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part of nature and separate from nature, and freedom was actually something that people actively try to avoid. THE GOOD SAMARITAN EXPERIMENT Understanding help In 1978, psychologists John Darley and Daniel Batson created an experiment based on the old parable of the Good Samaritan found in the Bible. The Good Samaritan Parable In this parable, a Jewish man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho is robbed, beaten, and left on the road to die. As he lies there, a Rabbi walks by him and instead of helping the man, as he should, the Rabbi pretends not to see the man, and walks to the other side of the road. Then, a Levite walks near the man. However, instead of helping the poor man, the Levite simply looks at him and then walks to the other side of the road, like the Rabbi had done before. Then a Samaritan walks near the injured man on the road. Even though the Samaritans and the Jewish people are enemies, the Samaritan binds the man’s wounds, takes him to an inn, and cares for him that night. The next morning, the Samaritan pays the innkeeper and tells him to take care of the gentleman, saying that he will pay for however much it costs. Darley and Batson set out to test three hypotheses: 1. It has been said that the Rabbi and Levite did not help the man because their minds were focused on religious matters, and they were therefore too distracted. The first hypothesis to be tested by Darley and Batson was to see if people who think about religion are less persuaded to help than a person who is not primarily focused on religion. 2. The second hypothesis was whether people who are in a hurry are less likely to help or express helping behavior. 3. The third hypothesis was whether people who turn to religion to understand the meaning of life and gain spiritual insights are more likely to help than a person who turns to religion for personal gain. EXPERMIENT THE GOOD SAMARITAN EXPERIMENT The test subjects of this experiment are religious studies students, who first must complete a questionnaire regarding their religious affiliation and what they believe in, which is used to evaluate the third hypothesis. 1. The students are first taught a class lecture on religious studies, and then they are told that they have to travel to another building. 2. Between the buildings, an actor lies on the ground appearing injured and in dire need of help. 3. To test how a sense of urgency affects the subjects, some students are told to rush, that they have only a few moments to reach the other building. The other students are told that there is no need to hurry. 4. To test the mindset of the subjects, some students are instructed that they will be giving a talk on the parable of the Good Samaritan once they reach their destination, while others are instructed that they will have to lecture about seminary procedures. 5. To assess the behavior of the subjects, a six-point plan is created that ranges from not even noticing the injured man to remaining with him until help arrives. THE RESULTS In their experiment, Darley and Batson found that the haste of the subject was the main determining factor in whether or not they stopped to help the injured man. When the subjects were not in any type of hurry, 63 percent of the subjects stopped to help the injured man. However, if the subjects were in a rush, only 10 percent of the subjects stopped to help the man. Those who were ordered to give a speech about the Good Samaritan were almost twice as likely to stop and help the man as those who were ordered to lecture about seminary procedures. This shows that the thoughts of an individual do play a factor in whether or not a person will help. However, this factor is not as impactful as whether or not the person is in a hurry, because the majority of those in a hurry that were lecturing about the Good Samaritan did not provide assistance to the man. Lastly, whether an individual was religious for personal gain or for spiritual insight did not seem to matter. When students reached their destination, some who had ignored the injured man began to express feelings of anxiousness and guilt, which seemingly indicated that not helping the injured man was due to feelings of time constraints and pressure, not because of an overall uncaring attitude. In the case of the Good Samaritan experiment, the researchers were able to successfully show that an individual’s failure to stop and help a “victim” was solely based on his or her preoccupation with time, and that being so wrapped up in one’s head can have startling results. PERSONALITY DISORDERS When behavior goes astray Personality disorders are patterns of behavior and inner experiences that stray from the norms of the culture that a person belongs to. These patterns are inflexible and inescapable, begin in adolescence or as a young adult, and can cause serious distress or damage in a person’s daily life. Researchers are still unsure what causes personality disorders. While some believe these disorders are the result of genetics, others believe the root of personality disorders can be found in early life experiences that prevent normal behavior and thought patterns from developing. DIAGNOSING A PERSONALITY DISORDER Psychologists diagnose personality disorders based on criteria established in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Symptoms an individual must exhibit are: The patterns of behavior must affect different parts of the person’s life, including, but not limited to, relationships, work, and social life. The patterns of behavior must be long-lasting and prevalent. The symptoms must affect two or more of the following: feelings, thoughts, the ability to control impulses, and functioning with other people. The pattern of behavior must begin in adolescence or as a young adult. The pattern