Understanding Anxiety Disorders and the Origins of Emotional and Psychological Issues
Part A
Experiencing anxiety once in a while is considered a normal part of human beings’ lives. However, individuals who are diagnosed with anxiety disorders constantly have intense, persistent and excessive fear and worry about daily situations. This constant worry and fear occur several times for about six months, and the individual often feels helpless about dealing with the situation. Worry and anxiety are usually linked with at least 3 of the following symptoms: feeling on edge or restless, being easily fatigued, irritability, difficulty concentrating or the mind going blank, sleep disturbance and muscle tension (Locke, Kirst & Shultz, 2015). Another mental disorder does not usually explain the disturbance or physiological effects of a drug like medication or drug abuse and the effects cause significant distress or even impairment in occupational and social areas, among other significant areas of functioning (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2016).
In Susan’s case, anxiety is considered normal as most people often have worries or fears when they have to address people in public. Given the lack of other symptoms that have taken place for at least six months, as stated above, Susan’s reaction is considered normal. The fact that she is even able to prepare for the event thoroughly will help minimize any anxiety that she has regarding speaking in front of others. Hire our assignment writing services in case your assignment is devastating you.
Part B
Various scholars argue that emotional problems individuals experience in adulthood can be traced back to traumatic or unhappy childhood experiences. Such assumptions are commonly based on the psychodynamic theory, which posits that human behavior is highly explained by intrapsychic processes as well as interpersonal patterns that are outside an individual’s conscious awareness and are based on the experiences that one had as a child (McLeod, 2020). Focusing on childhood as the time when one’s emotional problems originated is beneficial in that it enables the therapist or the individual to find the root cause of the problem. This can help the person work through the problem in an attempt to resolve it. According to McLeod (2020), a psychodynamic theory is different from other theories like cognitive behavioral therapy in that whereas the former seeks to explore the individual’s deeply rooted desires, needs and drives, the latter addresses the symptoms. By focusing on childhood experiences, an individual will be able to acknowledge these emotions and identify the patterns, which will help them improve and address such emotions appropriately.
However, the problem with focusing on childhood experiences as the origin of emotional problems is that it is assumed that every person with a certain emotional problem had a difficult childhood, and hence, one might be forced to acknowledge a problem that was never really present in their own childhood. Furthermore, attributing emotional issues to childhood problems is likely to close out on other essential factors that might have caused the emotional problems later in life. For instance, an individual is likely to trace their anxiety disorder to genetic factors as opposed to any particular incident that took place in childhood. Furthermore, one might be addicted to a substance, and their unsuccessful attempts to quit cause them depression, and this has no connection to childhood problems. Therefore, focusing on childhood experiences is likely to draw attention away from more severe issues, and the causes of the emotional problems might fail to be effectively found and addressed.
Part C
There are various interventions for the management of mental health problems like depression. To help the family member, it will be important to assess the impact and effectiveness of various methods in the management of depression. One of the commonly used interventions is drug or pharmacological treatment like antidepressants. According to Wade and Tavris (2016), antidepressants are considered highly effective in the management of depression. However, they also have some side effects like weight gain, dry mouth, restlessness, headaches and nausea, as well as the risk of addiction. This causes most patients using such drugs to have poor compliance and even drop out. Therefore, it would be important to discuss such issues with the psychiatrist and obtain proper recommendations on the use of antidepressants.
Another option is therapy, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, which is also associated with high effectiveness in the management of depression (López-López et al., 2019). By combining both cognitive and behavioral therapies, the client will be able to identify the unhelpful, faulty and learned thought and behavior patterns and learn better ways of coping with these in order to experience relief in symptoms and employ better problem-solving skills to deal with the problems they face. Cognitive therapists strive to help clients identify the expectations and beliefs that might be responsible for prolonging their problems, conflicts and unhappiness (Wade & Tavris, 2016). Behavioral therapists can help the client to identify reinforcement that supports unwanted habits and work towards changing these. Depression commonly arises from particular pessimistic thoughts that one’s misery is permanent and that nothing positive will happen to the individual (Wade & Tavris, 2016). Using CBT, it will be possible to correct such maladaptive thoughts and behavior patterns. With the recommendation of the therapist and the consent of the family member, CBT can be combined with antidepressants in regulated amounts.
References
Locke, A. B., Kirst, N., & Shultz, C. G. (2015). Diagnosis and management of generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults. American Family Physician, 91(9), 617-624.
López-López, J. A., Davies, S. R., Caldwell, D. M., Churchill, R., Peters, T. J., Tallon, D., … & Welton, N. J. (2019). The process and delivery of CBT for depression in adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Psychological medicine, 49(12), 1937-1947.
McLeod, S. (2020). The Psychodynamic Approach. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/psychodynamic.html
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2016). Impact of the DSM-IV to DSM-5 Changes on the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Rockville, MD.
Wade, C., Tarvis, C. (2016). Psychology 12th Edition. New Jersey Norton
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Question 
Directions: Save an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to Ashworth College for grading. Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences and use correct English, spelling, and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be double‐spaced; refer to the “Format Requirementsʺ page for specific format requirements.
Understanding Anxiety Disorders and the Origins of Emotional and Psychological Issues
Objectives: (1) Identify anxiety disorders.
(2) Describe the origin of emotional and psychological issues.
Part A
Susan, a college student, is anxious whenever she must speak. Her anxiety motivates her to prepare meticulously and rehearse material again and again. Is Susan’s reaction normal, or does she have an anxiety disorder? Explain two (2) criteria you used in arriving at your answer.
Part B
In recent years, several best-selling books have argued that most emotional problems can be traced to an unhappy or traumatic childhood (an abusive or dysfunctional family, “toxic” parents, and suppression of the “inner child”). What are two (2) possible benefits of focusing on childhood as the time when emotional problems originate, and what are two (2) possible drawbacks?
Part C
Suppose a member of your family has become increasingly depressed in recent months, and it’s apparent that the person needs treatment. You’re chosen to look into the options and to make decisions about the treatment. Based on the information in Chapter 16, how might you proceed? Provide two (2) supporting facts to justify your plan of action.