discuss the cause of anxiety from each of the following perspectives…?

-behavioral
-psychoanalytic
-biological
-cognitive

Behavioral: Anxiety from this perspective can be learned through a negative experience associated with a certain situation. For example, if you went to a social gathering and ended up embarrassing yourself, you may be anxious and hesitant about putting yourself in that situation again. In psychology terms, this could lead to avoidance conditioning, where the person learns a behavior that will allow them to avoid a specific situation. The embarrassing moment itself can be seen as a form of punishment that would likely lead to avoidance of social gatherings thereafter.

Psychoanalytic: Anxiety can be a result of unconscious conflicts between your innermost desires (the Id) and society’s expectations on how you should behave (the Superego). Attempts to reconcile those conflicting situations can lead to anxiety about what you should do. The role of the ego is to help resolve these conflicts.

Biological: Many believe that an overly sensitive amygdala (the “fear center” of your brain that helps regulate emotions and your physical response to them) can contribute to anxiety and lead to anxiety disorders such as panic disorders or OCD. In addition, neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the brain) can also contribute to anxiety, for example serotonin deficiency can lead to anxiety and depression. GABA, dopaminne, etc. can also play a role.

Cognitive: This has to do with an individual’s beliefs and thoughts associated with a situation. For example, if someone has a negative view of something (for example, alcohol) they may become anxious when faced with a situation associated with that. In a nutshell, this perspective is based upon the person’s beliefs and thoughts about something and influences what they are or aren’t anxious about facing.

Hope this helps!

Carrie Barron MD-Kevin O’Rourke- RiverArts Council Event-12.13.09

Anxiety Disorders And Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective $1.94 The founder of cognitive therapy and two colleagues apply the concepts of cognitive therapy, used successfully in treating depression, to the treatment of anxiety disorders and phobias. Part I shows how the activation of specific nonadaptive cognitive patterns leads to the complex symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, simple phobias, and the evaluation anxieties. Part II shows how…