E.g. fear of being contaminated by germs
Cognitive coping strategies
E.g. religious person tormented by guilt make respond by praying or meditating. Although, this may make them seem abnormal to others.
Insight into excessive anxiety
People with OCD are aware that their thoughts and compulsions are irrational. Nonetheless, they experience catastrophic thoughts about worst-case scenarios.