of behavior must be unchanging over time. These symptoms cannot be the result of other medical conditions or mental illnesses, or drug abuse. THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PERSONALITY DISORDERS There are ten different types of personality disorders, and these can be categorized into three distinct clusters based on similar characteristics. Cluster A Personality disorders in this cluster are represented by eccentric and odd behavior. These include: 1. Paranoid Personality Disorder: This personality disorder is characterized by symptoms resembling schizophrenia, and is seen in 2 percent of the adult population in the United States. The symptoms include constant suspicion and distrust of other people; feeling as if one is being exploited, deceived, or lied to; trying to find hidden meanings in things like conversations and hand gestures; feeling like partners, family, and friends are untrustworthy and disloyal; and having outbursts of anger as a result of feeling deceived. People who suffer from paranoid personality disorder often seem serious, jealous, secretive, and cold. 2. Schizoid Personality Disorder: This is a somewhat rare type of personality disorder; it is therefore unknown what percentage of the population is affected by this disorder, but it is understood that men are affected more than women. Symptoms of schizoid personality disorder include little to no desire to have any close relationships with other people, rarely participating in fun or pleasurable activities, being detached from others, and being indifferent to rejection, criticism, affirmation, or praise. People that suffer from schizoid personality disorder usually seem withdrawn, indifferent, and cold. 3. Schizotypal Personality Disorder: This type of personality disorder affects around 3 percent of the adult population in the United States. Symptoms of schizotypal personality disorder include: having eccentric views, behavior, and thoughts, facing difficulties when it comes to having relationships, having a severe form of social anxiety that does not go away regardless of circumstances, a belief in one’s ability to read minds, or see into the future, having inappropriate reactions, ignoring other people, and talking to oneself. People suffering from schizotypal personality disorder are more at risk of developing psychotic disorders and depression. Cluster B Personality disorders in this cluster are characterized by behavior that is erratic and dramatic. These include: 1. Antisocial Personality Disorder: This type of personality disorder is found more often in men (3 percent) than women (1 percent). Symptoms of antisocial personality disorder include having a complete disregard for the safety of other people and oneself, being deceitful, being impulsive, being very aggressive and irritable (and as a result, constantly getting into fights), being apathetic towards others, and failing to conform to the norms that have been established by society. As a result, people with antisocial personality disorder are often in trouble with the law. 2. Borderline Personality Disorder: This type of personality disorder affects around 1–2 percent of the adult population in the United States, and is found more often in men than women. Symptoms of borderline personality disorder include suffering from intense bouts of depression, anxiety, and irritability—ranging anywhere from a few hours to a few days—impulsiveness, participating in self-destructive behavior like drug abuse or eating disorders as a means to manipulate others, and experiencing a prevalent pattern of interpersonal relationships that are unstable and intense as a result of having a low self-image, a poor self-identity, and constantly idealizing and undervaluing the other person in the relationship. 3. Histrionic Personality Disorder: This type of personality disorder is found more often in women than men, and affects 2–3 percent of the adult population of the United States. Symptoms of histrionic personality disorder include a constant need to be the center of attention, exhibiting inappropriate behavior that is sexual or provocative in nature, expressing shallow emotions that constantly change, being easily influenced by other people, thinking of relationships as being much more intimate than they really are, and speaking in a way that lacks any real detail and is overdramatic and theatrical. 4. Narcissistic Personality Disorder: This type of personality disorder is found in less than 1 percent of the adult population in the United States. Symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder include having a grandiose idea of one’s own self-importance, being preoccupied with fantasies of power and success, holding a belief that the narcissist is unique and should only associate with—and can only be understood by—those people that are of the same status, feeling entitled and deserving of special treatment, being jealous of other people, believing that other people are jealous of them, taking advantage of others for personal gain, being apathetic towards others, and constantly desiring praise, affirmation, and attention. Cluster C Personality disorders in this cluster are characterized by feelings and behavior based on fear and anxiety. 1. Avoidant Personality Disorder: This type of personality disorder affects around 1 percent of the adult population in the United States, and those who suffer from it are at risk of also developing anxiety disorders such as social phobia and agoraphobia. Symptoms of avoidant personality disorder include feeling inadequate, being incredibly shy, being very sensitive when it comes to any type of rejection or criticism, avoiding social and interpersonal interactions (like work or school), having low self-esteem, and wishing to be close with other people but having trouble creating relationships with anyone that is not part of the individual’s immediate family. 