Anxiety, mood, and dissociative disorders in abnormal psychology

Abnormal Psychology -- Anxiety, Affective, Dissociative

At some point or another, a person will likely experience severe sadness or depression, anxiety, or even a touch of insanity. But think of what it would feel like to have to live with a disorder- be it an anxiety disorder, a mood disorder or a somatic or dissociative disorder? Imagine how disruptive such a disorder would have on simple, everyday activities that many take for granted, such as going to work or how difficult it would be like in seemingly simple social interactions. This paper shall describe three major kinds of disorders, namely, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and somatoform and dissociative disorders.

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety is the fear or apprehension over a future anticipated problem (Kring, et.al., 2007, 122). As a coping mechanism, anxiety is not necessarily a bad thing (Kring, et.al, 2007, 122). However, if such anxiety becomes so great as to disrupt everyday life and normal functioning then it is called an anxiety disorder (Pinel, 2006, 458). Individuals diagnosed with anxiety disorders have chronic fear, even at the absence of any real threat (Pinel, 2006).

As shown in the matrix, there are different forms of this disorder, such as various phobias (e.g., agoraphobia or specific phobia), panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and acute distress disorder (Kring, et.al., 2007). All anxiety disorders are linked to feelings of anxiety like fear, worry or dependency (Pinel, 2006, 458). Physical manifestations of these disorders may include rapid heartbeat and high blood pressure, nausea, difficulty in breathing, disturbances in sleep, and high glucocorticoid levels (Pinel, 2006, 458). Anxiety disorders are genetic and are often triggered by highly stressful situations (Pinel, 2006). Also, since these disorders are often focused on certain objects or situations, a person's experience or history may play a large role in shaping the disorder (Pinel, 2006). For example, a person with high anxiety over having high blood pressure may have a family history of heart attacks (Pinel, 2006).

Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders

Somatoform disorders are characterized by the complaint of certain bodily symptoms that may suggest a physical defect or dysfunction, many times exaggerated, for which no physiological basis can be discovered (Kring, et.al, 2007, 159). For example, pain disorder, body dysfunction disorder, and so on. Dissociative disorders, on the other hand, are disruptions of consciousness (Kring et.al., 2007, 159). As such, a person with a dissociative disorder may lose their sense of self-awareness, memory and even identity (Kring et.al., 2007, 159). Examples of dissociative disorders include dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder.

Individuals