Anxiety

The history of humanity is full of moments where human lives have been jeopardized by war. revolution, earthquakes, or other upheavals. Fear of death is a universal phenomenon shared by all living beings, but for some people, anticipating future dangers tends to produce more fear of present andfuture threats. In …

The fact that depression is more common among women than men has been thoroughlydocumented, but it is important to go beyond this basic epidemiologic finding and ask why. Empirically, this question translates first to asking under what conditions are women moredepressed, and whether there are conditions under which women are …

There are distinct degrees of severity in mental disorders, but the traditional distinction between neurosis and psychosis is today a controversial issue. Pinsker and Spitzer (1977) reported that, in DSM-III, psychoses and neuroses are not used as principles of classification. According to Pinsker and Spitzer, the term psychotic is used …

What is depression?Everyone feels down or sad sometimes, but these feelings usually pass after a few days.When you havedepression, you have trouble with daily life for weeks at a time. Depression is a serious illness that needs treatment. If left untreated, depression can lead tosuicide. Anxiety and Family Therapy Anxiety …

Here is one of the more significant emergent areas in gerontology. The basic thesis is that people often must “plow under” some of their creative potential in order to fulfill their obligations in the family and the workplace. This chronic suppression of interests and talents may contribute to a vague …

Early in life one must often work to achieve efficacy, control, and confidence. “I can accomplish; I can manage; I can do” are self-judgments that are earned only after many attempts, some of which are miserable failures. Circumstances often compel elderly adults to ask themselves, “Can I still accomplish? Can …

Many associations are found between cognition and anxiety at all age levels. This linkage may be especially salient among elderly adults. For example, memory lapses may induce anxiety that is out of proportion to the incidents themselves. Furthermore, the increasingly widespread awareness of Alzheimer’s disease has so sensitized some middle-aged …

Elderly people tend to be anxious about dying, not death The three themes already mentioned all converge here. Dying and death are realistic concerns in later adult years; one can no more escape from mortality than one can escape from one’s own skin; and the process of departing from this …

Normative transitions and uncertainties tend to keep people on an anxious footing. Again, the basic phenomenon here is one that can be experienced by people of any age. We tend to feel most secure (least anxious) in familiar and stable situations, and when we can predict futuredevelopments and outcomes with …

There is often a reduction in the resources available to cope with anxiety. Many people deal with stress, threats, and conflicts by moving away from them, exhibiting avoidant behavior. A hassled teenager runs away from home, a quarreling lover drives off, a pressured employee quits his or her job. This …