2. Dependent Personality Disorder: This type of personality disorder can be found in around 2.5 percent of the adult population in the United States. Those who suffer from this will usually also be suffering from borderline, avoidant, or histrionic personality disorders. Symptoms of dependent personality disorder include being sensitive to any type of rejection or criticism, having low self-confidence and self- esteem, concentrating on abandonment, taking a passive role in a relationship, experiencing trouble making decisions on their own, and avoiding any sort of responsibility. 3. Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder: This type of personality disorder affects approximately 1 percent of the adult population in the United States, and occurs in males twice as often as it does in females. Individuals who suffer from this disorder are also at risk of developing medical illnesses caused by stress and anxiety disorders. Symptoms of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder include feeling helpless in any situation that the individual cannot completely control, being preoccupied with order, control, rules, lists, and perfection, being unable to throw away items even though they have no sentimental value to the person, striving for perfection to the point where it actually hinders an individual from completing his or her goal, being devoted to work so much so that all other items are excluded, and being inflexible and resistant when it comes to change. People who suffer from this disorder are often viewed as stubborn and rigid, and are often miserly, viewing money solely as something to be saved for an oncoming disaster and not something to be spent on themselves or others. It should be noted that though obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) shares many similarities with obsessive-compulsive anxiety disorder (OCD), the two are considered completely separate disorders. Because personality is so crucial to experience, when an individual behaves and interacts during everyday life in ways that stray from the norms set forth by his or her culture, it can have a truly dramatic effect on that person. By understanding personality disorders and breaking them down into distinct categories, psychologists are able to further understand and help treat people suffering from these conditions. DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS Don’t pardon the interruption Dissociative disorders are disorders that occur as a result of a disturbance, interruption, or dissociation with an individual’s perception, memory, identity, or consciousness. When these fundamental aspects don’t work properly, the result places the individual under a large amount of psychological distress. While there are several types of dissociative disorders, they all share certain characteristics. Psychologists believe these types of disorders all stem from the individual experiencing some type of trauma in his or her lifetime. The individual then uses dissociation as a type of coping mechanism, because the situation or experience is simply too difficult and traumatic for it to be incorporated into the conscious self. Oftentimes, dissociative disorders, or symptoms of dissociative disorders, are found in other specific mental illnesses, including panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. There are four types of dissociative disorders: 1. Dissociative amnesia: In this type of dissociative disorder, an individual blocks critical information that usually pertains to a stressful or traumatic event. Dissociative amnesia can be further broken down into four types: • Localized amnesia: When any memories relating to a specific, usually traumatic, event are completely absent. Localized amnesia is time-sensitive. For example, if an individual had a car accident and cannot recall any memories from the accident until three days later, then he or she is experiencing this type of dissociative amnesia. • Selective amnesia: When an individual can remember bits and pieces of an event that occurred within a specific period of time. For example, if a person has been physically abused and he or she can only remember certain parts of what occurred around the time of the abuse. • Generalized amnesia: When a person cannot remember a single detail about his or her life. This type of dissociative amnesia is very rare. • Systematized amnesia: When the person’s amnesia only affects a particular category of information. For example, a person may not be able to remember anything that relates to one specific location or person. If a patient suffers from selective, generalized, or systematized amnesia, there is often a larger, more complex type of dissociative disorder that is responsible, like dissociative identity disorder. 2. Dissociative fugue: This is a very rare dissociative disorder where a person suddenly, and without any planning, leaves his or her environment and travels far from his or her home. These trips can last anywhere from hours to months. There have been cases of people who suffer from dissociative fugue that have traveled thousands of miles. While in the fugue state, people will show signs of amnesia, having no understanding of why they left in the first place and struggling with remembering their past. The individual will be confused about, or have zero recollection of, his or her identity; and in some rare cases, people have even taken on new identities. 