Week #3 Chapter 5 Blog 3
What was most interesting in Chapter Five was the functional
disorders, specifically anxiety disorders. According to Aging, the Individual,
and Society, “Psychologists use the term functional disorder to donate emotional
problems of psychological rather than physical origin that interfere with daily
functioning” (Hillier & Barrow,
2011). Functional disorders are also known as anxiety disorder, depressive
disorder, personality disorder, affective disorders, schizophrenia (Hillier
& Barrow, 2011). My interest in working with the elderly population has
become greater because of the interesting details about anxiety disorders.
Anxiety disorder
is several feelings going on in the mind at once (Hillier & Barrow, 2011).
These feelings include being nervous, tension and dreading what the future
might hold (Hillier & Barrow, 2011). This can cause insecurity and it is
rare in the elderly population (Hillier & Barrow, 2011).
Types of anxiety
disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder,
and phobia (Hillier & Barrow, 2011). This learner was unaware that these
specific disorders were under the category of Anxiety disorders. This learner
believed one disorder was in its own category.
Generalized
anxiety is described as fear taking over to the point where the person cannot
function (Hillier & Barrow, 2011). The person tends to exaggerate the
situation and believe that is not safe (Hillier & Barrow, 2011).
Obsessive-compulsive
disorder is described by repeating a certain act. This includes washing hands repeatedly
or walking back and forth (Hillier & Barrow, 2011). The person may believe
that their hands are dirty when they are not (Hillier & Barrow, 2011).
“Phobia is a fear
that displaces the fears that a person cannot face” (Hillier & Barrow, 2011).
Several phobias can occur causing other fears and be left untreated (Hillier
& Barrow, 2011). One phobia for example, is social phobia. “Characterized
by the fear and avoidance of situations where an individual is subject to scrutiny
of others” (Hillier & Barrow, 2011).
Great post! I personally am afraid to develop an anxiety disorder. I already have phobias and some obessive compulsive behaviors and get some anxiety when they happen. I would absolutely hate for them to get any worse. Getting even more emotional over time would make me think people would get annoyed or scared of me if it gets too bad. But there is always counseling and medicine that doctors prescribe to help with them as you get older so you do not have to face all of the disorders you have, alone. I enjoyed reading about your interest, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis student was also unaware that obsessive-compulsive disorder and phobia were both characterized under anxiety disorders. If a person’s phobia was so intense that it caused so much anxiety that it upset their daily life then it seems their issue would be both phobia and anxiety. But I had never given the issue much thought until I read this chapter. Some cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder do not seem severe enough to interfere much with daily life so I also did not consider this disorder as an anxiety disorder. “Social phobias, characterized by the fear and avoidance of situations where an individual is subject to the scrutiny of others” (p. 136) seems to be a more common phobia. At least it is in my experience. I do not suffer from this phobia but I know others who do. Generalized anxiety disorders also seem common and I find it sad that a person’s anxiety can be so intense that it impairs their ability to function. I know someone who has such anxiety that it is hard for them to leave their house. No one knows how many years we have left and to see someone suffer from something like that is disheartening.
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