3. Dissociative identity disorder: At one time referred to as multiple personality disorder, this is the most well-known example of a dissociative disorder. In dissociative identity disorder, an individual has many distinct personalities and identities, rather than just the one. At the very least, two of the individual’s personalities must show up repeatedly and take control of the individual’s behavior to qualify as having dissociative identity disorder. Fifty percent of all people suffering from this disorder have less than eleven identities, though there are cases where an individual has as many as 100 identities. The dissociative personalities all have their own unique identity, self-image, history, and name. When a person becomes one of these other identities—known as alters—the individual experiences long gaps in his or her memory. It can take seconds for an individual to shift to one of his or her alters, and these alters can have different ages, nationalities, genders, sexual preferences, and even different body languages and postures than the individual. The appearance and departure of the personalities are commonly triggered by a stressful event. People who suffer from dissociative identity disorder will often have other disorders, such as borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorders, and substance abuse. This combination can frequently result in violence, self-mutilation, and suicidal tendencies. 4. Depersonalization disorder: A person suffering from depersonalization disorder experiences feelings of detachment. The individual’s body feels unreal to him or her. While symptoms of depersonalization are different for everybody, the most common descriptions of this experience are feeling like one’s body is dissolving or changing, feeling like the individual is actually watching his or her life unfold as an external observer, feeling like the individual is floating on the ceiling while looking down at him or herself, and feeling like he or she is some sort of robot or machine. Most people who suffer from depersonalization disorder also experience emotional detachment and feel emotionally numb. Just because a person experiences depersonalization does not necessarily mean they suffer from depersonalization disorder. Depersonalization is often a symptom for other conditions, such as panic disorders, acute stress disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and borderline personality disorder. If depersonalization only occurs when the individual experiences a traumatic stressor or panic attack, then they do not have depersonalization disorder. Depersonalization can also occur in perfectly normal people. Sleep deprivation, emotionally stressful events, use of particular anesthetics, and experimental conditions such as those involving weightlessness can all create the effect of depersonalization. Because depersonalization is such a common occurrence, it is only when these symptoms become so severe that a large amount of emotional distress is placed on the individual and there is an interference with functioning at a normal level that depersonalization disorder is diagnosed. THE ROSENHAN EXPERIMENT What happens when you place the sane in the insane? In 1973, Stanford University professor David Rosenhan questioned the entire notion of psychiatric diagnosis by creating an experiment to test whether psychiatrists could tell the difference between a sane person and an insane person in any sort of reliable way. If they could not, according to Rosenhan, psychiatrists could not reliably diagnose an abnormality in any meaningful way. Rosenhan’s experiment was made up of two parts: THE EXPERIMENT WITH PSEUDOPATIENTS For the experiment, Rosenhan recruited eight individuals. There were three psychologists, a psychiatrist, a pediatrician, a housewife, a painter, and a graduate student studying psychology. In total, there were five men and three women. His first goal was to have these people gain admission into twelve different hospitals across five different states. In order to have results be as generalized as possible, the hospitals ranged from new to old, research-based to not research-based, poorly staffed to well staffed, and they were funded privately, federally, and through a university. Rosenhan had these eight people, whom he referred to as “pseudopatients,” make an appointment with hospitals. Once they were brought into the admissions offices, they would all complain about hearing unfamiliar voices in their heads that were of the same sex. After the pseudopatients were successfully admitted into the psychiatric hospitals, they stopped pretending to have any abnormal symptoms. They spoke with the staff and patients of the hospital the way they would speak to any other person in their daily life; and when asked how they were feeling, they would tell the staff they felt fine and were not experiencing any symptoms. The pseudopatients were told that it was up to them to convince the hospital staff to release them and make them believe that they were sane (without making mention of the experiment). While inside of the hospital, the pseudopatients made notes of their experiences and observations. To compare his results, Rosenhan had a student ask a series of questions to staff at Stanford’s health center. The answers to these questions (given when the staff was aware they were on the record with their answers) were then compared to the answers the pseudopatients were told when they asked staff members questions. THE PSEUDOPATIENT RESULTS The average hospital stay for the patients was nineteen days, with some staying for only seven days and others staying for as long as fifty-two days. Every patient except one was admitted into the hospitals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and when they left, they were diagnosed with “schizophrenia in remission.” These diagnoses were given even though none of the patients exhibited a clear symptom of schizophrenia. While other patients in the hospital raised suspicions about the pseudopatients and claimed that they were journalists placed in there to check up on the hospital, the hospital staff actually viewed the normal behavior of the pseudopatients as part of their illnesses. Records from the nurses of three separate pseudopatients claimed that the act of writing they were engaging in was a pathological behavior. Rosenhan concluded that there are similarities between the insane and sane, such as moods and emotions; however, when placed into the world of a psychiatric hospital, it was commonly found that experiences and moods that people encounter every day and are usually seen as normal, are instead seen as pathological. None of the participants involved in the study enjoyed their stays at the mental institutions, and stated that the facilities deprived patients of many human rights and left individuals with feelings of powerlessness and depersonalization. Patients were not allowed to move around as they pleased; many toilets were missing doors; and staff members were cruel to patients. Of the estimated 2,100 medication tablets that were given to the pseudopatients, only two were ever swallowed. Most were simply flushed down the toilet, where the pseudopatients found medication from other patients. Rosenhan concluded that as long as the actions of patients were viewed as cooperative, no one noticed their behavior. A SECONDARY STUDY Following the first part of his study, Rosenhan visited a research hospital that had been aware of his initial research with the pseudopatients. He proceeded to lie to the staff, telling them that over the next three months, other pseudopatients would try to gain entry into their hospital. The hospital staff was told to rate all new patients on a 10-point scale as to the likelihood that they were one of the pseudopatients. Over that time period, there were a total of 193 (real) patients judged. Forty-one patients were believed to be pseudopatients according to one staff member; twenty-three patients were believed to be the pseudopatients according to a psychiatrist; and nineteen patients were believed to be the pseudopatients according to one staff member and a psychiatrist. According to Rosenhan, this second study demonstrated that psychiatrists are unable to reliably differentiate between a sane person and an insane person. While the first part of his study showed failure in being able to identify sanity, the second part of his study showed failure in being able to identify insanity. Rosenhan illustrated that with psychiatric labels in particular, anything that a patient does is then interpreted in relation to this psychiatric label. Instead, Rosenhan suggests that rather than labeling an individual as insane, hospital workers and psychiatrists should pay attention to the behavior and specific problems of the individual. EVALUATION OF THE ROSENHAN EXPERIMENT While Rosenhan’s experiment showed the limitations of classifying patients and revealed the awful conditions of mental hospitals at that time, because his study was based entirely on lying to the hospital staff, it is considered unethical. Rosenhan’s work did, however, change the philosophy that many institutions took when it came to how to approach mental care. At the time of Rosenhan’s study, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders that was being used for diagnosing was DSM-II. In the 1980s, DSM-III was introduced with the purpose of addressing problems of unclear criteria and unreliability. Many have argued that with DSM-III, Rosenhan would not have the same results. The current model being used today is DSM-IV. DAVID KOLB’S LEARNING STYLES Learning by experience In 1984, philosophy professor David Kolb developed a new model of learning styles and a theory of learning. Kolb’s learning theory can be broken down into two parts: a cycle of learning that is made up of four distinct stages, and four distinct styles of learning. Kolb defined learning as when abstract concepts are acquired and have the ability to be applied within an array of situations, and when new experiences motivate new concepts to arise. KOLB’S FOUR-STAGE LEARNING CYCLE In Kolb’s theory of learning, there are four stages of a “learning cycle.” When a person is learning, they go through all four stages. 1. Concrete Experience: A person faces a new experience or reinterprets an experience that has previously existed. 2. Reflective Observation: This is the observation of any new experience. Inconsistencies between understanding and the experience are particularly noteworthy. 3. Abstract Conceptualization: From reflection comes a new idea. This can also pertain to the modification of an abstract concept that already exists. 4. Active Experimentation: The individual then applies this idea to the world and sees what the end results are. KOLB’S EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING STYLES From these four stages, Kolb maps out four distinct learning styles. According to Kolb, different people prefer different learning styles, and this is influenced by numerous factors, including the educational experiences, cognitive structure, and social environment of the individual. No matter what the influences are, an individual’s preference in learning style is the product of two choices. Kolb expressed these choices, or variables, as an axis. On opposite ends of the lines are conflicting modes: Feeling (Concrete Experience, or CE) vs. Thinking (Abstract Conceptualization, or AC), and Doing (Abstract Experimentation, or AE) vs. Watching (Reflective Observation, or RO). INTERSECTING AXES OF LEARNING STYLES The east-west axis is known as the “processing continuum,” and it deals with how a person approaches a given task. The north-south axis is referred to as the “perception continuum,” and it deals with the emotional response of an individual. According to Kolb, an individual cannot experience the two variables on a single axis at once. With this information, Kolb then identified four learning styles that people use depending on where they fall on the continuum: accommodating, diverging, converging, and assimilating. While every person uses the different types of learning styles, some are preferred more than others. To better understand how these learning styles work, consider the following diagram and chart: MORE DETAILED LOOK AT KOLB’S THEORY Accommodating (CE/AE): Doing and Feeling This type of learning style depends on the use of intuition instead of logic. Often, people employing it will follow their “gut instinct.” When a person has an accommodating learning style, he or she will commonly depend on other people for information and then analyze this information on his or her own. These types of people enjoy seeing plans through, and are attracted to new situations and challenges. Diverging (CE/RO): Feeling and Watching People that have a diverging learning style prefer watching instead of doing, and solve problems through gathering information and using their imagination. Because of this, individuals with diverging learning styles have the ability to look at situations from different viewpoints, and are most adept when placed in situations where the generation of ideas is needed. Individuals with diverging learning styles tend to also be sensitive, emotional, and more artistic, and they tend to enjoy working with others, getting feedback, gaining information, and listening to what others have to say with an open mind. Converging (AC/AE): Doing and Thinking Individuals that have converging learning styles are more technically oriented, and prefer to solve problems to practical issues instead of interpersonal issues. People that have this type of learning style are most adept when solving practical problems and making decisions by finding answers to questions. As a result, people with a converging learning style enjoy experimenting, simulating, and working with real-world applications. Assimilating (AC/RO): Watching and Thinking In assimilating learning styles, emphasis is placed on taking a logical approach to abstract ideas and concepts, and there is less focus placed on people or practical applications. Individuals with a preference for an assimilating learning style can understand a wide range of information and have the ability to assemble the information into a logical format. For this reason, an assimilating learning style works best in a scientific field. People that have assimilating learning styles also prefer being able to think through a situation and examine analytical models. Having a firm understanding of one’s own learning style and the learning styles of others can be extremely important and have very real-world applications. Individuals can understand how to communicate information to others in a way that will be the most effective, and understand what they themselves need to improve upon. ANXIETY DISORDERS More than just nerves While anxiety and stress are emotions experienced by everyone, anxiety disorders are serious forms of mental illness that cause great distress and take on a crippling effect, preventing a person from being able to live a normal and healthy life. There are six different types of anxiety disorders. They are: PANIC DISORDER When an individual suffers from panic disorder, they will experience intense panic attacks, which are often triggered without any reason or warning. The symptoms of a panic attack include: Sweating excessively Having chest pain Shaking Being short of breath or feeling as if you are choking Having hot or cold flashes Having heart palpitations Feeling dizzy, lightheaded, or having vertigo Experiencing a tingling or numbing sensation Having stomach cramps or experiencing any other type of digestive discomfort such as nausea Having a very overwhelming fear of death and losing control These panic attacks will usually hit their peak at some point within the first ten minutes, though they are capable of lasting longer, and many sufferers will still feel anxious hours after the panic attack has ended. The Relationship Between Agoraphobia and Panic Disorder There is a common misconception that agoraphobia is a fear of open spaces. This is incorrect. Agoraphobia is actually when an individual fears that he or she might have a panic attack when he or she is in a location or situation (such as open spaces), and that this panic attack will make the individual incredibly embarrassed. The person becomes so fixated on when the next panic attack might occur that he or she no longer wishes to go to these places or participate in these activities. Agoraphobia usually occurs as a result of panic disorder, though there are cases where an individual suffers from agoraphobia without having panic disorder. Around one-third of the people who suffer from panic disorder also suffer from agoraphobia. OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER This is the most active type of anxiety disorder. The anxiety from this disorder comes from the individual having constant obsessions, which are distressing thoughts and ideas that are not wanted and will not go away. The person tries to relieve this stress by performing ritualistic behaviors. Eventually, however, these rituals turn into compulsions, and the individual continues to repeat this behavior. The compulsions can be so complex that they can greatly disrupt any sort of daily routine. Most of the time the compulsions are linked to the obsessions themselves, like people repeatedly washing their hands every ten minutes because they think their hands are contaminated, but this does not apply to all compulsions. People who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder are usually aware of how irrational their behavior is, and it often becomes a source of regular frustration and confusion for them. While obsessive-compulsive disorder can occur at any age, symptoms usually appear within two distinct periods: before puberty, which is referred to as early-onset OCD, and later in life, which is known as late-onset OCD. There are five different types of obsessive- compulsive disorder: 1. Obsessions with contamination and compulsions of cleaning or washing: When a person focuses on feeling dirty and the discomfort associated with not being clean. To reduce these feelings, a person will wash his or her hands excessively, sometimes for hours. 2. Obsessions of being harmed or harming others and compulsions of checking: An example of this type of obsession might be someone who believes (obsessively) that his or her house will burn down. As a result, people constantly have to check the oven, toaster, and stove, continually check that the light switches are turned off, and even constantly drive to their house to make sure it is not burning down. 3. Pure obsessions: These are obsessions that don’t seem to have any visual compulsions. Instead, these obsessions revolve around things of religious, sexual, and aggressive nature. For example, an individual constantly having the obsession that he or she is a murderer and will kill someone. To relieve stress, mental rituals are often used, where an individual will count in his or her head, pray, or recite certain words. 4. Obsessions of symmetry and compulsions of counting, ordering, and arranging: People that experience this type of OCD have a strong urge to order and arrange objects until they believe they have done so perfectly. People with this type of OCD may also experience the urge to repeat words or sentences until a certain task is executed perfectly. In some cases, this compulsion is performed with the idea that if it is performed correctly, they will be able to ward off possible dangers. For example, when a woman rearranges her desk in a particular way with the mentality that if she does this, her husband won’t get into a car accident. 5. Hoarding: The act of collecting objects that usually have little to no actual value, and never throwing them away. This can result in clutter so severe that people sometimes have trouble living in their own homes because of the sheer mass of what has been collected. Usually when people hoard, they have the obsession that the things they are saving will be able to be used one day. An individual can also have compulsive hoarding without having obsessive- compulsive disorder. POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER This type of anxiety disorder occurs after an individual has been exposed to or has experienced a traumatic event where they felt that they, or those around them, were in danger of being hurt or killed. Once a traumatic event has occurred, an individual will begin having flashbacks, distressing dreams, and intrusive images and thoughts relating back to the trauma. Individuals will also avoid any situations that might remind them of the event, since when they are exposed to any cues that remind them of the trauma, they will experience great emotional distress. In addition to this, the individual’s behavior will change, and he or she will limit the activities he or she participates in, have difficulty expressing a full spectrum of emotions, and may seem to lose hope for his or her future. SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER This is one of the most common types of anxiety disorder, and around 13 percent of the general population will experience symptoms of social anxiety disorder at one point in time. When an individual is suffering from social anxiety disorder, he or she constantly worries about how he or she is being perceived by other people. There is an irrational fear of being viewed negatively or judged, and of being embarrassed and humiliated. Social anxiety disorder differs from shyness because of the persistence and severity of the symptoms. Symptoms, which are both physical and emotional, include trembling, excessive sweating, a racing heart, extreme nervousness in situations where the individual does not know the other people, a strong fear of being evaluated, feeling anxious about being humiliated, fearing others will see that one is anxious, and fearing and dreading events that have been planned in advance. SPECIFIC PHOBIAS This type of anxiety disorder is when an individual has a strong and irrational fear of a particular object or situation. There are four major types of specific phobias, and many people will have multiple phobias within the same category—though an individual can also have phobias in multiple categories. The four major types are: situational, medical, natural environment, and animal-related. No matter the category of phobia, when individuals have specific phobias, they exhibit similar symptoms. These include: Experiencing severe feelings of terror, panic, or dread when encountering the object the individual fears. Experiencing symptoms similar to a panic attack, including becoming short of breath, sweating profusely, becoming dizzy, and feeling numb. An individual will go out of his or her way to avoid the object he or she fears so much so that it affects his or her daily life and routine. The individual obsessively thinks about the next situation where he or she will encounter the feared object and creates scenarios in his or her head where coming into contact with the object is unavoidable. GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER This is the most common type of anxiety disorder, where an individual experiences constant fear and tension regarding a matter or object without any reason for feeling this way. Worries seem as if they move from one subject matter to another, and symptoms are varied, but can include irritability, fatigue, difficulty focusing, restlessness, and sleep-related issues. Other physical symptoms that may arise include nausea, diarrhea, headaches, and tense muscles, |